News - Project LASER

Quarterly Report March 15, 2010

Project LASER’s Coach Mentors continue to assist teachers at program centers in the third year. Rachael Eddins, the Senior Coach Mentor, trained in Speech Pathology, helps to identify young children who may have speech and language challenges. They are then referred to Julie Samec, the LASER contracted Speech Pathologist for evaluation. Yvonne Kuhn has over twenty years teaching and administrative experience. Nicole Williams has much experience as a school administrator to bring to our centers. Gladys Jenkins is the Project LASER teacher substitute and assists the Coach Mentors in the classrooms. Timothy Kilpatrick, the Executive Director, and Dr. Maria Adeigbola, the Project Director, complete the Project LASER team. Early Reading First (ERF) is a U.S. Department of Education three-year grant to prepare early childhood teachers to increase the literacy skills of preschoolers for better transition to Kindergarten.

Assessments are conducted by RMC Research Corporation. Test results help guide project staff to assist teachers with planning emergent literacy activities for whole group, small group and individualized instruction during year 3 to increase children’s outcomes. The PALS-PreK assesses alphabet knowledge, book and print knowledge, phonological awareness skills, and knowledge of nursery rhymes. A total of 85 four year old children in ten Project LASER classroomswere assessed on alphabet knowledge in December 2009. The assessment results were reported to Project LASER by RMC on January 5. The average number of upper case letters identified increased meeting our annual goal. RMC returned the first two weeks in March to again assess alphabet knowledge and track children’s progress. Results of these assessments will be shared with classroom teachers to provide additional supports for children that need them. Center directors received training in conducting the Early Language and Literacy Classroom Observation (ELLCO) Checklist in December to better able support teachers in creating literacy-rich classrooms.

Coach Mentors conduct monthly Parent Events at each center that include hands-on literacy activities, book give-aways, and guest speakers. Topics include creating a literacy-rich environment at home, using print in the neighborhood, reading to your child, and transitioning to kindergarten. LASER classrooms recently participated in Black History Month activities and Read Across America, which encourages children to keep journals of books they have read at home. Dr. Seuss’ birthday was celebrated the first week in March with Project staff dressing as the Cat in the Hat, Thing 1 and 2, reading Dr. Seuss’ stories, and even preparing our favorite--green eggs and ham. All LASER children received hats and packets of literacy-related materials including math/science books. Successfully transitioning children into Kindergarten is a major program focus. Kindergarten teachers are invited from local elementary schools and the Kids Community Charter School to discuss skills children need to do well in Kindergarten and what parents need to do to help their children prepare during preschool.

In February, Project LASER asked families of the children in our classrooms to complete the LASER Family Satisfaction Survey 2010. The response was wonderful. Almost half of families took time from their busy schedules to complete it. 96% of those families reported that they were highly or somewhat satisfied with our program and staff and felt their child had benefited from Project LASER! This has made our team very happy.

Project LASER staff joins our parent organization, The Committee for Academic Excellence (CAE), in welcoming the new Corporate Trainer, Elaine Padron.

Please be a regular visitor to our website at www.cae-laser.net for future updates, parent resources and links, lesson plans, and the monthly Project LASER newsletter. Our calendar will keep you informed of what’s going on monthly at our centers. You can contact us at 813.689.6360 if you need further information or have questions about Project LASER.

Quarterly Report December 15, 2009

Early Reading First (ERF) is a U.S. Department of Education three-year grant to prepare teachers to increase the literacy skills of preschoolers for better transition to Kindergarten. This is the third year for Project LASER and the Coach Mentors have brought their unique skills to assist the teachers at the Project LASER centers. Senior Coach Mentor Rachael Eddins, who has trained in Speech Pathology, helps to identify young children who may have speech and language challenges. A child who needs to be screened for Speech and Language is then referred to Julie Samec, the LASER contracted Speech Pathologist, for an evaluation. Yvonne Kuhn has over twenty years teaching experience including administrative experience and works well with parents. Judy Bayless brings twenty years teaching experience in early childhood curriculum and instruction to our program. Nicole Williams has much experience in school administration and is a good resource for the centers. Gladys Jenkins is the Project LASER teacher substitute and assists the Coach Mentors in the classrooms. The Project LASER team is headed by Timothy Kilpatrick, Executive Director, and Dr. Maria Adeigbola, Project Director.

Project LASER continues to show positive results after the first two years of program implementation. Pre assessments for this year were conducted by RMC Research Corporation from September 14 to October 2, 2009. Those results help to guide the Project Director and Coach Mentors in assisting teachers plan emergent literacy activities for whole group, small group and individualized instruction through year 3 to improve children’s outcomes. A measure for evaluating overall effectiveness is the percentage of preschool students scoring average and above on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III). The PALS-PreK assesses alphabet knowledge, book and print knowledge, phonological awareness skills, and knowledge of nursery rhymes.

