MESPA Executive Director P. Fred Storti

When children come to kindergarten not ready to learn, not having been exposed to rich literary experiences and thus lacking conceptual development, they begin school with an experiential gap that is difficult to bridge. There in lies the challenge and we begin the race to remediate, to catch our struggling learners up! We have developed thoughtful and complex Response to Intervention (RtI) models which are making a difference, but what if a much higher percentage of kids come to kindergarten with the prerequisite skills, ready to learn? We could start the K-12 experience on a level playing field. The time is now to move from disconnected early childhood programming and K-12 curriculum to PreK-grade3 alignment!

So what can busy principals do with a limited amount of time and resources? Principals who have a solid understanding of developmentally appropriate instruction and how children learn along the continuum from PreK-grade 3 know that focusing on remediation is the wrong approach. We know that lasting gains in student achievement must be built on a solid foundation of consistent, high quality instruction in early childhood and elementary grades.

Many of our most successful instructional leaders have built strong PreK – grade 3 learning environments by creating a PreK-grade 3 culture.

• When principals view PreK and kindergarten as fundamental parts of the school’s mission, not as add-ons, they send a clear message that PreK and kindergarten students and teachers are crucial, and equal, and take steps to integrate them into all aspects of the school community.
• Aligning standards, developmentally appropriate curriculum, and assessments from PreK-grade 3 are critical.
• We know that incorporating a well-rounded curriculum including arts, physical education, social-emotional learning, literacy, numeracy, science, and history is key to learning.
• Principals or instructional leaders play a key role in creating and sustaining the cultures of collaboration through the development of professional learning communities within and across grade levels. We know that in effective schools, teachers work together engaging in regular and deliberate conversations around lesson planning, data analysis assessments, and problem solving.

Two excellent resource books are:

• “Making a Difference: 10 Essential Steps to Building a PreK – 3 System” by Linda Sullivan-Dudzic from Bremerton, Washington. This is an easy read and provides a practical step-by-step approach.
• “Leading Early Childhood Learning Communities, What Principals Should Know and Be Able to Do” from NAESP illustrates six standards with components and rubrics.

Two summer seminars you ought to consider attending.

June 23:  Better Schools for a Better MN: PreK-3 Conference. This conference from the Minnesota Department of Education is an opportunity to learn from two of the top PreK-3 experts in the country: Dr. Jerry Weast, superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools, MD; and Dr. Kristie Kaurez, program director, PreK-3rd Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education. A panel of Minnesota school officials  -- including MESPA President Jon Millerhagen -- also will present how they incorporate Pre-K-grade 3 practices into their K-12 system. Registration information coming soon.

August 8-12: During the week of August 8-12, we will be facilitating two PreK-3 seminars featuring Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, the author of the book mentioned above: “Making A Difference: 10 Essential Steps to Building a PreK-3 System.” This practical approach to bridging the PreK and K-12 systems is a perfect hands-on opportunity for your teams that might include: elementary principal, early childhood program director, community education director, and teachers from K-3 and PreK. We are planning two seminar locations: one in the Twin Cities metro and another outstate.

The time is now to align our early childhood programs with our K-3, and develop a seamless system. Do we want the focus on remediation or on proactive development?

Thank you for the incredible leadership demonstrated by our principals throughout the state, throughout the year for our Minnesota children!

Contact Fred at pfstorti@mespa.net.