By Henrietta Zalkind
Down East Partnership for Children
(as it appeared in the Rocky Mount Telegram on Feb. 23, 2020)
I’m often asked, “What is school readiness?” In North Carolina we have a two-part definition of readiness - readiness of children for school and readiness of schools to support all children who are eligible for kindergarten when they are 5 by August 31. Physical, cognitive, social and emotional development of children are all essential parts of school readiness.
Here are some signs that show a child is ready for success in school. A confident kindergartener: Follows routines; Talks about their feelings; Enjoys looking at books and listening to stories; Can use school tools (scissors, crayons, ball, pencils, glue stick, etc.); “Can do it myself” (can get dressed, wash hands, etc.); Plays well with others.
School readiness means effective teaching and learning for students, inside and out, 365 days a year. School staff and community partners work with families and children to ensure a smooth transition to a school that has engaging, developmentally appropriate environments for young learners, as well as sufficient resources to engage every child.
We are at a historic moment in our state’s educational history. Hopefully, you have heard of the Leandro v. North Carolina lawsuit filed in 1994 by five low-wealth school districts who claimed they did not have enough money to provide an equal education to their students. In 1997, the NC Supreme Court ruled that our state’s students have a constitutional right to a “sound, basic education.”
As the Executive Director for Down East Partnership for Children, I was honored to serve on the Governor’s Commission on Access to a Sound Basic Education. I chaired the early education workgroup that worked with the court appointed expert WestEd to create a plan for the state to meet the Leandro requirements. Those recommendations and WestEd’s report were recently released and Judge David Lee issued the first of several orders settling this long-running case.
Here is a brief overview of the early childhood recommendations from the report:
- Increase the volume and quality of the early childhood educator pipeline. This includes strategies to promote increased salaries for early childhood educators, expand salary supplement programs and increase funding for the child care subsidy.
- Scale up the Smart Start program to increase quality, access and support for at-risk children and families where impact is the greatest. Smart Start’s current legislative appropriation is funded at 5% of the calculated need for early childhood in the state and calls for new funds to reach 25% of need.
- Expand the NC Pre-K program to provide high-quality full day, full year services to all at-risk 4-year-old children.
- Align and improve early-grade settings to support successful transitions to K-3 and promote early-grade success. This includes working with families to support transitions, expanding professional development for principals, funding for teacher assistants and specialized personnel in early grades.
What will all this mean for Nash and Edgecombe counties?
First, It means we have created a model for early education that we can all be proud of and proud that our work locally has been viewed as a model for others to learn about a system of care and services targeting children ages 0-8.
Second, it means as these recommendations are implemented, it will allow us to continue to increase the quality of early childhood education, expand infant and toddler care; improve salaries for early childhood teachers; work to ensure smooth transitions to school; and provide more resources for effective K-3 environments. Please consider asking elected officials and others to support the recommendations released in the WestEd report.
Registered and Ready Event
While the Leandro settlement will take time to implement, we cannot forget that we have children who are here now and waiting to register for NC Pre-K and Kindergarten today. We have children who need our support now to help ensure they are launched as happy, healthy lifelong learners by the end of the third grade. This year we are launching a campaign and event called “Registered and Ready.”
Please join us on March 21 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for a “Get Registered and Ready Fun Fair.” This will be a fun event for children ages 3-5. Parents will get to ask questions about Kindergarten registration and children will enjoy rotating through stations - making a craft, story time and some fun movement activities. The first 150 to attend will receive a door prize and all who complete the stations will get to enter to win a new bike! This event is free and will be at the Down East Partnership for Children’s Family Resource Center on 215 Lexington Street.
