PreK and Early Head Start Program Improvement and Innovation Plan
Relevant details and data for the PreK and Early Head Start Programs.
Program Overview
The vision of the FCPS PreK and Early Head Start Program (EHS) is to ensure “Every Child is Ready to Learn.” Studies show the brain grows rapidly in the first five years of life. Increasing access and opportunity to a quality early learning program during this period results in greater achievements in the classroom and beyond.
The FCPS PreK and Early Head Start (EHS) program is a comprehensive services program supporting students and families who qualify due to age, income eligibility, and residency. The program supports work to ensure that students are ready for a successful start in kindergarten by providing:
- High-quality curriculum and early learning experiences for children ages 0-4 and pregnant women.
- Social-emotional learning and executive functioning skills practice.
- Physical health, nutrition, and mental health.
- Strong adult-child interactions in the classroom.
- A Multi-Tiered System of Support.
- Strong family engagement.
The program is not mandated and is funded through grant and local funds. Based on funding, there is a predetermined number of available slots each year. Both the PreK and Early Head Start programs must meet the highest regulatory standards of the grants providing funding:
Scope of Impact
| School Year | Number of Schools | Number of Students |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 63 | 1,791 |
| 2022-23 | 63 | 1,849 |
| 2023-24 (projected) | 66 | 2,112 |
- In FCPS PreK, a maximum of 18 students are enrolled in each classroom with one teacher and one instructional assistant.
- Early Head Start classrooms have one teacher and two instructional assistants. A maximum of 8 students are enrolled in each classroom.
- All students in the FCPS PreK and Early Head Start program are income-eligible at or below 200% of the federal poverty level or meet other eligibility criteria such as having an IEP.
- The program serves a diverse population of families.
Goals, Actions, and Measures
By June 2024, 100% of students will grow at least one developmental band (e.g. from beginning to growing) or meet the benchmark in the area of Self-Regulation as measured by the
- Child Behavior Rating Scale (CBRS) [PreK students].
- Devereux Early Childhood Assessments (e-DECA) [EHS toddler students].
Actions
- Provide program-wide professional development to teaching teams around Conscious Discipline.
- Designate a time in the suggested “Day in the Life” schedule for social-emotional learning lessons and connect the PreK curriculum maps to Second Step curriculum resources.
- Facilitate program and school-level data dialogues using CBRS and e-DECA data and the creation of SEL toolbox/resources to support school teams
Measure
Fall and Spring data:
- CBRS for PreK students
- e-DECA for EHS students
By June 2024, 100% of:
- PreK students will grow at least one developmental band or reach the “strong” band on the PreK Language and Literacy Screener (LLS) in the subtests of Letter Names and Letter Sounds and Name Writing.
- EHS students will meet or exceed expectations as indicated by the appropriate color band in the Area of Language as measured by TeachingStrategies GOLD (TS-GOLD).
Actions
- Implement family engagement experiences through programs such as Family Center Meetings, Feeding, Eating and Succeeding Together (FEAST), Ready Rosie, and Waterford MentorApp.
- Provide professional development and enhanced curriculum resources around Oral Language, Phonological Awareness, Alphabetic Principles, and Emergent Writing.
- Implement program and school-level data dialogues using PreK Language and Literacy Screener data.
Measures
- Fall and Spring PreK Language and Literacy Screener Data
- TS Gold Language Data.
By June 2024, the FCPS PreK and EHS program Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) scores average in the dimensions of concept development, instructional learning formats and regard for student perspective will increase by at least 0.15 points over Spring 2023 CLASS scores.
Actions
- Conduct monthly observations and coaching visits with an identified CLASS dimension focus.
- Provide additional resources and training around CLASS domains for teaching teams.
- Facilitate program-wide data dialogue around the data and target resources to use with school teams
Measures
- CLASS Fall and Spring Observation data
- Monthly coaching summaries
By June of 2024 the results of the FCPS Family Engagement Survey: Pre-Kindergarten will show a decrease of 10% for disagree or strongly disagree responses to the survey questions, “I receive enough information from my child’s school about community services that help families.” and “I receive enough information about what I can do at home to support my child with mental health and wellness.”
Actions
- The PreK and EHS Family Services and Education teams will provide additional support and training to teaching staff and families on use of the Ready Rosie parent education resource including highlighting resources that support with program-wide goals.
- PreK and EHS will highlight targeted community resources to share in monthly parent communications and in collaboration with school based Parent Liaisons.
- PreK and EHS will create and update an internal program-wide Google site for staff to share available resources.
Measures
- Ready Rosie user and resource data
- Monthly communications and toolbox resources
