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create an image(Verb), and A representation of anything upon a canvas by painting.

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create an image(Verb), and A representation of anything upon a canvas by painting.

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As a learner, I need time to reflect, visuals and discussions about a topic--especially with peers.

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As a learner, I need time to reflect, visuals and discussions about a topic--especially with peers.

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All of California's families deserve high-quality child care options for their children. For the families of ...
Read More

Despite efforts to include children with disabilities in subsidized child care, less than 2% of children under 5 in subsidized child care in California have a disability.

SRI Education, the California Department of Education, and the California Department of Social Services are working to better understand and improve the inclusion of children with disabilities in subsidized child care in our state through a 4-year grant from the Administration for Children and Families.

Learn more about the study and check back for information and updates on findings and recommendations.

Download the Flyer [PDF] to learn more about our study.

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All of California's families deserve high-quality child care options for their children. For the families of ... Read More Despite efforts to include children with disabilities in subsidized child care, less than 2% of children under 5 in subsidized child care in California have a disability.

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Designing Inclusive Preschools: Discover. Data. Design. Deliver Session Four

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Initializing Pear Deck

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NAEYC Position Statement: Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education 

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NAEYC Position Statement: Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education 

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“What if I was to tell you that a game of peek-a-boo could change the world?” asks seven-year-old Molly Wright, one of the youngest-ever TED speakers. Breaking down the research-backed ways parents and caregivers can support children’s healthy brain development, Wright highlights the benefits of play on lifelong learning, behavior and well-being, sharing effective strategies to help all kids thrive by the age of five. She’s joined onstage by one-year-old Ari and his dad, Amarjot, who help illustrate her big ideas about brain science. (This TED Talk was produced in collaboration with Minderoo Foundation as an educational tool for parents and caregivers around the world and is supported by UNICEF.)

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Policy Agenda: Start with Equity: From the Early Years to the Early Grades 

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Policy Agenda: Start with Equity: From the Early Years to the Early Grades 

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Article: New Federal Data Shows Black Preschoolers Still Disciplined at Far Higher Rates than Whites 

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Article: New Federal Data Shows Black Preschoolers Still Disciplined at Far Higher Rates than Whites 

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Years after the Obama administration attempted to end deep racial disparities in preschool discipline, new federal data shows that Black youngsters are still more likely to be suspended or expelled than their White classmates.

This post explains the data as well as why past efforts to change the dynamic have not worked and what kind of action the authors - Shantel Meek and Evandra Catherine - want to see the incoming Biden administration undertake. They write: "Taking a colorblind approach to racism has never worked to address inequity; it has only ever increased it."

Meek (@ShantelMeek) is the founding director of the Children's Equity Project and a professor of practice at Arizona State University who was a senior policy adviser for early childhood development in the Obama administration. Catherine (@evcatherine) is a postdoctoral research scholar at the Children's Equity Project at Arizona State University.

By Shantel Meek and Evandra Catherine

In 2005, Yale researchers shocked the nation's conscience with the findings from the first major study on preschool expulsions. Astonishingly, researchers found that young children were expelled at a rate far higher than their older peers in K-12. Worse yet, Black children were much more likely to be pushed out.

Nearly a decade later, in 2014, the U.S. Department of Education released federal data on preschool suspension and expulsion for the first time. Little had changed. As in 2005, there were stark racial disparities in preschool discipline, with Black children being about three times as likely to be suspended from preschool than their White peers.

And now here we are, in 2020. Any guesses as to what the latest round of preschool discipline data released from the Department of Education last month shows?

While there have been some encouraging signs - the rate of suspensions and expulsions fell sharply between the 2015-2016 and the 2017-2018 school years - the same stubborn, stark racial disparities remain. Black boys make up 18 percent of the male preschool enrollment, but 41 percent of male preschool suspensions, and Black girls make up 19 percent of female preschool enrollment, but account for an astounding 53 percent of female suspensions.

Why haven't we been able to change this shameful pattern? It's not that we haven't tried.

One of us, Shantel Meek, served as a policy adviser for early childhood in the Obama administration and was the lead architect behind the first joint federal agency policy statement calling for an end to preschool exclusionary discipline in 2014. That same year, President Barack Obama launched the My Brother's Keeper Initiative and included eliminating exclusionary discipline for young children as a key policy goal.

We followed these calls with greater funding for children's mental health, guidance to states on better supporting teachers in the classroom, and by addressing exclusionary discipline in regulation. The issue caught the attention of Congress, which, for the first time, moved to require states to publicly report their policies on expulsion of young children from child-care settings.

A wave of state and local policy change followed. Nineteen states have passed legislation limiting exclusionary discipline in public pre-K settings since 2014, and nearly every state has implemented some executive action to address the issue in child-care settings, though most have been modest.

It's clear that all of this action still wasn't enough.

Our progress was set back even further by the harmful actions and rhetoric of the Trump administration, which rescinded Obama-era discipline guidance and repeatedly attempted to cut and limit the scope of the Federal Office for Civil Rights at the Education Department.

