ABSTRACT:
Educational Alignment for Young Children: Profiles of Local Innovation identifies five cities that are on the leading edge of efforts to create a seamless educational pipeline for children ages 0-8. Innovative alignment strategies in Boston, Hartford, San Antonio, San José and Seattle aim to ensure that more children are succeeding in school and reading at grade level by the end of third grade.
These cities are working to restructure the historically disjointed relationship between early education providers and elementary schools by bringing together teachers and other key stakeholders from each system, better aligning preschool and school-based learning and improving transitions as children move from one level to the next. Mayors and other municipal officials are increasingly serving as catalysts for this work in recognition of the vital importance of early learning and development to a child’s future academic potential as well as their cities’ economic development, public safety and quality of life.
Drawing on the experiences and lessons learned from each city profiled in the case studies, the report identifies ten common elements of a well-aligned educational system:
- Formal partnerships or governance structures;
- Access to quality early education;
- School quality and organization;
- Communication and data sharing;
- Qualified teachers and administrators;
- Alignment of standards, curricula, teaching practices and assessments;
- Parent engagement and family supports;
- Programs to facilitate smooth transitions to school;
- Public awareness of the importance of early education; and
- Creative funding strategies.
- reprinted from The National League of Cities website