Administration (Education
Leaders) Building a Strong PreK-3
System : What is my role?
INFORMATION FROM PRINCIPAL AND
LEADERSHIP INSTITUTES, MAKING A
DIFFERENCE INC.
LINDA SULLIVAN-DUDZIC,
T D U D Z I C @ M S N . CO M
DONNA GEARNS & KELLI LEAVELL
Building a System of Support
PK-3 Inventory Strengths
What we are already doing
What we would like to
do/Questions
Making a Difference Consulting Inc. (360) 394-4422 tdudzic@msn.com
Linda Sullivan-Dudzic, Donna K. Gearns, Kelli Leavell
Looking deeper at your own PreK-3 System.
Key Components of a PreK-3 System
 Alignment
 Effective systems and school organization
 Highly qualified staff and administration
 Engaging and well-rounded learning environments
that support the needs of the whole child
Based on information in Graves, B. (2006). PK-3: What Is It and How Do We
Know It Works? . New York: Foundation for Child Development.
Examples
Reallocating Resources as you go. . . .
Reduction In Title I & Special Education Services
Shared Resources at State and Local
Level
7
Kitsap Mental Health
RFPs for in-school
Title II
Private and nonprofit
Head Start and Title I
CSIP Plans
State and Regional
 Support statewide and regional PreK-3 efforts: take
to scale
 Provide a framework for quality PreK-3 instruction
 Inventory existing school district efforts, strength
based planning and next steps
 Provide the leadership and PD (based on the
information listed below) that school districts want
and need, to do this work

Making a Difference Inc. Principal and
Leadership Institutes
Superintendent and Central Office
 Recognizing the work and making PreK-3 part of the
district’s strategic plan to increase student
achievement.
Assistance provided with the following:
 Strategic planning for school and district turn around
 Maximizing resources and eliminating redundancies
 Mixed funding model
 Including your community agencies and resources
 School Board professional development and policy
implications
Making a Difference Inc. Principal and Leadership
Institutes
Alignment Considerations State, District
and School Planning
Sullivan-Dudzic, L., Gearns, D., & Leavell, K. (2010). Making a
Difference Consulting Inc.
What have we learned at the
national level?
*What does it take to do this work at the State,
District and School Level ?
 Leadership at all Levels
 Staff selection
 Pre-service/in-service training
 Consultation and coaching
 Staff evaluation
 Program evaluation
 Facilitative administrative supports
 Systems Intervention
Title I Report February 2011 from synthesis of implementation
research literature, NIRN www.fpg.unc.edu/-nirm
Professional Development that Builds
a Strong System of Support
13
Principal & Leader PreK-3 Institutes TOT
Principals and Instructional Leaders
Develop expertise in and lead the implementation of the
critical components of a quality PreK-3 system.
Making a Difference Inc. Principal and Leadership Institutes
Beyond Space
Jill Brenner, Kitsap Community Resources Head Start/ECEAP
PreK-3
PART OF YOUR SCHOOL AND OR DISTRICT
COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT
PLAN (CSIP)
How to use for CSIP planning
PreK-3
Data/Assessment
Growth?
How? What
worked? What
did not?
Plan
District/School
AYP and other
factors
What are the
tools, materials,
and PD you need
to do this work?
Getting Deeper into Instruction
19
What do we need to strengthen?
What are we learning from our
trend data and current research ?
Recovering Instructional Time
Are we teaching our administrators
and teachers how to problem solve?
At the systems level and at the
student level
“In far too many schools, at-risk kindergarteners and Ist
graders received no expert additional instruction.”
20
 Using Paraprofessionals (“Paraprofessional
assistance never accelerates reading progress enough
to remove the struggling reader label” )
 Using Computer-Based Instructional Programs
 “Overreliance on the core curriculum” –study on
Reading First (Connor, 2009)
What At-Risk Readers Need, Richard L. Allington, Educational Leadership/March 2011
Teachers and Support Personnel
What it takes to increase student achievement PreK-3
Making a Difference Inc. Principal and Leadership Institutes
Example: PreK-3 Learning
Walks
Teaching Teachers22to Problem Solve
Colleges and Universities
 Coursework and
practicum experience
specific to early
childhood (PreK-3) for
initial certificate and
renewal
 PreK-3 coursework for
Principal credentials,
project managers
credentials and renewed
administrative
credentials

Making a Difference Inc. Principal and Leadership Institutes
Celebrate and Publicize Your Success!
• Share the credit and acknowledge small efforts
• Public events to promote and encourage PreK-3
efforts
• Continue to learn from each other
Making a Difference Inc. tdudzic@msn.com