The Merit School teachers were recently recognized for their participation with The University of Virginia (UVA) Center for Advanced Study in Teaching and Learning (CASTL) and the Curry School of Education which piloted the first private pre-school assessment with the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP).
Charles Leopold, CEO shares, “We are committed to providing the highest quality programs for the children and families we serve and delighted to have been able to assist with this important pilot program. Our partnership with UVA, who are leaders in education research, has allowed us to develop cutting-edge programs that support children and their development so they have the strongest foundation when they start school.”
The pilot was instrumental in expanding the assessment of children entering kindergarten in Virginia Public Schools beyond the Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening (PALS) to include school readiness domains of math, social skills, and self-regulation. Research has shown that skills in these areas are indicators of future achievement in both school and life. Data shows that 34% of children in the Commonwealth arrive at kindergarten unprepared in one or more critical learning domains in Literacy, Math, Self-Regulation and Social Skills.
Wanda Weaver, Center for Advanced Study of Teaching & Learning at UVA commented, “Our VKRP Team is grateful to the numerous Merit School directors, teachers, and parents who supported this important work. Our goal is to create math assessments that teachers across the Commonwealth can use to track student’s growth over time – from the beginning of pre-k to the end of kindergarten. The data from these assessments will also yield information on areas where students need more support from their teachers and families.”