But this problem existed before President Trump, and it will exist long after he is gone if we do not drop the colorblind approach to discipline. The many states that have passed reforms focused on limiting exclusionary discipline did so without ever mentioning race or disparity. The plethora of social-emotional interventions implemented in schools do not specifically address racism and the disparities it causes.

So here we are. Not surprisingly, the rates have dropped, but the disparities remain, untouched by policy or practice.

With a new administration coming into office in a couple of months, President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris have the opportunity to push past what we did under Obama so that the next time this data is released in two years, we are not in the same place, again wringing our hands at the stubbornness of the racial disparities.

That work starts with data. You can't address a problem if you can't see it. Programs that receive public funds should be required to track, report and address disparities in discipline and should get adequate resources to do so. Every preschool program, public or private, should continuously collect and analyze disaggregated data on discipline and use that data to inform internal policies, teacher training and support for children.

Teacher training on this issue must also be more targeted. Today, too many professional development opportunities for teachers aimed at improving positive discipline strategies focus exclusively on classroom management, managing challenging behavior and promoting social-emotional development. They ignore the key fact, supported by a wealth of research, that our implicit biases affect the ways that we perceive behavior.

Every teacher, teacher's aide, administrator and systems leader in the early-childhood field must have training and ongoing coaching on systemic racism, specifically on identifying bias and using tangible skills to address it. The battle to rid ourselves of bias is probably unwinnable, but the battle to prevent it from manifesting into actions that can hurt children is certainly winnable and worthy of our time and investment.

Taking a colorblind approach to racism has never worked to address inequity; it has only ever increased it. This is no different. Talking about racial equity is not enough. It must be reflected in policy, in practice and in budgets. Even in our bitterly divided nation, surely we can agree that children fresh out of diapers shouldn't be kicked out of school, especially because of the color of their skin.

Maya Angelou once said: "Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." It's been 15 years since the first data on preschool suspension was released. We've known better for a long time, and it's long past time to do better.

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Perspective | New federal data shows Black preschoolers still disciplined at far higher rates than Whites

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The authors call for new federal action to end the stubborn pattern.

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Designing Inclusive Preschools: Discover. Data. Design. Deliver Session Three

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Let Them Thrive Webinar Presented by, Author Katie Novak

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Let Them Thrive Webinar Presented by, Author Katie Novak

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Let Them Thrive webinar with author Katie Novak

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Book: What Really Works with Universally Design for Learning 

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Book: What Really Works with Universally Design for Learning 

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UDL: An Introduction From Pizza Parlor to the World

SECTION I. WHAT REALLY WORKS WITH CONTENT AREAS

Ruby L. Owiny, Anne Brawand, Janet Josephson

Chapter 1: UDL and Literacy: Providing Options for Language Success

Sarah A. Nagro, Jaime True Daley, Cathy R. Gaspard

Chapter 2: UDL and Mathematics: Making Algebra Accessible

Chapter 3: UDL and Social Studies: Applying Project-Based Learning

Barbara Serianni, Carolyn Rethwisch

Chapter 4: UDL and Science: Integrating STEM

Rebecca M. Ashton, Tamarah M. Ashton

Chapter 5: UDL and the Performing Arts: Inspiring Creativity

SECTION II. WHAT REALLY WORKS WITH BEHAVIOR

Jennifer D. Walker, Victoria Russell

Chapter 6: UDL and Executive Functioning: Unlocking the Capacity for Learning

Brittany L. Hott, Kathleen M. Randolph, Amelia Martin

Chapter 7: UDL and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports: Making Classroom Management Positive

Caitlyn A. Bukaty, Lauren A. Delisio

Chapter 8: UDL and Adaptive Behavior: Addressing Conceptual, Social, and Practical Skills

SECTION III. WHAT REALLY WORKS WITH INSTRUCTION

Wendy W. Murawski, Leila Ansari Ricci

Chapter 9: UDL and Co-Teaching: Establishing the Perfect Union

Lauren A. Delisio, Caitlyn A. Bukaty

Chapter 10: UDL and Assistive Technology: Utilizing Technology Beyond Mere Accessibility

Kimberly M. Johnson, Kyena E. Cornelius

Chapter 11: UDL and Implementation Fidelity: Providing Consistency Within Flexibility

SECTION IV. WHAT REALLY WORKS WITH SPECIAL POPULATIONS

Chapter 12: UDL for Advancement: Unblocking the Traffic Jam

Chapter 13: UDL and Early Childhood: Giving Young Children Choices Too

Kimberly M. Johnson, Kyena E. Cornelius

Chapter 14: UDL and Students With Emotional/Behavioral Disorders: Promoting Self-Managers

SECTION V. WHAT REALLY WORKS BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

Chapter 15: UDL and Administrators: Leading the Charge

Chapter 16. UDL and Home School Collaboration: Partnering for Empowerment

Chapter 17: UDL and Policy: Considering Legal Implications

Wendy W. Murawski, Katie Novak

Chapter 18: UDL and Change: Taking Baby Steps to Success

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What Really Works With Universal Design for Learning

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UDL: An Introduction From Pizza Parlor to the World SECTION I. WHAT REALLY WORKS WITH CONTENT AREAS Ruby L. Owiny, Anne Brawand, Janet Josephson Chapter 1: UDL and Literacy: Providing Options for Language Success Sarah A. Nagro, Jaime True Daley, Cathy R.

