Virginias Early Learning Development Standards ELDS BirthFive Learning

Virginia’s Early Learning & Development Standards (ELDS) Birth-Five Learning Guidelines November 19, 2020

Overview and Agenda The Office of Early Childhood has worked closely with early childhood experts and stakeholders over a two-year period to update the current Foundation Blocks for Learning and produce a comprehensive, birth-to-five guidance document that will support more children to enter kindergarten ready. Agenda: • • • Addressing a Shared Challenge: Virginia’s Early Learning Development Standards Focus on Equity: Supporting All Young Learners Process for Development Overview of Early Learning Standards Implementation: Timeline and Next Steps

Addressing a Shared Challenge

Our Shared Challenge All Virginia children are capable of and deserve to enter school ready. Yet more than 37, 000 children entered kindergarten without equitable opportunity to fulfill their potential. * • 44% of Virginia kindergarteners started school without having the opportunity to have built key literacy, math, and social-emotional skills. • Most concerning is our system failed to prepare 55% of children from economically disadvantaged families and 66% of children with special needs. • To provide equitable opportunity, Virginia must address early childhood access, quality and governance issues. For example, the lack of a uniform oversight and regulatory framework has made it difficult for educators to collaborate, for communities to strengthen their local systems and for the state to align supports like professional development and instructional tools. *Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) Results - 2019

Updating Virginia’s Early Learning Standards To improve school readiness, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) has developed unified early learning and development standards that support birth to five programs to: • • Understand child development and provide developmentally-appropriate practice, Use quality instructional tools and engage in aligned professional development, Individualize care and instruction to meet the needs of all learners, and Promote holistic and intentional learning and development at each age and stage. Historical Context: • VDOE uses Foundation Blocks for Early Childhood Learning (2013) for four year olds. • Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) uses Milestones of Child Development (2013) for child care for ages birth-five. • Head Start and Early Head Start use the Early Learning Outcomes Framework for ages birth-five • Virginia received federal funding through the Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five (PDG B 5) to produce comprehensive, birth to five early learning and development standards.

Guiding Principles The VDOE, along with key project partners and diverse stakeholders, sought to develop comprehensive birth-to-five learning standards that: 1. Reflect cultural responsiveness; 2. Are pragmatic for families and varied early childhood care and education programs including child care, Head Start and school-based preschool; 3. Have a special emphasis on equity, specifically caring for and educating the most vulnerable populations of children; and 4. Are in alignment with Virginia’s kindergarten standards of learning (SOLs).

Focus on Equity

A Closer Look at Vulnerable Populations Data on early childhood access, quality and kindergarten readiness suggests significant disparities in resources and support for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations. ● ● Children do not have equitable opportunities to enter school ready in all 4 critical learning domains: ○ 56% of children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds relative to 44% overall ○ 66% of children with disabilities ○ 64% of Dual Language Learner students ○ 58% of Hispanic, 53% of Black and 49% of American Indian/Alaska Native students Only 45% of low-income children attend preschool as compared to 65% of higher-income peers. African-American and Latino children are far less likely to attend preschool. 10. 25 preschoolers were expelled for every 1, 000 enrolled, a rate 6. 88 x higher than K-12 (Gilliam, 2005, National Preschool Expulsion Paper). In VA, the average removal rate was 13 children for every 1, 000 (Granja, Smith, Nguyen, & Grifa, 2018). Early childhood programs are twice as likely as kindergarten classrooms to be highly segregated (i. e. , have all black or Latino children).

Focusing on Equity In line with the VDOE, the Office of Early Childhood pursues equity in both outcomes and through process. In developing these standards, we recognized the following: • • • To ensure every child receives a high-quality early childhood education, regardless of background or zip code, racism and discrimination in our schools and communities must be confronted. Eliminating racial and socioeconomic inequities requires system-wide changes to attitudes, practices, teaching pedagogy, instructional materials, curricula and standards. Virginia’s new early learning standards - both in their development process and in their final form - must reflect our most important values, including embracing diversity and inclusion as strengths.

