This report features profiles of six schools and districts in Minnesota that have implemented inventive PreK-3rd grade alignment strategies. Site visits to these settings proved that focused, intentional efforts in areas such as effective leadership, data-driven instruction, and engaged families can have huge impacts on student achievement and school culture.
With a strong focus on PreK-3rd grade, Union City Public Schools overcame the crippling effects of poverty and prejudice to close the achievement gap between its low-income Hispanic students and their wealthier peers across New Jersey. The district overhauled its curricula to emphasize critical thinking and reasoning, extended classtime, and increased teacher training. The district also …
The New School Foundation was one of the first organizations to focus on the importance of P-3 work. Beginning in 2005, it highlighted the need for strong leadership within the PreK-3rd grade reform movement, emphasized the importance of creating and maintaining public-private community partnerships, and championed the necessity of creating PreK-3rd model schools to serve as exemplars of …
The efforts to reform the Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, led by then-Superintendent Jerry Weast, produced five key lessons for PreK-3rd grade practitioners: (1) establish a clear and compelling district-wide goal that maps back to early learning; (2) craft integrated district-wide early-learning strategies to meet the clear and compelling goal; (3) align early-learning programs and …
Lessons for PreK-3rd from Montgomery County Public Schools Read More »