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Book: Let Them Thrive: A Playbook for Helping Your Child Succeed in School and in Life 

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Book: Let Them Thrive: A Playbook for Helping Your Child Succeed in School and in Life 

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Katie Novak, Ed.D.

2017

About the Book

Bestselling author Katie Novak is back with an engaging UDL primer for parents that shows them how to support and advocate for learning opportunities that leverage their children's strengths and interests.

Let Them Thrive will show you the most effective strategies for supporting your children based on research and best practices in the learning sciences. Why is this important? Because, as Katie writes in her introduction, "as parents, we can use all the help we can get. Parenting is exhausting, and sometimes thankless work, but it's also the most rewarding job in the world when we get things right. Although our kids are wildly different from one another, we are all working toward the same goal: children who grow up to be happy and successful adults."

Let Them Thrive by Katie Novak is available in paperback ($14.99, 170 pages, ISBN: 978-1930583160) and EPUB ($14.99, ISBN: 978-1930583177) format.
Table of Contents
Let Them Thrive Playlist

Praise for Let Them Thrive

In an engaging and conversational voice, Novak shares valuable tips about how parents can become informed partners in the effort to improve education for all learners, especially those with disabilities. She offers specific classroom-based examples of how teachers can customize their lessons to meet individual students' needs. Throughout the book, she makes the case for why parents and caregivers are so important to this process.

Paula F. Goldberg, Executive Director and Co-Founder, PACER Center

Universal design for learning (UDL) is an elegant framework for addressing the quite natural differences among learners in curriculum design. In this highly readable book, Katie Novak lays out UDL principles and practices in a plainspoken and useful way, showing how inclusive education really works in the classroom and at home.

David Flink, Cofounder and Chief Empowerment Officer of Eye to Eye National, and author of Thinking Differently: An Inspiring Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities

More praise for the book
About the Author

Katie Novak, EdD, is an internationally renowned education consultant, author, graduate instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and a former Assistant Superintendent of Schools in Massachusetts. Katie has more than 19 years of experience in teaching and administration, an earned doctorate in curriculum and teaching, and ten published books, including the best-selling education book, .

You can find her online at katienovakudl.com and on Twitter at @KatieNovakUDL.

More from Katie Novak

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: Different Kids, Different Sizes

Chapter 2: Turning On the Brain So It Can Learn

Chapter 3: The Value of Variability

Chapter 4: Why Choice Isn't Just Nice, It's Necessary

Chapter 5: What Teachers Are Up Against

Chapter 6: UDL in Action

Chapter 7: Raise Those Expectations

Chapter 8: A Call to Action

Endnotes

For Further Information

Index

More Praise for Let Them Thrive

While Universal Design for Learning has changed how many educators think about teaching students with disabilities, Let Them Thrive brings UDL's inclusive message to a broader, general-education audience. This is a very useful tool for helping parents understand UDL and explain it to educators, administrators and policymakers.

Ricki Sabia, parent advocate and Founder, National UDL Task Force

An often engaging guide ... the book's bright metaphors, sample lessons, and anecdotes will make the UDL method appealing, even to readers with no teaching experience.

Kirkus Reviews

More from CAST Publishing

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Let Them Thrive: A Playbook for Helping Your Child Succeed in School and in Life - CAST

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Katie Novak, Ed.D. 2017 Bestselling author Katie Novak is back with an engaging UDL primer for parents that shows them how to support and advocate for learning opportunities that leverage their children's strengths and interests. Let Them Thrive will show you the most effective strategies for supporting your children based on research and best practices in the learning sciences.

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School breaks are a great time to get kids talking, start with these fun conversation starters.

Holiday breaks from school can be long for both kids and adults. Take advantage of the time away from school to get your family talking about fun, new topics. Try some of the following conversation starters during car rides, meal time or a walk to the park.

If you could design your own school, what would it look like?

What are the most interesting things about you?

What's one of your favorite jokes?

What's your first memory?

If we all lived in a zoo, what animals would we be?

If you were to create a country, what would the name of the country be? What would the rules be? What would the national flag look like?

What do you think your parents need to remember about being a kid?

What would be the most fun birthday celebration you could have?

What would you do if you could fly for a day?

If you could be a character from any book, what character would you be?

If you could invite any person to dinner, who would you invite?

If you could take a trip anywhere, where would you go?

If you were a superhero, what would your power be and what would you be called?

If you could go into the world of one of your favorite books, which would you choose?

If our family were the characters from (your kid's favorite book, movie, etc.), which characters would we all be?

If you were a great inventor, what would you invent?

Where in the world would you most like to live?

If you were a teacher, what would you teach? A certain class? A certain grade?

When you are an adult, how will you parent differently?

If you won $1000, what would you do with it?

Who do you think is the richest person in the world?

If you were granted three wishes, what would they be?

Name three things you are grateful for.

What are you most proud of?

What scares you and why?

What's your favorite family tradition?

What do you think the meaning of life is?

