Valley View School District Included in Kindergarten Training Video

Submitted by Valley View School District 365U

Photo: Mary Ellen Wodzisz, project manager for the company commissioned to evaluate the effectiveness of the Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) initiative in Illinois, monitors a kindergarten guided reading group at Jonas Salk Elementary School for inclusion in a video that will be used to train teachers in other schools throughout the state.

Because of the “amazing work” going on in all 60 of its kindergarten classrooms, Valley View School District 365U will be included in a video that will help teachers throughout the state better understand the benefits of the recently-launched Kindergarten Individual Development Survey (KIDS) initiative in Illinois.

Designed by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to identify gaps in school readiness, provide information for more effective classroom instruction and support data-driven decision making on resource allocation, KIDS pilot programs were launched several years ago in roughly two dozen school districts, including VVSD. Based on the success of the pilot projects, ISBE last fall voted to require KIDS programs in all school districts.

VVSD’s pioneering efforts in aligning KIDS with its Common Core State Standards-based curriculum have drawn statewide attention, including last week’s video-shooting visit by Mary Ellen Wodzisz, KIDS Project Manager for WestEd, the California-based company commissioned by ISBE to study the relationship between KIDS the Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards, the Illinois Early Learning Standards-Kindergarten, and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).

“We highly value the KIDS assessment for its usefulness in providing data that is truly reflective of students’ development,” said Amanda Dykstra, VVSD’s Pre K-5 Math and Science Coordinator. “It allows us to continue our rigorous focus on Illinois Common Core Standards while also integrating other essential aspects of developmental learning that are so critical as young children learn and develop.”

Wodzisz both observed and took video of kindergarten students going about their normal day at Jonas Salk, Tibbott and B.J. Ward elementary schools, focusing on English Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics activities.

The footage shot in VVSD and several other school districts will be used in KIDS trainings to show successful implementation of the KIDS initiative. ISBE is currently considering a proposal to re-fine the KIDS reporting system by collecting school readiness data on 14 measures that cut across multiple domains including Language and Literacy Development, Cognitive Math Development, Social Emotional Development and Approaches to Learning.