August 2014
Memo To: Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) Teaching Staff:
Your Oakland Schools GSRP Support team would like to welcome you to your 2014-15 GSRP classroom teaching experience!
The GSRP program is a state-funded preschool program for 4 year old children administered by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE).Oakland Schools provides oversight, support and guidance to Oakland County GSRP sites and classrooms. Our goal is to be transparent about what is expected in GSRP classrooms and what supports you can expect along the way. The GSRP Implementation Manual is the most important reference tool for following program and classroom requirements.
Here is a list of some pertinent requirements followed by a list of types of support you can expect from your Early Childhood Specialist throughout your GSRP experience in school year 2014-15.
Expectations for Teaching Staff (monitored by your Early Childhood Specialist):
1)GSRP teachers are expected to follow the requirements and guidance found in the implementation manual. Topics covered include: Teaching practices, Daily Routine, Challenging Behavior, Meals and Snacks, Curriculum, Use of Supplemental Curriculum/Specials, Child Assessment and Screening.
2)Teaching staff will be expected to work as a team to plan and implement the program and curriculum and to administer the required child screenings and assessments (ASQ, COR Advantage 1.5). It is expected that all GSRP teaching team members attend a COR Advantage 2-day professional development session. These are offered throughout the year through Oakland Schools and through HighScope.
3)GSRP requires a minimum of four family contacts per year, per child. These are preferably two home visits and two parent-teacher conferences. Home visits are planned to last at least 60 minutes exclusive of travel time. Parent-teacher conferences planned to last a minimum of 45 minutes and should be held in the fall and spring. Teaching staff use the parent report from the COR Advantage tool to discuss child progress. The GSRP Implementation manual provides detailed information about both home visits and parent-teacher conferences.
Support from Early Childhood Specialists:
- The role of Early Childhood Specialist is to support GSRP programs by administering a Program Quality Assessment (PQA), working with teaching teams to set goals for the year based on the PQA, and helping ensure teachers have what they need to meet their goals.
- Each classroom will be assigned an Early Childhood Specialist (ECS) who is approved by MDE and Oakland Schools. Teaching teams at your site may or may not have the same ECS.
- The ECS will make an initial visit to your classroom to get to know you and your program.
ECS and the Program Quality Assessment (PQA):
4)The ECS will observe your classroom and administer a Program Quality Assessment Form A (PQA) at the beginning and endof the program year. A partial or full PQA may be administered mid-year. PQA Form A is used for assessing and supporting individual classrooms.
5)During the PQA observation, the ECS will be taking extensive notes on what is happening in the classroom. PQA score decisions are based on what the ECS sees and hears on a particular day and are to be interpreted as a snap-shot to provide data for setting continuous improvement goals.
6)The ECS may set up a specific date, provide you with a date range, and/or make unannounced visits for the purpose of program assessment.
7)PQA Form B is an assessment for the program/agency and covers implementation of required program policies and procedures and will be administered mid-year.
ECS and Initial Goal Setting:
8)The ECS will work with teaching staff and administrators to set continuous improvement goals for school year 2014-15. The goals will be derived from the fall PQA baseline data and in some cases from the end-of-year PQA goals set in the spring of the previous school year.
9)The ECS will support you in devising action plans to support your improvement goals.Teaching teams will be expected to earnestly work toward achieving these goals and completing action steps. The ECS acts as a support for you as you work towards implementation of improvement plans.
10)The ECS and your teaching team will document goal setting, action steps, and progress. All parties will sign off on each part of the continuous improvement process throughout the school year.
11)The ECS will make every effort to invite and include your program administrator in the goal setting and feedback process.
ECS and Ongoing Support:
12)The ECS will check back to determine progress toward goals at a mid-year point or sooner if additional support is needed. The ECS will assist you in determining the status of goals and work with you to re-set these goals and action plans or set new goals depending on the status of the previously set goals.
13)The ECS will communicate with Oakland Schools’ GSRP consultants in order to better support your needs and answer any questions that may arise.
14)Throughout the school year the ECS will provide programs and teaching teams information about professional development offerings at Oakland Schools and beyond. These offerings are planned based on the overall PQA data in Oakland County.Oakland Schools offers a variety of professional development opportunities related to the HighScope curriculum and children’s social and emotional competence.
ECS and COR Advantage Support:
15)Oakland Schools and your Early Childhood Specialist will have access to your classroom COR Advantage data, monitor data input, and assess quality of the data throughout the school year. This is a major goal for all Oakland Schools’ ECS for school year 2014-15.
16)Your ECS will be a support and resource if you need assistance collecting and interpreting the COR Advantage data.
The above points are not meant to be exhaustive. There may be other experiences you encounter in your capacity as a GSRP teaching team member that are reflected in detail in the GSRP Implementation Manual. Your ECS will support you in navigating the Implementation Manual, the Michigan Early Childhood Standards of Quality for Pre-Kindergarten, and your chosen curriculum.
The Oakland Schools Consultants working with GSRP programs are listed below with contact information. Feel free to call or email if you have questions. Keep in mind that your ECS will be accessible to you for questions and concerns as soon as one is assigned to your program.
Oakland Schools GSRP Classroom Support Personnel:
Jennifer Champagne, Social and Emotional (Behavior) Consultant
248-209-2558
Christine Boisvert Maier, Preschool Consultant
248-209-2310
Krista Shambleau, Preschool Consultant
248-209-2557
Please sign and date this letter indicating that you have read it and have been provided with a copy for your records.
GSRP Program Location: ______
Name of Teacher: ______
Associate Teacher: ______
Date: ______
[Note: Administrators should keep a signed copy of this letter in GSRP personnel files.]