Challenge
Universal Preschool Colorado ensures that every child is eligible for half-day, state-funded, voluntary preschool in the year before kindergarten. While children arrive with varying degrees of learning and developmental readiness, the Denver Early Education Department wanted every child, in every classroom, to be supported with an integrated, comprehensive, and high-quality early education that gives them the time they need to develop and grow. The solution needed to include the following.
A way for teachers to easily assess and support the unique needs of each learner
A developmentally appropriate approach that is play-based, engaging, and effective
A solution that could be equitably implemented across every program district-wide
Solution
The Department adopted Teaching Strategies’ GOLD observational assessment tool to support teachers and students across the district.
With GOLD, observational assessment is an effortless, organic part of the teaching day. Teachers’ observations fuel ever-evolving insights into what skills a child is working on and what comes next.
Color-coded progressions guide teachers toward play-based activities that support each child’s development and learning, including those with disabilities.
GOLD was readily embraced by Head Start, preschool, and kindergarten teachers throughout Denver, who appreciated its in-depth guidance and transformational ease of use.
“It’s comprehensive. Everything that you need to do the assessment and to think about children holistically is right there in one package.”
– Elise Edwards, Early Education Coordinator, Denver Public Schools
Results
Observational assessment made easy
Equipped with the GOLD teacher app, early childhood educators were able to capture photos, videos, notes, and samples of children’s work throughout the school day, in authentic interactions that didn’t disrupt learning. Their observations created an instantaneous and ongoing feedback loop that helped them see how each child was progressing based on developmentally appropriate milestones.
“It’s watching, it’s an observation tool, and it’s pushing to the next level and knowing when to do that,” reported Jessica Mostert, a Denver area preschool teacher.
Developmental insights based on widely held expectations
Lucy Davis, Early Education Coordinator for Denver Public Schools, appreciated that “GOLD is a whole-child assessment based on research as it applies to children’s development.”
GOLD follows widely held developmental expectations for children from birth through third grade. These are represented by color-coded progressions that help teachers understand typical development and see each child’s developmental progress and learning across domains.
“I think that one of the most useful tools within Teaching Strategies School are the color bands, so I know what is developmentally appropriate for each age,” said Nicole Enomoto, Head Start Teacher. “I get to see exactly what level each student is at developmentally within a specific objective or a specific domain.”
Meeting children where they are
“Early childhood education is nothing like it was 10 years ago,” observed Wendy Pierce, a local elementary school principal. “Some kids are really ready, and some kids aren’t. And that’s why Teaching Strategies is so good, because it really does help teachers know what to do with those kids that aren’t and how they can boost them up to get them ready. And for those that are, what they can do with them to keep them moving forward.”
“When children are engaged, they’re learning, and when they’re learning, they’re developing,” reflected Mostert. “I like having a tool that helps me in a way that’s backed by research, that I’m not making up.”
The whole picture for whole-child development
When they were able to see a complete picture of each child’s development, teachers could identify which areas needed their focus and attention and where challenges in one domain—such as physical development—might be impacting growth in domains in another, such as literacy.
“One of the neatest things that I’ve seen in using Teaching Strategies GOLD is there was a student that was struggling in literacy. I thought, oh, I haven’t really looked at her physical development, and I noticed her going up the stairs. She couldn’t alternate feet, so we got the physical therapist to work with her, and we did some exercises here, and her literacy score increased in tandem,” said Jennifer Kats, kindergarten teacher.
“Things that we had looked at in the past were more like checklists,” said Edwards. “It wasn’t working for kids, and it was just so one-dimensional. The Teaching Strategies GOLD tool just took it to another level…I see the bigger picture of children’s growth.”
Equitable, individualized support for every child
“Denver Public Schools has worked very hard at becoming a premier urban district, and it starts with early childhood education,” said Davis. Newly equipped with GOLD, teachers across her district have reported feeling more mindful in their teaching and appreciate knowing what to do to support the individual needs of young learners.
“GOLD is the way of the future for pre-kindergarten for us,” said preschool teacher Steven Bertle. “For being new-century thinkers.”
Denver Public Schools
Denver, CO
• Half-day
• State-funded
• Voluntary preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds
