Overview

Ready Schools is a broad-based, collaboratively designed, planned and implemented initiative that works to accelerate, focus and connect existing school improvement and early learning programs with parents and community, social sector, philanthropic, governmental and educational institutions to ensure early childhood success in school.

Ready Schools is an inclusive “footprint”, a construct that mobilizes and focuses resources and expertise within, across, and outside school districts to produce sustainable and widespread improvement in student learning and healthy child development. Operationally, it is a comprehensive, coordinated strategy that connects the school district, elementary schools, early childhood learning centers and families with community-based organizations in support of improved child well-being and increased student academic achievement.

Key Elements of The Ready Schools Program

The Ready Schools program is multifaceted and draws on the experience and expertise of those in the educational, governmental, philanthropic, social services and early childhood sectors with respect to:

• School Readiness and High Quality Early Learning

 Improves the quality of the Early Learning System through accreditation, professional development, quality rating, and curriculum development.

Links early learning centers with elementary schools to align curriculum, instructional practice, and teacher professional development to ensure children’s successful transition to elementary school as well as strengthen the engagement of parents.

Ensures that children start school with readiness skills.

• Transition From Home To School

Establishes strong learning partnerships between parents and teachers to ensure children’s successful transition to elementary school.

Connects elementary school teachers with their counterparts from early learning centers.
Works with schools to help faculties understand the culture, background and needs of their students.

• Engaging and Supporting Parents and Families

Embeds parent engagement within the teaching and learning context to create strong learning partnerships among early learning teachers, elementary school teachers and parents.

Facilitates parents’ access to critical services essential to child and family well-being. Develops school cultures that are “family friendly” and encourage parents to be active participants in students’ school lives.

• Establishment of Communities of Practice for Teachers, Administrators, Parents and Schools

Builds powerful job-embedded, collaborative, cross-grade, cross school/district professional development communities of practice where educators, parents and community members continually expand their understanding of child learning and development.

Creates the requisite structures, conditions, supports and knowledge for teachers and school system leaders to examine their practice to produce sustained levels of student achievement.
Builds principal, teacher and parent efficacy.

Helps teachers implement the school district’s curriculum using developmentally-appropriate strategies to maximize learning.

• Alignment of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

Aligns state standards, curriculum, instruction and assessment within and across grades from pre-kindergarten through elementary school.

Focuses the work of teachers on a set of research-based, high quality core pedagogical strategies, core knowledge of student learning, and the psychology of child development.

Infuses arts into the curriculum, recognizing that they can pique emotional engagement, spark children’s thinking and creativity, facilitate retention of information, and serve as a powerful catalyst for learning when integrated with other subject matter.

• Connecting Schools With Community Partners To Provide Services and Supports for Child Well-Being and Academic Progress

Secures, connects and focuses community, state and national expertise and resources to maximize children’s healthy growth, development and academic success.

Ensures that all children have access to basic services (health, oral health, early learning, after school) that are critical to child well-being.

Works to develop a Health Connect System to provide families with a medical-ready home and children with easy access to health and social services at all school sites.
Enhances the organization and coordination of services for all children; links practices, programs and resources to support children’s early success in school.

Develops metrics of child well-being for each school to provide a high quality accountable system to measure children’s access to basic services that are essential to children’s cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development as well as their success in school.

Measurement, Evaluation, and Documentation

• Measures improvements in children’s school readiness skills.
• Measures improvements in student learning.
• Measures improvements in school performance.
• Measures improvements in child well-being.
• Evaluates school, district and community support and engagement in Ready Schools.
• Documents and evaluates the work of school-based communities of practice (principals, teachers, parents).
• Documents implementation of Ready Schools.
• Produces a regular report on community progress toward stated goals.

Miami-Dade Public School Divisions and Departments

Early Childhood Programs
Curriculum, Instruction and School Improvement
Professional Development
Assessment and Accountability
Program Evaluation
Parent Academy
School Operations
School Principals and Teachers
Intergovernmental Affairs and Grants Administration

Miami-Dade County Partners

The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation
The Children’s Trust
Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe
Head Start
United Teachers of Dade
Miami-Dade Department of Health
United Way of Miami-Dade County
PTA

University Partners

University of Florida College of Education
University of Florida Lastinger Center for Learning
University of Miami College of Medicine
University of Miami College of Education
Florida International University College of Education

National Partners

W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Foundation for Child Development
National Association of Elementary School Principals
National School Reform Faculty
DCA of Boston