Question 2: Alignment-Early Education & K-12

Question 2: To make the most of programs for pre-school-aged children 
and their families, the draft Master Plan suggests various ways to 
align or coordinate the early education and K-12 sectors. System 
issues related to these suggestions include:

- Early childhood education professionals and K-3 educators may have 
different ideas regarding student performance and developmentally 
appropriate expectations. How can we create a shared understanding? 
What do a "standards-based curriculum" and "assessment" mean in 
school readiness programs?

- What needs to be done regarding current members of the early care 
and education workforce who are not credentialed or certified, when 
higher standards go into effect?

- Much of California's wealth of expertise in the field of early 
childhood education is outside the traditional public school arena. 
Under the proposed governance structure, how can we ensure that early 
childhood development programs continue to benefit from this 
expertise?

To see a summary of what's in the draft Plan, go to the first reply 
to this message, with the subject "Question 2:  Alignment-What's in 
the Plan?" This message also gives links to the draft Plan.

For selected online resources on this broad subject area, go to the 
Issue Page (part of the Briefing Book) on 
School Readiness.

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Thank you,

John Ford,
Moderator