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Dear Early Childhood Educators, For many children, transitioning to kindergarten is the moment they have been waiting for – “going to the big school.” For many parents, this transition is met with mixed emotions including excitement and apprehension over the fact that their child is growing up. A smooth transition for teachers and school administrators requires preparation during the summer, as well as information and communication. When completed by early childhood teachers, the attached tool provides a ‘snapshot’ of a child’s learning experiences to a receiving school’s administrators and teachers as they prepare for kindergartners coming in the fall. Please complete the tool during the months of April or May for each child going to kindergarten. In order to maintain consistency in the measure, please complete the assessment individually using the following guidelines: Social/Emotional: This section provides some basic information about a child to a kindergarten teacher prior to school starting. Items 1, 3, and 4 may be completed by the pre-K teacher; items 2 and 5 should be completed through a conversation with the individual child. Cognitive Development: In this portion of the tool, please record the number of letters, shapes and colors (as opposed to the actual letters, shapes, colors) a child correctly identifies using the following guidelines: 1. Uppercase Letter/Lower Case Letter Recognition – Write only upper case letters in random order on a sheet of paper. Ask the child to state the letter names and then record the number of letters correctly identified. Repeat same process with lower case letters. 2. Colors – Display the 8 basic colors listed and ask the child to point to and state each color. 3. Shapes – Display a square, circle, triangle, and rectangle. Ask the child to point to and state each shape. 4. Numbers – In random order, display number cards 0-9. Ask child to name each number. 5. Counting – Ask: “How high can you count?” Record the highest number a child recites in the correct order. For instance, if a child counts 1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9, the teacher would record 6. “Favorites” section: This section is completed by the teacher and child together through a conversation. This personal information may be used by the kindergarten teacher to ease a child’s nervousness during the early days of kindergarten. Drawing/Writing (on the back): This section should be completed by the child independently. Teacher Notes: Please share any information about a child’s learning that would be helpful to the receiving teacher. See page 2 of this letter for more special notes on completing the assessment. We thank all the local school systems in our region who have shared this tool with their schools! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Alysia Davis, Smart Beginnings Coordinator, at davis4am@jmu.edu or 540-568-8968. Thank you!
2 Special Notes for Completing Assessment: Please share this information with parents and request their signature (see bottom right corner). Encourage parents to register their child now for kindergarten if they have not already done so.
Record the receiving school’s name (see bottom right corner). If parents are unsure of which school their child will attend, they should contact the corresponding school system’s office for assistance: Page County – 540-843-2834 Harrisonburg City – 540-432-0492 Rockingham County - 540-433-2458 Shenandoah County – 540-459-6728 Augusta County – 540-245-5100 Staunton City – 540-332-3920 Waynesboro City – 540-946-4600
Early childhood providers, not individual parents, should gather completed forms and mail at one time to the receiving schools by June 1st. Forms going to Harrisonburg City Schools, Augusta County Schools, Staunton City Schools, or Waynesboro City should be mailed directly to the following individuals:
Sharon Shuttle
Andrea Riegel
Dr. Jelisa Wolfe
Ann Miller
Harrisonburg City Schools 101 N. Main Street, 4th Floor Harrisonburg, VA 22802
Augusta County Schools 6 John Lewis Hwy Fishersville, VA 22939
Staunton City Schools P. O. Box 900 Staunton, VA 24402
Waynesboro City Schools 301 Pine Avenue Waynesboro, VA 22980
Teachers should also fill out the assessment summary sheet. The summary sheet will give Smart Beginnings a snapshot of students’ kindergarten readiness in our region. Please return the summary sheet to Smart Beginnings by June 1st. If you have any questions, you may direct them to Alysia Davis at 540-568-8968 or davis4am@jmu.edu. Summary sheets may be mailed, emailed or faxed: Smart Beginnings MSC 9008 Harrisonburg, VA 22807 Fax: 540-568-6409 davis4am@jmu.edu