1. Aligning the early years on a continuum of birth
through grade 3 learning and development

2.  Focusing on the support of every child’s
growth and development from birth to third
grade
 Looking at the diversity of programs,
purposes, and philosophies that serve
children and families from birth to age 8
 Promoting success by ensuring access,
quality, continuity, family involvement

3.  The Achievement Gap
 Pre K Fade Out
 Lack of shared belief about the purpose of
early learning programs
 Research

4.  Expanded policies at the federal, state, and local
levels that address access, funding, transitions,
and require collaboration for all children and
families
 Established standards that reflect high
expectations and that cross both programs and
age levels birth through third grade
 Alignment of curriculum, assessment, instruction
so that children are supported in their learning

5.  Family education and support at birth and in
the first 3 years
 Voluntary, universal access to quality
preschool (3 and 4 year old) programs
 Mandatory full day kindergarten
 Preschool and primary grade alignment of
standards, assessment purposes/tools,
learning plans and desired outcomes
 High quality teacher/staff preparation and
professional development/career ladders

6.  Agreeing on learning standards prenatal through K
and beyond.
 Teacher prep…same expectations for all
 Defining high quality classrooms/early learning
environments.
 Agreeing what “developmentally appropriate practice”
is and what “inclusive” means.
 Cultural competence.
 Promoting intentional curricula.
 Providing social/emotional consultation/early
intervention services
 Leadership.
 Parent involvement related to learning.

7.  Funded by the Foundation for Child
Development and others, the PreK-3rd
Initiative is designed to create a new first
level of American education that begins in
prekindergarten and extends through 3rd.
 Models: Ready Schools Miami…where
“adopting a universal and unified PreK-3rd
approach is crucial for a comprehensive
transformation of America’s public education

8.  Language and literacy: data-driven instruction and increased
time in the classroom on learning activities
 Curriculum alignment: strategies to help districts,
administrators and teachers align curriculum across content
areas and PK–3 grades.
 Family engagement: techniques for building reading,
numeracy, and rich conversations into daily routines at home;
involving parents in literacy-rich activities at the school;
strengthening teacher-parent relationships through home
visits and other approaches.
 Socio-emotional behaviors and climate: strategies for
effective behavior management, strengthening self-
regulation and executive functioning; and creating a positive

9.  After-school: strategies for integrating in-school curricula
with after-school practices, increasing participation in out-
of-school programs, and partnerships with community
providers of after-school activities.
 Alignment across PK to third grade: best practices for
developing common planning time across grades, integrating
data on children’s learning and behavior across grades.
 Integration: successful techniques for effectively layering
interventions over time and for integrating school, family,
and after-school interventions around important goals such
as increased vocabulary.

10.  Individual efforts to align pre-K with
elementary (i.e. Whatcom Day Academy)
 Nooksack Valley Collaboration for Children
(horizontal and vertical alignment)
 Gates School District Early Learning
Leadership Grant…and school district-OC
partnerships

11.  High Scope Perry Preschool Project
 The Carolina Abecedarian Project
 Chicago Parent Child Centers
 Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-
Kindergarten Cohort
 National Head Start/Public School Early
Childhood Transition Demonstration Project
 Early Language and Literacy Studies (Heath,
Wells, National Research Council, etc.)