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From Ready At Five's Executive Director Steven Hicks
A Million New Opportunities
"I firmly believe that we can close the school readiness gap and prepare our children for college and careers through high-quality early learning experiences, but we have more work to do..."
Karen B. Salmon, Ph.D., State Superintendent of Schools
As a kindergarten teacher, I loved the first day of school. After weeks of stapling corrugated border around bulletin boards, stringing yarn through the holes of the new name tags, setting up beautiful and enticing learning centers, and organizing the critical tools for my students - new boxes of unbroken crayons with 24 dazzling colors, writer's workshop books, pens and pencils, glue sticks, and rubber-handled scissors with no sharp edges - the day had finally arrived. The morning was crisp, and it was the earliest in the day I had seen over the past weeks of the long, endless - and now almost forgotten - summer. Everything smelled new and full of a million new opportunities. I greeted each child at the door and with them, waved goodbye to their parents, and considered each one's potential in the coming school year ... in my room. Unfortunately, the starting line for each child varied widely because of their different life experiences leading up to that first day of kindergarten - serious differences that could mean some of them would never be able to keep pace or catch up.
Of the approximately 64,000 children that entered Maryland's public kindergarten classrooms last year,
only 43%
had the foundational knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to succeed in school as determined by Maryland's Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA). That means that more than half the kids did not have the minimum foundational skills and behaviors needed to be successful in kindergarten. More than half of them needed targeted supports or interventions to get them better prepared - both socially and academically - and on the path to high-school graduation, and on to college, and a career. The recently released
PARCC data f
or Maryland reveals there is a high-correlation between how our students are doing in kindergarten and how they are doing in third grade. Unfortunately, by the third grade, they aren't doing much better. Last year, 40% of kindergarteners demonstrated readiness in language and literacy;
38.8% of third graders met or exceeded expectation on the standardized test.
In math, third graders showed some growth, but still low: 38% demonstrated kindergarten readiness, and only
43% of third graders met or exceeded expectations.
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Attendance Matters!
September is Attendance Awareness Month and studies show that regular attendance in preK and K builds academic and social skills for the future. Read more here.
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Save the Date for our School Readiness Symposium
Our School Readiness Symposium "Equity in Literacy Must Start Early" featuring Dr. Nell K. Duke, Ed.D. will take place on December 14, 2017 at Turf Valley. Dr. Duke will speak on the critical need to provide rich language and literacy experiences for children, beginning with infants and toddlers and extending through the early years, to ensure equitable opportunities later in school and in life. Check our website in October to register.
"Building Equity in Early Learning."
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Program Update
Ready At Five is introducing a new
Learning Party curriculum: The Parent Leadership Learning Party. This Learning Party, developed in collaboration with experts at EPIC (Every Person Influences Children), provides parents and families with important leadership and advocacy skills to promote civic engagement in the familiar and comfortable Learning Party format. The Parent Leadership Learning Party is part of a larger effort to create and sustain local parent leadership efforts through the Early Childhood Advisory Councils, Judy Centers, and public school systems. The Parent Leadership Learning Party is designed to support parents/family members as they take an active role in their child's education and in schools, early learning programs, and local communities. Please contact
Robin Hopkins for more information.
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Welcome Back to School From ReadyRosie!
Learning the order of the letters in your child's name is a key step in moving towards the school readiness goal of writing her own name. Sing the letters of your child's name to the tune of B-I-N-G-O as he practices putting the letters in the correct order.
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Featured Resources
Domain Of Learning Card: Help Your Child To Learn About Self, Family And Community
Easy-to-read card for parents/families and early childhood professionals that provide information on social studies that promote school readiness.
Download here for free
or
purchase here
.
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Friends of Ready At Five
A Day of Play at the MD State Fair
We had a great time sponsoring a Day of Play at the Nature Play Space at the Maryland State Fair on August 26th! The purpose of the space was to help parents, guardians and child care providers see the importance and value of play for their children. Play has a significant impact on our overall health. It grows our bodies, brains and community. The Nature Play Space was constructed on top of a portion of the parking lot for the purpose of providing families with an opportunity to play and take those ideas back to their homes. Families were invited to play in the space free of charge for as long as they like. For more information please check out Nature Play Space.
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A Chance to Give
The American Red Cross
is working around the clock along the Gulf Coast to help the thousands of people whose lives have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey. Please consider making a
donation to help the children in Texas.
Sisters Skyann and Marylee take a break from playing at a shelter in Cuero, Texas. Disasters like Hurricane Harvey take an emotional toll on families, but shelters can offer more than safety and food: they give kids a chance to play and relax despite difficult circumstances.
Photo by Chuck Haupt for the American Red Cross
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STAY CONNECTED
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