What is the best dream you've ever had

Which of the four seasons do you like best and why?

What sound really bothers you?

What do you do when you're feeling really angry?

Who is the funniest person you know? Why?

What do you do when you see someone being teased?

Describe yourself in five words.

What conversation starters do you use with kids?
Find 156 fun games in our newest Game Guide.

Includes everything from games you can play in a small space with no materials, to games you can play in a big group during recess. Search for games by age level, time/space/materials available, and by the life skills used (like problem solving or teamwork).

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34 Conversation Starters for Your Family | Playworks

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School breaks are a great time to get kids talking, start with these fun conversation starters. Holiday breaks from school can be long for both kids and adults. Take advantage of the time away from school to get your family talking about fun, new topics.

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African American Parents and Effective Parent Involvement Programs

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African American Parents and Effective Parent Involvement Programs

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Bloomz: The Parent Communication App for Schools and Teachers 

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Bloomz: The Parent Communication App for Schools and Teachers 

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School districts often end up using five to ten different classroom communication apps across all their schools. Schools might be using one tool for msging, and a completely different tool for taking attendance or healthcheck forms. When a school or district uses too many communication apps, things get lost in the shuffle. Overloaded parents often miss important messages leading to further disengagement and frustration.

Bloomz is the unified parent teacher communication app that increases parental engagement by connecting everyone with one easy-to-use tool. Bloomz handles ALL district, school, teacher, parent, and student communication. Bloomz is designed to be the complete unified solution, bringing together teachers, parents and students.

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Parent Teacher Communication App with PBIS Behavior Management

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Bloomz makes it easy for teachers to securely share photos and classroom updates, reach parents through messaging, and coordinate events.

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Article: What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

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Article: What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

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In Brief
Universal Design for Learning is:

1. A way to teach diverse learners in the same classroom, without "dumbing down" the curriculum or stressing out the teacher!

2. A set of strategies for teaching that allows teachers to recognize students differing background knowledge, skills, and learning styles

For instance, in a unit on "Daily Life in Ancient Egypt" - it is possible for all students to be studying the same topic, but some students may show their learning through a role play, others through a mural, and still others through a written report. It is understood that some students will understand the material at a conceptually basic level, while other may learn more advanced concepts such as the impact of Ancient Egyptian society on our culture today, the differences between monarchies, theocracies, and democracies, and so on.
In Detail
Universal design for learning (UDL) is, I believe, the concept that can help make inclusive education work. The concept of Universal Design comes from the field of architecture. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, architects were exploring the concept of accessibility to accommodate people with physical disabilities. Retrofitting buildings with ramps or elevators was not cost-effective, nor was there the space or time to do it effectively. Because building entrances are an important feature of the design, architects want to provide a specific experience for those entering the building. Architects began to push for buildings to be designed so that all people could enter a structure at the same point, if not in the same way. The term "universal design" was thus coined by Ronald Mace (Universal Design Institute, 2011), an architect who challenged traditional architects to better attend to the needs of all people rather than design for only the able-bodied. As architects began to do so, they discovered that many people benefited from the additional options. In the Vancouver airport, for example, people can enter the building using an elevator, an escalator, a ramp, or stairs. All points of entry converge in the same place. Although a ramp was originally meant for people with disabilities to use, it also serves parents with strollers, travellers with rollerboard suitcases, and many others who, at times, cannot negotiate a flight of steps.
This concept is key to the transfer of universal design to education. The question is: "How do we provide accessibility to the learning, the curriculum, and the social life of the classroom for diverse learners without taking away from the experience of those who can step up onto the curb?" In other words, how do we diversify our curriculum, instruction, and assessment in such a way that students who have previously not been able to participate can be actively involved without "dumbing down" the curriculum? What are the "ramps" we can use in education?

In Brief
Inclusion means all students are educated together, in a general education classroom, and are a part of the social and academic life of the classroom. This is not just about children with disabilities. There are many children from good families, who are academically successful, who feel like they "have no friends," or "no one likes/notices them." Social inclusion is about having every child feel good about who they are, and feel a sense of belonging and connection. SImilarly, there are children who have friends, but are disengaged from the learning in school because it is boring, or uses techniques such as textbooks and written, rote responses that are not how the student learns best.

