GSRP Outcome Report; Majority of students ready for kindergarten

Nearly 88 percent of the 455 children from Clare and Gladwin counties who attended Great Start Readiness Preschool (GSRP) or Head Start programs last school year, tested ready for kindergarten in all areas excluding mathematics, according to the recently released 2012-2013 GSRP Outcome Report. 

The report’s data is based on Teaching Strategies GOLD, an assessment system that measures the knowledge, skills, and behaviors that are most predictive of school success. Used by all GSRP and Head Start programs, Teaching Strategies GOLD aids teachers in being intentional in their instruction by accurately pinpointing where children are in their development and learning. Children are assessed individually through classroom observation and work samples. 

This comprehensive, on-going assessment tool is used three times each year to evaluate children’s progress in several areas of development, including social-emotional, physical, language, and cognitive. Teaching Strategies GOLD is research-based, and encompasses the developmental milestones from birth through kindergarten. 

“We are pleased to see the majority of students attending these preschool programs are meeting or exceeding the developmental expectations considered necessary to begin kindergarten,” said Kendra Curtiss-Tomaski, Early Childhood and Family Services Director at Clare-Gladwin RESD. “We will use the results of these assessments to shape the topics of our training and mentoring sessions for our preschool staff, as well as assist in identifying the subjects that need additional attention, such as math.” 

Administered by the Michigan Department of Education (MDE), the Great Start Readiness Program (GSRP) is Michigan’s state-funded preschool program for four-year-old children with factors which may place them at risk of educational failure. Head Start is a federally-funded program that promotes the school readiness of children ages 3-5 years old. 

Research on preschool programs indicates that children provided with a high-quality preschool experience show significant positive developmental differences when compared to children from the same backgrounds who did not attend a high-quality preschool program. Clare-Gladwin RESD connects eligible children in Clare and Gladwin counties with these free and low-cost preschool programs with the goal of all children being ready to succeed in school and in life.     

The Quality Preschool Partnership is still enrolling children in high quality preschool programs for the 2013-2014 school year. Please call 989-386-8075 for enrollment information. Eligible children must be 4-years-old by Nov. 1.