MESPA Home
Members Only
Colleague to Colleague
Join MESPA
About MESPA
MESPA Division News
Professional Development
Honors
Legal Services
Careers
Resources for Principal Leadership
PreK-3 Alignment
MN Bullying Prevention Initiative & Bookstore
Press Room
Business Partners
Twenty-Five Year Club
Salary and Benefits Survey
Contact Us
Sitemap
MN PreK-Grade 3 Alignment Summit
Summit_Book_Web






























Early Childhood Education:
PreK-Grade 3 Alignment Summit

The Summit will be held Monday, August 8
9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Check-in beginning at 8:30 a.m.

--Live onsite at the TIES Education Center,
   1667 N. Snelling, St. Paul
   (coordinated by MESPA), and
--Streamed via ITV/Web  to eight sites
   throughout greater Minnesota
   (coordinated by the MN Initiative Foundations).

Registration is required in advance.
--$25 fee for the TIES location in St. Paul.
--No fee (free) at the eight streaming sites:
   Bemidji, Fergus Falls, Hermantown, Marshall,
   Owatonna, Sauk Rapids, Thief River Falls,
   Willmar.

SPEAKERS
  • Governor Mark Dayton (invited)
  • Commissioner Dr. Brenda Cassellius, MN Dept. of Education
  • MN Dept. of Education staff aligning Early Learning Standards with the new K-12 standards: Kari Ross (Instructional Specialist, Reading) and Eileen Nelson (Early Childhood Education Specialist)
AND the authors of "Making a Difference: 10 Essential Steps to Building a PreK-3 System"
  • Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, MS Ed, Bremerton, WA
  • Donna Gearns, MS Ed, Bremerton, WA

Develop a 10-step plan for linking early childhood education
to the K-3 system in your district!

The national push for improving young children’s early learning experiences is no longer just about preschool.  Now the focus is on connecting early childhood education standards and goals to a K-3 system that involves collaboration with community early childhood education providers and ensures that young learners receive high-quality instruction and a strong PreK-3 foundation.

Drawing on more then 20 years’ success with a PreK-3 system in Washington state, the speakers present a 10-step, field-tested model that demonstrates how early childhood professionals and k-12 school leaders can outline a clear implementation plan for an integrated PreK-3 system.

  • A brief overview of PreK-3 alignment and its importance.
  • Navigation tools to build a local community effort for PreK-3 alignment.
  • An understanding of their specific role in the alignment process (e.g., administrators, PreK teachers, K-3 teachers)
  • MN Dept. of Education overview of MN Early Learning standards  and K-3 standards, to help align to a PreK-12 system.

Plan to bring your district team:

  • Superintendent
  • Principals
  • Community Education Directors
  • Early Childhood Directors
  • Kindergarten-Grade 3 Teachers
  • Early Childhood Teachers
  • Head Start
  • Childcare
  • Public Health
  • Social Services
  • School Board Members
  • Local Elected Officials



Get Acrobat Reader  PreK-3_AGENDA.pdf  
Agenda for the August 8 MN PreK-Grade 3 Alignment Summit.
Get Acrobat Reader  NAESP_PreK-3.pdf  
Report (16 pages) from the NAESP Foundatioan Task Force on Early Learning: "Building & Supporting an Aligned System, a vision for transforming education across the preK-grade 3 years." MESPA Executive Director P. Fred Storti is a member of this national task force. The report was referenced in his comments and those of MESPA President Kristine Stueve.
 Sullivan-Dudzic_Keynote_handout.ppt  
Keynote by LInda Sullivan-Dudzic: Making a Difference, 10 Essential Steps to Building PreK-Grade 3 System
 PreK-Grade_3_Alignment_StepByStep_Notes.doc  
Sheet to guide notes during Linda Sullivan-Dudzic's keynote address.
 Gearns_Early_Child_Professionals_handout.ppt  
Donna Gearns session: What is the role of early childhood professionals in school readiness?
Get Acrobat Reader  MDE_Standards_Alignment_1.pdf  
Kari Ross and Eileen Nelsen (MN Dept. of Education) session: What is the role of state standards in school readiness? How do they align with early childhood?
Get Acrobat Reader  MDE_Standards_Alignment_2.pdf  
Kari Ross and Eileen Nelsen (MN Dept. of Education) session: What is the role of state standards in school readiness? How do they align with early childhood?
 Sullivan-Dudzic_Administration_handout.ppt  
Linda Sullivan-Dudzic session: What is the role of Administration in school readiness?
 PreK-Grade_3_Alignment_Team_Planning_Worksheet.doc  
Worksheet grid to help guide district teams in creating a plan for aligning PreK-Grade 3 education.
 PreK-Grade_3_Alignment_Resources.doc  
Web resources on early childhood education and PreK-Grade 3 alignment, provided by Linda Sullivan-Dudzic.


PreK-Grade 3 Alignment Resources
Minnesota and national resources MESPA has gathered for your early education leadership.


Agenda and Handouts
Scroll down for the Summit agenda and speaker handouts.


Community Alignment Plans

Visit the West Central Initiative Web to view several community PreK-Grade 3 alignment plans.

Feel free to read their plans and use their ideas as your work on your own community plan.


Sponsored through a partnership of:
MN Elem. School Principals' Assn.
MN Initiative Foundations
MN Department of Education


With community support from:
Target
Greater Twin Cities United Way
McKnight Foundation
TIES
Ready 4 K



MECI_Web


MDE_Logo




Target_09_Red_300x380


uw_4p


McKnight_Web_4


ties_logo_166x91_4


R4K_logos_011


MN Education Commissioner Brenda Cassellius is an innovative problem solver, dedicated to serving the public interest. In her 20-year career as a classroom teacher, administrator and superintendent in school systems both in Minnesota and Tennessee, Dr. Cassellius led reform, redesign and change efforts that put students first, focused on achievement, and have resulted in better outcomes for all students. Dr. Cassellius believes that change can happen quickly if it is purposeful, collaborative, and grounded in effective strategies.

Linda Sullivan-Dudzic has spent the past 30 years connecting early childhood to K-12 to the higher education system. Prior to entering the fields of speech language pathology, curriculum and instruction, special education, and Title I, she learned a great deal from her mother who started one of the first quality preschool programs in the 1960, the Julie Ann Nursery School, that included students with disabilities.

Donna Gearns began her teaching career in self-contained preschool, elementary, and middle school classrooms for students with learning disabilities. As an itinerant special education teacher, she discovered the importance of building relationships with staff and directors in community preschool settings, a critical step in the process of developing a Pre-K to 3rd Grade System.