It is important that we all recognize that diversity does not refer only to children with exceptional needs, nor does it refer only to ethnic, racial, or linguistic diversity. Diversity encompasses all children - their diverse personalities, ethnicities, languages, family structures, and learning styles all contribute to the makeup of a diverse classroom. Even a group of so-called typical learners from Caucasian, middle-class families are diverse in how they learn best - for instance, some will learn better visually, some auditorally, some students need to "do it" for it to make sense. Teaching to diversity requires that teachers create a learning climate in the classroom and devise activities that allow ALL children to feel safe, respected, and valued for what they have to contribute.
Social inclusion or exclusion has become a rising concern around the world. Research studies they have conducted note the rising number of Canadian children living in poverty, suffering from hunger, and excluded from opportunities to fully realize their potential. Social inclusion recognizes the need that all people have for belonging, for acceptance, and for opportunities to participate fully and equally in economic, social, cultural and political institutions.In education, at all levels, the terms inclusion and inclusive are used increasingly to mean that all students have the opportunity to learn and grow in learning communities alongside their peers. This again, is not just about the disadvantaged. There are many children from good families, who are academically successful, who feel like they "have no friends," or "no one likes/notices them." Social inclusion is about having every child feel good about who they are, and feel a sense of belonging and connection.
Academic inclusion in education is an approach to educating all students together. Under the inclusion model, all students are placed in their home schools, and services are delivered in the classrooms and in the school. The classroom teacher takes primary responsibility for all students enrolled in the class. Inclusion is not just about children with special needs; it is concerned with all students accessing their right to the very best education regardless of race, religion, language, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, or ability/disability. There are many learners who feel like the current textbased, rote learning promoted in many schools is not meeting their needs - because it doesn't interest them, challenge them, or allow them to learn in the way they learn best.
Inclusion means making the learning in our schools engaging, respectful, collaborative, and challenging for all learners. UDL is the way to make this happen...
In Brief:
The Three Block Model of UDL gives teachers the strategies to meet the social and academic needs of diverse learners.

1. It teaches teachers how to build a positive classroom climate where bullying is ended. Yes, ended.

2. It also gives teachers a way to plan, instruct, and assess diverse learners together in one classroom - without stressing out the teachers (I was one for 16 years, I know)!

3. It prepares students for the real working/professional world - nowadays, any rote, repetitive work is done by a computer. Professionals must be able to problem solve, take initiative, work with diverse others, select appropriate skills and strategies for the job, and respond through multi-media. For instance, an architect, software designer, advertising/marketing specialist, etc. must be able to visualize and symbolically represent, and use sophisticated software programs - reading a novel and answering rote questions will not prepare a student for these careers, or for engineering, science, or even teaching!

In Detail:
The Three Block Model of UDL expands the technological emphasis of UDL into a framework encompassing the cornerstones of inclusive education: developing community / social and emotional well-being, instructional practice, and systematic strategies and structures. It synthesizes decades of research on inclusive educational practice and connects theory to practice in a practical, classroom based framework to create a learning environment that values diversity, promotes cooperation amongst students, and provides multiple means of learning. Research has indicated that the Three Block Model of UDL has significant, positive impacts on students' self-concept, respect for diverse others, inclusivity, classroom climate, and social and academic engagement, while reducing social and academic exclusion, and aggressive behaviour. Teachers employing the model indicated it allowed them to include students with disabilities in their classrooms more successfully, improved the interactions between students, and reduced behavioral challenges, making assessment and instruction easier and more enjoyable. As a result of these findings, researchers from the Canadian Research Centre for Inclusive Education have adopted the Three Block Model as a framework for promoting inclusive education.
Research shows students in inclusive classrooms:

1. Have improved leadership, empathy and communication skills.

2. Do as well or better than students who are not in inclusive classrooms on literacy and numeracy exams, state standardized exams, and college entrance rates.

3. Students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms have superior literacy and numeracy skills, general knowledge, and do better in LIFE SKILLS - peer modelling plays a critical role!

Research shows teachers who use the Three Block Model of UDL:

1. Improve students active engagement - that is, students stay focused and actively involved in their learning more than twice the time they do in regular classes!

2. Improve students' academic achievement and critical thinking.

3. Improve classroom and school climate.

4. Improve students self-concept/self-esteem, respect for others, willingness to be inclusive / work with others, leadership skills, and sense of belonging.

5. Decrease bullying/aggressive behaviors.

6. Are less stressed, and feel more capable of successfully educating diverse learners - i.e. "meeting all the needs."

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In Brief Universal Design for Learning is: A way to teach diverse learners in the same classroom, without "dumbing down" the curriculum or stressing out the teacher!

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Remind: Reach Students and Families Where They Are

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Remind: Reach Students and Families Where They Are

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Adoption and usage

Simple, effective, and surprisingly easy to use

With nearly 30 million users in 80% of US schools, the numbers speak for themselves: students, families, and educators love using Remind.

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Remind | Communication Platform for Education

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Remind is a communication platform that reaches students and families where they are and supports learning wherever it happens. Millions of educators, students, and parents use Remind to connect with the people and resources that help them teach and learn.

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ClassDojo: Bring Every Family into Your Classroom

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ClassDojo: Bring Every Family into Your Classroom

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ClassDojo helps teachers, parents, and students build amazing classroom communities.

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Project Appleseed: Reimagine Family Engagement

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Project Appleseed: Reimagine Family Engagement

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Project Appleseed | Engaging Family Involving Parents

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Enhance family engagement in public schools. Join our workshop to improve home learning, discipline, attendance, reading, and math skills! We support safe schools!

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National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

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National Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

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National Parent Teacher Association | National PTA

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National PTA comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of family engagement in schools.

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Translating MailChimp email campaigns using Translation Exchange

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Use real-time behavior data and AI to convert more customers with Mailchimp's marketing, automation & email marketing platform. Easy to use - start for free!