Increasing Equity through Process Increasing equity for all learners has been central to the process of developing Virginia’s Birth-to-Five Early Learning and Development Standards. To ensure the new guidelines are culturally responsive, inclusive, and pragmatic, the VDOE: • Engaged a broad set of stakeholders (representing diversity in race/ethnicity, geography, provider type and other relevant demographics) in the full developmental process; • Elicited additional input on cultural responsiveness and inclusivity from a subgroup of stakeholders who more closely represent and serve the full diversity of Virginia’s children, particularly the most vulnerable populations, and all sectors of the childcare workforce; and • Revised the draft based on feedback from the public with a questionnaire that focused on each of the three above noted targets.

Increasing Equity in Outcomes Ultimately, the Virginia’s ELDS increase equity by ensuring equitable learning and development outcomes for all children, regardless of race, gender, zip code, ability, socioeconomic status, or languages spoken at home. Virginia’s ELDS are designed to help eradicate inequities and disparities in child outcomes by: • • • Providing actionable, culturally and developmentally appropriate guidance to all educators, especially infant and toddler teachers, on what children should know and be able to do; Equipping teachers to provide individualized care and instruction that addresses the needs of ALL learners, regardless of teacher preparation or specialization; Prompting wider utilization of developmental screening and early intervention supports; Enabling collaboration across programs and ages, thereby helping to increase the capacity of the early childhood workforce and strengthening program quality at scale; and Empowering all educators to more deeply engage families in supporting their children’s learning and development.

Process for Development

Expertise and Engagement Standards development was led by a team of early learning experts from Virginia Commonwealth University and James Madison University, and involved multiple workgroups. • • • Expert specializations included early childhood education, early child development, social-emotional development, early literacy/reading education, early intervention/early childhood special education, and English language learning. Representatives from 10 institutes of higher education and over 75 experts contributed to their development. Workgroup members participated in each phase of the draft development process over the full span of this project. Forums for workgroup engagement included face-to-face and virtual sessions (5 meetings), survey, and small-group consultations. VDOE also engaged interagency content specialists and the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) team on literacy, self-regulation, mathematics and social skills development.

Spring Public Comment - General Feedback Virginia’s ELDS were posted for public review and feedback twice. ● The ELDS were posted from May 20, 2020 - June 17, 2020 on the Virgina Early Childhood Foundation Website, along with a survey. ● Over 250 responses were completed on the survey. Key Feedback ● ● ● Cultural context and inclusive practice should be well reflected throughout the document Some standards may not be understood across all audiences Some skills seemed to be developmentally inappropriate/misplaced in developmental continuum Changes Made ● ● Included more explicit language within each area regarding cultural responsiveness and inclusion Lessened academic language or clarified with plain speak language where necessary Added more examples at the indicator level Adjusted standards across developmental progression; better aligned standards to kindergarten expectations (K SOLs) and VKRP assessment

Fall Public Comment - Focus on Equity After revisions from the first public review, the core team revised and updated a fourth and final draft of the ELDS. The second public comment focused on cultural competency and equity. ● The final draft was posted from October 1 -22, 2020 with a questionnaire. ● Reviewers were asked to examine how well cultural competency and responsiveness, inclusivity and accessibility were represented in the document. Key Feedback ● ● Importance of cultural competency culturally responsive practice should be well articulated early on in the document Some examples at the indicator used non-inclusive language Changes Made ● ● ● Included special section on culturally responsive practice and education equity in front matter, in alignment with Virginia’s established expectations Added key equity terms in front matter and glossary Added more inclusive language in examples

Overview of Early Learning Standards

Structure of the Early Learning Standards Early Learning and Development Standards are unique in their 1) focus on all aspects of learning and development, and 2) explicit overlap in age-bands and skill markers. See Attachment for detail. • • • Areas of Development: 1. Foundations of Play and Learning, 2. Social and Emotional Development, 3. Communication, Language and Literacy, 4. Physical Development and Health, and 5. Cognitive Development (Science, Social Science: People, Community and Culture, Mathematics and Fine Arts). Each area of development has sub-areas and focus areas, with standards at indicator level. Standards follow an intentionally overlapping birth-five developmental continuum: Early Infancy Later Infancy Early Toddler Later Toddler Early Preschool Later Preschool 0 -8 months 6 -14 months 12 -24 months 22 -36 months 34 -48 months 44 -60 months

