DEL News

October 23, 2008
DEL seeks input on kindergarten readiness planning

OLYMPIA – The Department of Early Learning (DEL) is seeking input from parents, educators and other stakeholders on kindergarten readiness assessment options for Washington.

The 2008 Legislature directed DEL to work with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), in collaboration with Thrive by Five Washington, to study and make recommendations on the implementation of a kindergarten entry assessment process for Washington. A report with recommendations is due to the Governor and the Legislature on December 15.

A kindergarten assessment process is an organized way to learn what children know and are able to do when they enter kindergarten, and possibly other points in time. The assessment should be tied to specific, beneficial purposes, such as information for teachers and parents on a child’s development.

An online survey is available in English through Nov. 1 and in Spanish through Nov. 2 at www.del.wa.gov. For interested citizens who don’t have Internet access, they can provide input via phone by calling toll-free 1.866.482.4325 and pressing 0 on these days:.

  • Thursday, Oct. 23
  • Wednesday, Oct. 29
  • Thursday, Oct. 30

Phone lines will be open from 8 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m. on these days. Spanish speakers will be available to take calls.

Leaders of DEL, OSPI and Thrive in April signed a joint resolution that lays out four shared concepts about the principle of school readiness:
Ready Children + Ready Schools + Ready Parents and Families + Ready Communities.

###

The Washington State Department of Early Learning is a Governor’s Cabinet-level state agency created in 2006 to bring heightened visibility and focus to early learning and help all Washington children reach their full potential. DEL oversees the state-funded comprehensive preschool program, child care licensing, and other initiatives and programs to support parents as children’s first and most important teachers. For more information, visit the DEL Web site at www.del.wa.gov.

For more information:

DEL Communications Manager Amy Blondin
360.725.4919 (office)
360.878.0628 (cell)
amy.blondin@del.wa.gov