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Initializing Pear Deck

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Designing Inclusive Preschools: Discover. Data. Design. Deliver Session one

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Resources specific to equity: https://cainclusion.org/camap/resources-and-links/equity-anti-bias-and-anti-racism-resources/
Resources specific to UDL: https://cainclusion.org/camap/?s=Universal+Design+for+Learning

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Supporting Inclusive Early Learning provides current information and resources addressing inclusive practice, promotion of healthy social-emotional development, and prevention of challenging behavior in early childhood, after-school, and other education settings. Projects under the Supporting Inclusive Early Learning umbrella include Beginning Together: Caring for Children with Disabilities or Delays in Inclusive Settings; California MAP* to Inclusion & Belonging... * Making Access Possible; and the CA Teaching Pyramid.

Supporting Inclusive Early Learning team members are specialists in early intervention, mental health, early childhood special education, child development, research and evaluation, and include parents of children with disabilities. Team members have strong reputations as leaders in their respective areas.

Beginning Together and the MAP for Inclusion & Belonging projects are administered by WestEd and is sponsored by the California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division.

Individualized training and technical assistance is available from Supporting Inclusive Early Learning by contacting workingtogether@wested.org.

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Supporting Inclusive Early Learning:Working Together for Inclusion & Belonging

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Supporting Inclusive Early Learning provides current information and resources addressing inclusive practice, promotion of healthy social-emotional development, and prevention of challenging behavior in early childhood, after-school, and other education settings. Projects under the Supporting Inclusive Early Learning umbrella include Beginning Together: Caring for Children with Disabilities or Delays in Inclusive Settings; California MAP* to Inclusion & Belonging...

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Designing Inclusive Preschools: Discover. Data. Design. Deliver Session Two

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Initializing Pear Deck

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With an abundance of preschool teaching philosophies out there, you'll probably be left confused on what's the best choice for your child. In reality it comes down to a number of things in addition to the curriculum including cost, convenience, community, and location.

It would be wrong for me to say that play-based sits at the top of preschool curriculum leader board because every child is different. However, one thing is for sure, kids are kids! They're meant to have fun in the early years but that doesn't mean they can't pick up skills and knowledge at the same time.

We've spoken to Kids Konnect teachers across the Bay Area and have come up with these three awesome benefits as well as quick video interview:

Watch: What is a play-based curriculum?

3 benefits of play-based curriculum

1. Play-Based Curriculum Expands Intelligence

Research shows that when children engage all of their senses in learning tasks, they increase their ability to learn. Play-based curriculum engages all senses in learning. For example, children may hear stories and sing songs about farm animals, then collaborate with others playing imaginary games. Afterward, teachers may have them practice storytelling by talking about what they've learned, or practice math concepts like making patterns using plastic farm animals. By offering a play-based curriculum filled with STEM (STEAM) focused activities to encourage your little one to develop and grow in a friendly and interesting environment.

2. Children in Play-Based Environments Learn Problem Solving

Learning to ask questions, guess at answers and test those answers through trial and error is at the heart of both scientific labs and a preschooler's play. Children in play-based schooling are constantly making choices and guesses. They then have the chance to test those guesses and discover how to solve problems. They might try to stack up some blocks with a friend to see how tall their tower can go before tumbling, or mix colors of paint to discover how to make green for painting a tree.
Here are five great ways children can learn STEAM concepts at preschool.

3. Play Allows Children to Learn Emotional Literacy

One of the best ways to predict school success is to measure impulse control. Learning to take turns, work with other people, and wait is fostered extraordinarily well during play. As children are building with blocks, playing in the sand, or creating a painting together, they will learn how to talk about what they are doing, share their materials, and read the emotions of others. Children need to know how to get along with other adults and children. They need to be able to negotiate, compromise and resolve conflicts.

Play-based curriculum allows children to learn the skills they need in a structured environment with the help and supervision of an experienced teacher who knows how to take interests and experiences and turn them into learning moments.
Read more: How a play-based curriculum helps prepare your preschooler for structured learning

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What is a play-based curriculum? [video and blog]

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With an abundance of preschool teaching philosophies out there, you'll probably be left confused on what's the best choice for your child. In reality it comes down to a number of things in addition to the curriculum including cost, convenience, community, and location.

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

Reenvisioning the UDL Guidelines

Because the UDL Guidelines are meant to be informed by feedback from the field as well as new research, they have been updated several times in the past. We are in the process of updating the Guidelines once again.

This update will focus specifically on addressing systemic barriers that result in inequitable learning opportunities and outcomes. CAST aims to develop a transparent, inclusive, and community-driven process. If you are interested in collaborating and staying updated on our progress, we invite you to complete a brief survey.

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The UDL Guidelines are a tool used in the implementation of Universal Design for Learning, a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. Learn more about the Universal Design for Learning framework from CAST. The UDL Guidelines can be used by educators, curriculum developers, researchers, parents, and anyone else who wants to implement the UDL framework in a learning environment. These guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities.

