The Department of Early Learning sent this press release on Thursday. They are seeking input from the community on whether the state should set up an assessment that would gauge the skills children have when they start kindergarten.
The DEL is going to make a recommendation to the Legislature on Dec. 15 based in part on feedback from the survey. You can take the survey at www.del.wa.gov. There’s a five-minute power point presentation that first explains the survey. The survey is open to educators, administrators, parents, child care providers, and anyone else with input on early learning.
Here’s the full press release, which has some more specifics:
DEL seeks input on kindergarten readiness planning
OLYMPIA – The Department of Early Learning (DEL) is seeking input from parents, educators and other stakeholders on kindergarten readiness assessment options for Washington.
The 2008 Legislature directed DEL to work with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), in collaboration with Thrive by Five Washington, to study and make recommendations on the implementation of a kindergarten entry assessment process for Washington. A report with recommendations is due to the Governor and the Legislature on December 15.
A kindergarten assessment process is an organized way to learn what children know and are able to do when they enter kindergarten, and possibly other points in time. The assessment should be tied to specific, beneficial purposes, such as information for teachers and parents on a child’s development.
An online survey is available in English through Nov. 1 and in Spanish through Nov. 2 at www.del.wa.gov. For interested citizens who don’t have Internet access, they can provide input via phone by calling toll-free 1.866.482.4325 and pressing 0 on these days:
· Thursday, Oct. 23
· Wednesday, Oct. 29
· Thursday, Oct. 30
Phone lines will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. on these days. Spanish speakers will be available to take calls.
Leaders of DEL, OSPI and Thrive in April signed a joint resolution that lays out four shared concepts about the principle of school readiness:
Ready Children + Ready Schools + Ready Parents and Families + Ready Communities.