PreK-3rd Initiatives in Illinois:
The New Schools Project
Chris Maxwell, Director
Erikson Institute
Chicago, IL
Presentation Agenda
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PreK-3rd as Reform:
Why? What?
Erikson Institute’s New
Schools Project
Lessons Learned from the
Ground Level: What
Administrative Actions
Matter Most?
Discussion
Mrs. Jones is a new administrator who just took over as
principal of Wildwood Academy. Her teaching background is in
secondary English. Wildwood serves 420 children, PreK-8th
grade. Many of the children entering the early grades are new
residents of the city and from low-income family backgrounds.
Teachers are stopping by to “bend” Mrs. Jones’ ear:
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A 2nd grade teacher complains that all PreK and Kindergarten must do
is play - - - “Don’t those teachers know we have standards to meet
here?”
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The 4th grade teacher requests to have her old PreK job back. As
she notes, “The 4th grade teacher was so weak our last principal
shifted her to PreK and bumped me up to 4th.”
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The kindergarten teachers share the student learning portfolios they
keep. “These show how much progress our children really do make
even though it doesn’t always show up on the district assessments.”
Are these situations that actually arise for school administrators?
What questions, or tensions, do they bring up for a principal, like
Mrs. Jones, who wants to build a high quality PreK-3rd program?
PreK-3 as Reform: Why?
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Educational outcomes and disparities
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PreK important, but benefits may fade (BrooksGunn, 2003)
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Multiple years of quality primary education make a
difference, but often lacking: Achievement gaps
increase (Reynolds, et al, 2010; Stuhlman & Pianta,
2009)
New knowledge about foundational learning
(Dickinson, 2006)
PreK-3 as Reform: What?
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High Quality Teaching, Learning,
Assessment Aligned from PreK
through 3rd Grade
Informed by Knowledge of Early
Learning and Development:
 Relationships
 Active, Interactive
 Social, Emotional, Physical,
and Intellectual
 Flexible
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Partnerships with Families
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Collaboration and Continuous
Learning Among Staff
What Value Does PreK-3 Add?
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Respects PreK-3rd as
unique segment of the
educational continuum
Bridges the Best of Early
Childhood Education and
Elementary Education (K12)
School administrators as
Leaders for Change and
Knowledgeable Brokers of
Culture
Erikson Institute
New Schools
Project
•
Attitudes
•
Knowledge
•
Skills and
Practices
Teacher
High Quality PreK-3 Classrooms
•Family and cultural connections
•Caring, inclusive community
•Developmentally supportive practices
•Intellectually challenging, content – area
teaching
•Assessments
guides
HealthyasSocial
Development
Child
PreK- 3 Professional Learning
Community
•Motivation, Perceived
Competence to Learn
•Healthy Social
Development
•High Academic
Achievement
Professional Development + Collaborative Coaching + Consultation
Strong School Leadership for PreK-3
ISAT Scores - Reading
3rd
On average,
graders in NSP
schools gained more
than 7 percentage
points in reading on
the 2010 ISAT
compared with a CPS
district average of 2
points.
Mean ISAT Reading Achievement
% Meets or Exceeds
ISAT Scores - Math
On average, 3rd
graders in NSP
schools gained 11
percentage points in
mathematics on the
2010 ISAT,
compared with a CPS
district average of 4
points.
Mean ISAT Mathematics Achievement
% Meets or Exceeds
Other Erikson PreK-3rd Initiatives
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Exploring PreK-3rd
Grade: A Dialogue on
Educational Reform
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AUSL PreK-3rd Task
Force
EME Innovations: PreK3rd Professional
Development Initiative
Funded by i3
School Leadership For PreK-3rd:
What Principal Actions Matter Most?
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A re-imagined vision for PreK-3rd grade:
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Internalize the research-based rationale for
PreK-3rd
Build up from early childhood rather than
push down from the higher grades
PreK – 3rd Leadership
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Invest in Resources to
Support Active &
Interactive Learning
and Social Competence
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People First
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Staff
PreK-3rd Professional
Development
Materials and
Experiences
PreK – 3rd Leadership
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Know developmentally-meaningful curriculum
and instruction: Use available tools to
support supervision of high quality PreK-3rd
practices
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Build assessment systems for PreK-3rd that
reflect the learning continuum
Recognize and help span the gray areas between
“developmentally appropriate practice” and
“rigor”
PreK – 3rd Leadership
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Establish Time,
Structures, Skills, and
Expectations for
Collaboration
 Teacher Teams
 Support Team
 Family Outreach (e.g.,
Home Visits) and
Collaboration
PreK – 3rd Leadership
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Set Policies and
Practices that
Promote Continuity,
Flexibility, and
Variability Among
Children
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Looping
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Multi-Age Groupings
PreK – 3rd Leadership
Protect the long-term view:
And then the kids came - - - then the
standards - - then NCLB . . . . ???
Funding for the New Schools Project Provided By:
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Chicago Public Schools
Joyce Foundation
McCormick Foundation
Perkins Hunter Foundation Fund at The Chicago
Community Trust.
Polk Bros Foundation
W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
PreK-3 Resources:
 Foundation for Child Development: www.fcd-us.org
 New America Foundation:
http://earlyed.newamerica.net
More Info on NSP and
PreK-3rd Forum
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NSP Website:
http://www.erikson.edu/newschools
PreK-3rd Forum (under ‘Events’):
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Watch Video of Presentations
Download White Paper on PreK-3rd Grade Reform
Download Speaker Notes
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http://www.erikson.edu/newschools/nspevents/nsppre
k3.aspx