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Childcare Education Institute: UDL in Early Learning 

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Childcare Education Institute: UDL in Early Learning 

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March 4, 2021

One focus of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is Engagement, or how learners are drawn to the work of learning. According to the research, children approach learning differently, preferring to work in different ways. For this reason, educators need to offer a variety of ways for learners to become engaged with materials and content. In early childhood education, that can look like this:

Offer children choices and promote independence. Within the lesson plan, project, or theme, children should be offered multiple ways to connect with the material they are exploring. Opportunities for choices include:

The learning center they want to explore

How long they spend engaged with materials

The art materials they want to use to create a work of art

Whether to play alone or with a group

How much support they need from adults

Involve children in the unit planning process. When educators employ project-based learning, they are essentially building the unit or theme with the children. These projects not only relate directly to the interests of the children in the group, they include many different opportunities for children to participate in the unit in different ways. CCEI has a course that explores project-based learning called CUR118: Outdoor STEAM Activities and Project-Based Learning that you can take to learn more.

Work with children to identify and set goals. This is a strategy to use with older children who can communicate with you about potential goals. However, it is never too young to talk with children about the skills you notice and the next steps they could take. You could have this conversation with a child who is showing signs of rolling from their tummy to their back. You could even talk to a child about the next steps they need to take as they practice walking. For older children, you might have a goal-setting conversation about shoe tying, expressing emotions safely, or climbing to the top of the playground structure. This practice helps children see their role in the learning process, encourages reflection, and builds confidence.

Introduce topics that are relevant to children’s lives. Consider culture, age, interests, and abilities when making decisions about topics to explore. Pay close attention to children and what is happening in their world to ensure topics are significant to the children. During the first snowstorm of the year, you might postpone what you had planned so that you might capture children’s interest and excitement about the snow.

Provide authentic experiences. Rather than just talking about recycling, create a recycling program. Rather than just talking about butterflies, plant a butterfly garden. Work to solve real problems and address real issues whenever possible.

Create a safe and predictable learning environment. Create a space that children can truly settle into. Follow a predictable schedule, provide advanced warnings of changes in the routine, and plan smooth transitions. You may want to create space for children to go to take time away from the large group and teach strategies so children have safe ways to express themselves to others. Encourage children to listen to one another and show respect when needs are communicated.

These are just a few ways that UDL can be adapted for an early learning environment.  Follow this link to read all of the UDL Guidelines on Engagement.

For the main article Universal Design for Learning, CLICK HERE

For the article Representation, CLICK HERE

For the article Action & Expression, CLICK HERE

For the article UDL with Adults, CLICK HERE

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March 2021 Newsletter - Universal Design for Learning: Engagement

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One focus of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is Engagement, or how learners are drawn to the work of learning. According to the research, children

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5 Examples of Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom 

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5 Examples of Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom 

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Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST)

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5 Examples of Universal Design for Learning in the Classroom

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Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to teaching aimed at meeting the needs of every student in a classroom. It can be helpful for all kids, including kids with learning and attention issues. But UDL takes careful planning by teachers. Here are just a few examples of how UDL can work in a classroom.

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Creating Antiracist Early Childhood Spaces

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Creating Antiracist Early Childhood Spaces

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Rosemarie Allen, Dorothy L. Shapland, Jen Neitzel, Iheoma U. Iruka

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Viewpoint. Creating Anti-Racist Early Childhood Spaces

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In this article, we outline the past and present along with strategies for creating anti-racist early childhood spaces.

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All Means All: A Look at Universal Design for Learning in Early Childhood Education 

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All Means All: A Look at Universal Design for Learning in Early Childhood Education 

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Some years ago, I studied for my early childhood education degree in a program that offered an opportunity for students to earn credits in general early childhood and early childhood special education coursework at the same time. I was excited about this program design because I was finally able to combine my prior work experiences and schooling in a way that would give me some credibility about teaching and caring for young learners with and without disabilities. One of the most valuable takeaways from my program was what I learned about using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in the early learning setting.

What Is Universal Design for Learning?

UDL is a framework developed by the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) that provides guidelines for the design and implementation of curriculum that makes it more accessible by students with disabilities[i]. The three UDL guiding principles of providing multiple means of representation, expression, and engagement are well aligned to the nine principles of developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)[ii]. For early learning programs that integrate UDL and DAP, the results are more inclusive learning environments for children. To understand the benefits of using UDL in an early learning setting, we should set a common understanding on the term inclusion.

To me, inclusion for young children is about creating environments in which all children feel invited to play and learn, try and fail, and love and be loved. Inclusion requires the use of a curriculum that is flexible enough to let the educator respond in ways that support the children as individual learners. Here are ways to use the three principles of UDL to make authentic inclusion a reality in your programs.

UDL Principle 1: Provide multiple means of engagement.

Give children choices that support their development of a sense of autonomy, empowerment, and accomplishment. An effective learning environment will invite children to conduct explorations, investigations, and experiments. It will also be reflective of the children's cultures, languages, and ways of knowing about the world. Learning materials should provoke creativity and confidence and prompt children to ask critical questions. Notice, these ways of engagement are not about the "stuff" of the environment; they are about the climate of the classroom and the feeling an ECE educator creates by the choices they make about the curriculum. This climate is one in which children with disabilities can feel like they belong and may be more motivated to participate.

UDL Principle 2: Provide multiple means of representation.

