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Large group of happy kids, boys and girls playing with blocks in kindergarten class constructing simple houses
PRE-K UPDATE
SEPTEMBER 11, 2019
Here's the latest news from The Long Island Pre-K Initiative, your source for  expert training and useful resources:  www.nassauboces.org/pre-k

Why are we talking about Kindergarten transition when school has just started? Because now's the time to plan for next year
"With this year's Kindergarten transition fresh in our minds, it's the perfect time to
reflect on what went well and where we'd like to do more in the future," says Adrienne Robb-Fund of The Long Island Pre-K Initiative. "At our free Summits in October, we've invited educators, representatives of community-based organizations and parents to offer their perspectives. Plus--for the first time at such an event--we've invited nonprofits like Family Place Libraries and the Health and Welfare Council to share how they can help support young children in your communities."

Kindergarten Transition Summits

Date: Monday, October 7, 2019
Place: Eastern Suffolk BOCES Instructional Support Center at Sequoya, Holtsville
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (continental breakfast included)


Date: Friday October 11, 2019
Place: Western Suffolk BOCES Conference Center, Wyandanch
Time: 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (continental breakfast included)


What is "Kindergarten readiness"? Here's a rundown to share with families
Most families know that early education is important--but they don't know what social/behavioral and early academic abilities and knowledge children should have by the time they're ready to start Kindergarten. That's the viewpoint of Dr. Rebecca Palacios, an educator with more than 30 years of experience. So she prepared lists of readiness indicators along with descriptions of "what families can do." For example, under the category of "Follows Instructions," Palacios suggests that parents make a point of giving their child one-step instructions--for example,"please pick up your towel" or "stand next to me." 

Palacios' Kindergarten readiness indicators were first published in 2015 and were updated two years later in December 2017. They appeared in the Huffington Post and have been shared widely, most recently by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Click here for Part 1 (social/behavioral indicators). Click here for Part 2 (early academic indicators).

Doctors have a critical role to play in children's overall well-being--and that includes understanding "school readiness" 
Increasingly, healthy early childhoods are seen as a community responsibility--and pediatricians play an important role, says a report last month from the American
Pediatrician and little african girl at hospital
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). "Pediatrics offers pediatricians many opportunities to improve the physical, social-emotional, and educational health of young children, in conjunction with other advocacy groups."  Some highlights: 

The report not only defines school readiness in the child, but outlines how schools demonstrate their readiness for children--by, for example, offering opportunities for a smooth transition between home and school, including cultural sensitivity, and by offering opportunities for parent engagement.

Six misconceptions about school readiness are explained, including that readiness can be measured easily and that "children are ready to learn when they can sit quietly at a desk and listen."

Click here for the full report.

Hot under the collar about homework: "it's wrecking our kids"  
Recently, we shared an article on Twitter that earned almost 10,000 impressions in only three days. The topic: homework in elementary school.

Written for salon.com by author Heather Shumaker, the piece doesn't pull any punches. "There is no evidence that any amount of homework improves the academic performance of elementary students." When Shumaker looked into the research, she found that--for younger students--"extra schoolwork at home is just...extra work." 

What's worse, there are significant downsides to the practice. For one thing, when homework comes at a very early age, it's hard for children to cope with assignments independently--they need an adult to help to remember them and to figure out how to do the work. "Parents often assume the role of Homework Patrol Cop," writes Shumaker.

What does work: Reading at home. "If an assignment does not promote greater love of school and interest in learning, then it has no place in an elementary school-aged child's day."  Read more.


About Us
The Long Island Pre-K Initiative is a grant-funded project that seeks to strengthen partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations and to share information about research, policy and best practices for early learning. Administered by Nassau BOCES, it is supported with expertise from The Early Years Institute and funds from the Rauch and Hagedorn Foundations. Our partners: Eastern Suffolk BOCES, Western Suffolk BOCES, and the Child Care Councils of Nassau and Suffolk.






NASSAU BOCES 
71 Clinton Road, Garden City, NY 11530-9195
Phone: (516) 396-2220  Fax: (516)-396-2355
www.nassauboces.org