Implementation: Timeline and Next Steps

Preparing for Implementation in 20212022 The ELDS will be the early learning guidelines for birth-five programs beginning with the 2021 -2022 school year. • Between now and then, the Office of Early Childhood will continue working to develop tools and resources that support teachers with implementation and serving Virginia’s most vulnerable kids. Nov 20’ BOE first review of ELDS Jan 21’ BOE final review of ELDS Feb 21’ Formatting and packaging completed March 21’ ELDS posted with intro training materials Pilot of ELDS in Alexandria Family Day Homes Fall 21’ ELDS begin use in Birth 5 classrooms

Using the New Guidelines - Fall 2021 and Beyond Supporting appropriate use of the ELDS will require ongoing training and information for the diverse set of programs and educators that will use the guidelines. To support ongoing use, the VDOE will: • • Provide webinars and trainings, Develop new instructional resources, Review current instructional resources for alignment and make revisions where needed, and Continue work with experts in the field on supports for specific populations, such as multilingual learners.

Attachments and Appendices • • • Attachment A- Virginia’s Birth to Five ELD Standards Document Appendix I- Engagement Lists Appendix II- Foundational Resource

Appendix I: Engagement Lists Project Leadership Core Team (Contractor) Yaoying Xu, Virginia Commonwealth University (Co-Principal Investigator) Joan Rhodes, Virginia Commonwealth University (Co-Principal Investigator) Deana Buck, Partnership for People Disabilities, Virginia Commonwealth University Irene Carney, Project Manager Teresa Harris, James Madison University Virginia Department of Education Erin Carroll, Director, Office of Early Childhood Jenna Conway, Chief School Readiness Officer, Division of School Readiness Ann Partee, Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Pre-Doctoral State Policy Fellow, Office of Early Childhood Tamilah Richardson, Associate Director, Office of Early Childhood Cheryl Strobel, Associate Director of Early Childhood, Retired Early Learning and Development Standards Work Groups (*Chair) Approaches to Play and Learning *Teresa Harris, Early, Elementary and Reading Education, James Madison University Pat Kennedy, Young Children’s Program, James Madison University Holly Mc. Cartney, Early, Elementary and Reading Education, James Madison University Maryam Sharifian, Early, Elementary and Reading Education, James Madison University

Social and Emotional Development *Sandy Wilberger, VDOE Training and Technical Assistance Center (T/TAC), Virginia Commonwealth University Bonnie Grifa, Partnership for People with Disabilities, Virginia Commonwealth University Sara Miller, Education and Special Education, Longwood University Christine Spence, Counseling and Special Education, Virginia Commonwealth University Communication, Language and Literacy Development *Christine Schull, Early Childhood Development, Northern Virginia Community College Christan Coogle, Early Childhood Special Education, George Mason University Leslie La. Croix , College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University Mira Williams, Education Foundations and Exceptionalities, James Madison University Physical Development and Health *Deana Buck, Partnership for People with Disabilities, Virginia Commonwealth University Teresa Harris, Early, Elementary and Reading Education, James Madison University Belinda Hooper, Department of Child Care, John Tyler Community College Jessica Lee, Occupational Therapy, Virginia Commonwealth University Cognitive Development *Meg Pienkowski, Smart Beginnings of Greater Richmond Irene Carney, ELDS Project Manager Kim Gregory, Early Childhood Development, Virginia Western Community College Kathy Larue, Early Childhood Education, J Sargeant Reynolds Community College Misti Mueller, Teaching and Learning, Virginia Commonwealth University