Means of representation is about the ways children make their learning visible. Some children may choose to tell the teacher about their play or their learning. Others may show the teacher a creation or a completed task. Each of these ways of representing what they know is valuable to children and should be welcome in the learning environment. It is also important for teachers to be open to discovering what the children know through these various means. Then, more importantly, to take action on what they know about the children's learning. This is where flexibility in the curriculum becomes critical. A teacher needs to be able to adapt to the children, offering more time to cover concepts or to learn more deeply about things children are interested in, or moving along sooner if children are not interested or demonstrate they've exhausted the learning on a topic. This practice of following the learning cadence created by the children can help children with disabilities not feel rushed through their learning or to feel like they are holding back the group.

UDL Principle 3: Provide multiple means of expression.

This principle is mostly associated with assessment practices. In an environment where children are allowed to express themselves in a variety of ways, teachers have multiple opportunities to observe the children, to see what they know, and to conduct authentic assessments of their learning. Pool and Hampshire (2020) say, "Authentic assessment provides a more complete picture of what the children know and how they apply knowledge to relevant, meaningful tasks."[iii] To successfully use this type of assessment, known as formative assessment, requires intentionality and planning. In this month's webinar, "Using the Formative Assessment Process to Include More Children," we will be discussing strategies that can be used to successfully use the formative assessment process to create more inclusive environments for young children with disabilities.

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All Means Each: A Look at Universal Design for Learning in Early Childhood Education - Teaching Strategies

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Some years ago, I studied for my early childhood education degree in a program that offered an opportunity for students to earn credits in general early childhood and early childhood special education coursework at the same time. I was excited about this program design because I was finally able to combine my prior work experiences [...]

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Video: UDL and Cultural Diverse Learners

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Video: UDL and Cultural Diverse Learners

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0:00 / 5:05•Watch full video

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UDL and Culturally Diverse Learners in ECE

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Video: Honoring and Empowering Our Learners with Andratesha Fritzgerald

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Video: Honoring and Empowering Our Learners with Andratesha Fritzgerald

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Honoring and Empowering our Learners with Andratesha Fritzgerald

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Point of Entry: The Preschool-to-Prison Pipeline

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Point of Entry: The Preschool-to-Prison Pipeline

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Definition

Stereotype threat is defined as a "socially premised psychological threat that arises when one is in a situation or doing something for which a negative stereotype about one's group applies" (Steele & Aronson, 1995). According to stereotype threat, members of a marginalized group acknowledge that a negative stereotype exists in reference to their group, and they demonstrate apprehension about confirming the negative stereotype by engaging in particular activities.

See the classic paper by Steele and Aronson (1995) that describes stereotype threat, Stereotype Threat and the Intellectual Test Performance of African Americans

Stereotype Threat Resources and Interventions

Stereotype threat significantly undermines the standardized test performance of women and African-Americans. Interventions can overcome the untoward effects of stereotype threat.

Beasley MA, Fischer MJ. Why they leave: The impact of stereotype threat on the attrition of women and minorities from science, math and engineering majors. Social Psychology of Education. 2012;15(4):427-448.

Cheryan S, Plaut VC, Davies PG, Steele CM. Ambient belonging: How stereotypical cues impact gender participation in computer science. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2009;97(6):1045-1060.

Dennehy TC, Ben‐Zeev A, Tanigawa N. 'Be prepared': An implemental mindset for alleviating social‐identity threat. British Journal of Social Psychology. 2014;53(3):585- 594.

Shapiro JR. Different groups, different threats: 306 A multi-threat approach to the experience of stereotype threats. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2011;37(4):464-480.

Shnabel N, Purdie-Vaughns V, Cook JE, Garcia J, Cohen GL. Demystifying values affirmation interventions writing about social belonging is a key to buffering against identity threat. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2013;39(5):663-676.

Steele, A Threat in the Air: How Stereotypes Shape Intellectual Identity and Performance.

Walton & Cohen, A Brief Social-belonging Intervention Improves Academic and Health Outcomes of Minority Students.

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office of the director scientific workforce diversity

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The Scientific Workforce Diversity (SWD) Office leads NIH's effort to diversify the national scientific workforce and expand recruitment and retention. We invite you on this journey to establish NIH as the national scientific workforce diversity leader by widening and deepening our ways of thinking and practice.

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Designing Inclusive Preschools: Discover. Data. Design. Deliver Session one

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Initializing Pear Deck

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The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children Written by Lisa Delpit

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The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People's Children Written by Lisa Delpit

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Walking Up the CA Teaching Pyramid: Tools to Support Children's Return

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Walking Up the CA Teaching Pyramid: Tools to Support Children's Return

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Walking Up the CA Teaching Pyramid: Tools to Support Children’s Return | Teaching Pyramid

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It Always Starts with YOU! Teacher Self-Reflection and Support:

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Redefining the Norm:  Early Childhood Anti-Bias Strategies Written by Ellen Wolpert

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Redefining the Norm:  Early Childhood Anti-Bias Strategies Written by Ellen Wolpert

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CAST: Top 5 UDL Tips for Reducing Stereotype Threat

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CAST: Top 5 UDL Tips for Reducing Stereotype Threat