Project Participants Early Learning and Development Standards Stakeholders (*Cultural Responsive and Inclusivity Subgroup Members) *Maritsa Alger, Norfolk Public Schools (Retired), Norfolk, VA Adria Bader, Leaf. Spring Schools, Richmond, VA *Chanel Bea, Peter Paul Development Center, Richmond, VA *El’Tanya Brown, Kinder. Jam Founder, GMU Ph. D Candidate Susan Brown, Family Services Manager, Parent Child Development Corporation Carol Clarke, Smart Beginnings, Fredericksburg, VA Terry Clouthier, Cultural Resource Director, Pamunkey Indian Tribe *Jessica Costa, Virginia Department of Education, Richmond, VA Rosalind Cutchins, The Children’s Center, Suffolk, VA Yesenia De. La. Cruz, Total Action for Progress, Roanoke, VA Jennifer Edelen, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Vienna, VA Navine Fortune, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA Shikee Franklin, Hampton Roads Community Action Program, Inc. , Newport News, VA Bonnie Graham, New River Community College, Dublin, VA Phillip Hawkins, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, VA Dawn Hendricks, Virginia Department of Education, Richmond, VA Cori Hill, Partnership for People with Disabilities, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA *Dorothy Hugee, Resource Early Childhood Special Education Teacher, Fairfax County Schools Gail Johnson, Leaf. Spring Schools, Richmond, VA Arlene Kasper, Virginia Department of Social Services, Richmond, VA Wendy Lipscomb, Blessed Sacrament Huguenot High School, Powhatan, VA Khrisna Leyva, Family and Community Engagement Manager, Alexandria City Public Schools Anita Mc. Ginty, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA Cheryl Mormon, Virginia Alliance of Family Child Care Associations, Richmond, VA Bergen Nelson, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Richmond, VA Myra Sawyers, Virginia Child Care Association, Glen Allen, VA Christine Schull, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria, VA *Kim Sopko, Instructor, George Mason University Katie Squibb, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, Richmond, VA *Bweikia Steen, Associate Professor, George Mason University Amy Stutt, Child Development Resources, Norge, VA Cecilia Suarez, Creative Learning School, Alexandria, VA *Lisa Terry, Early Intervention Professional Development Consultant, VCU, Virginia Early Intervention Professional Development Center *Lelia Tynes, Retired Birth-3 Coordinator, Norfolk, VA Jessica Whittaker, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA Kyra Wooley, Norfolk Public Schools, Norfolk, VA

VDOE Interdisciplinary Reviewers Michael Bolling, Assistant Superintendent of Learning and Innovation Samantha Hollins, Assistant Superintendent, Department of Special Education and Student Services Dawn Hendricks, Early Childhood Special Education Coordinator Mark Allan, Associate Director Pre-K Programs Christine Harris, Director, Office of Humanities Jessica Costa, Specialist for English Learner Instruction Brandi Mc. Cracken, Elementary History and Social Science Specialist Carmen Kurec, Elementary English/Reading Specialist Debra Delozier, Mathematics Specialist Anne Peterson, Science Coordinator UVA-CASTL/VKRP Content Experts Literacy Anita Mc. Ginty Mathematics Jessica Whitaker Social Emotional Development, with a focus on Self-regulation and Social Skills Ann Partee and Amanda Williford

Appendix II: Foundational Resources The following resources informed the development of Virginia’s Early Learning Development Standards as key foundational guidelines: ● ● ● VDSS Milestones of Child Development (http: //va. gapitc. org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/03/Milestones_Revised 2014. pdf) VDOE Foundation Blocks for Early Learning (http: //www. doe. virginia. gov/earlychildhood/curriculum/foundation-blocks. pdf) Kindergarten Standards of Learning (SOLs) (http: //www. doe. virginia. gov/testing/index. shtml) Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) (https: //vkrponline. org/) Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework, Ages Birth to Five (https: //eclkc. ohs. acf. hhs. gov/sites/default/files/pdf/elof-ohs-framework. pdf) NAEYC Position Statement on Early Learning Standards (https: //www. naeyc. org/sites/default/files/globallyshared/downloads/PDFs/resources/position-statements/position_statement. pdf)