A total of 128 children in ten Project LASER classrooms were assessed from September 14 through October 2, 2009. Assessment results were shared with Project LASER by RMC on October 16. The average number of upper case letters identified by all children in our program exceeded program expectations. Significantly, most students who are eligible for kindergarten have already achieved targeted goals for the year. RMC returned on November 16 and 17 to assess any students that enrolled after the first round of assessments were completed. Progress Monitoring of upper and lower case alphabet knowledge was conducted November 30 through December 8, 2009 to continue to track children’s progress in letter knowledge. Those results will be shared with Project LASER coaches and the classroom teachers.

Monthly Parent Events are coordinated by the Coach Mentors with directors and teachers at each center consisting of hands-on literacy activities, book give-aways, and guest speakers. Themes have included going to the Public Library, Alphabet Knowledge, providing a literacy-rich home environment and reading to your child. All theme related literacy activities are available to parents on a CD. A major focus of LASER is successfully transitioning children to Kindergarten next year. Kindergarten and first grade teachers from local schools have been invited to discuss skills that children need in Kindergarten and what parents need to do to help their children prepare during preschool. Tours of Kindergarten classrooms will also be scheduled.

Professional Development for Project LASER was conducted internally at the CAE. All teachers have successfully completed the Early Literacy Training (ELT) classes on Scientifically-Based Reading Research (SBRR). A Scholastic Overview Training was held on October 22, 2009 for new LASER teachers and offered as a review to all of our participating teachers.

Quarterly Report September 15, 2009

Year 3 of Project LASER has officially begun. Project Administration, Coach Mentors and staff along with teachers, owners and directors of the five participating centers celebrated on September 3 with an evening of games, gifts, and food held at Chuck E. Cheese “where an adult can be a kid”. Early Reading First (ERF) is a U.S. Department of Education three-year grant to prepare teachers to increase the literacy skills of preschoolers for better transition to Kindergarten. Speeches by LASER Administrators cheered on the great work already accomplished and stressed the importance of increasing children’s outcomes and meeting project goals in the upcoming year.

The Project LASER team is headed by Timothy Kilpatrick, Executive Director, and Dr. Maria Adeigbola, Project Director. This year the Coach Mentors, in addition to their responsibilities of providing professional development and supports to the teachers, have brought their unique skills into their role. Senior Coach Mentor Rachael Eddins, trained in Speech Pathology, will help in identifying children who may have speech and language challenges and implementing strategies for improvements. Children in Project LASER who need screenings for Speech and Language issues are referred to Julie Samec, the LASER contracted Speech Pathologist, for evaluation. Yvonne Kuhn and Nicole Williams have much administrative experience and have also worked extensively with parents, which is an important focus of LASER this year. Judy Bayless has over twenty years teaching experience in early childhood curriculum and instruction. She is an effective resource for the teachers. Gladys Jenkins is a substitute when teachers are at trainings and assists the Coach Mentors in the classrooms.

LASER staff was invited to the Early Reading First Summer Institute held June 15 through June 17 in Atlanta, GA at the Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel. Presenter topics and sessions included: kindergarten transitioning, family connections, and coaching strategies based on research in emergent literacy. The Project Director and Senior Coach Mentor attended the 2009 U.S. Department of Education Reading Institute held at the Convention Center in Cincinnati, Ohio July 14 to July 17 that focused on expanding scientifically based reading research into the classrooms. Major early childhood educators gave presentations on current research outcomes, strategies for increasing oral language abilities, techniques for mentoring and coaching teachers, and improving bilingual instruction. Department of Education speakers also provided an overview of President Obama’s stimulus package for future early childhood education initiatives.

Project LASER is showing positive results after the first two years of implementation. End of the year post assessments were conducted by RMC Research Corporation from April 27 through May 8, 2009. In addition to the PALS-PreK, which assesses alphabet knowledge and phonological awareness skills, another measure for evaluating overall effectiveness is the percentage of preschool students scoring average and above on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III). A total of 136 children in ten Project LASER classrooms were assessed. Assessment results were shared with Project LASER by RMC on June 19. The results for Year 2 showed gains. The average number of upper case letters identified by all children was 21.6. And most significantly: 84 percent of students who are eligible for kindergarten achieved a Standard Score of 85 or higher in May. That means most of the LASER children who entered Kindergarten this year were prepared and ready to learn. Project LASER will be following up on a sample of those children in various kindergarten classrooms this year to see how they do. Results will guide the Project Director and Coach Mentors in helping teachers plan emergent literacy activities for whole group, small group and individualized instruction through year 3 for even better outcomes.

Professional Development for Project LASER has been conducted internally at the CAE by the Education Department headed by Corporate Trainer Barbara Heaton. All teachers have completed the Early Literacy Training (ELT) classes on Scientifically-based Reading Research (SBRR) and Scholastic Curriculum Trainings. A Scholastic Overview Training is scheduled for October 22, 2009 as a refresher for LASER teachers.

Please be a regular visitor to our website at www.cae-laser.net for future updates, parent resources and links, lesson plans, and the monthly Project LASER newsletter. Our calendar will keep you informed of what’s going on monthly at our centers. You can contact us at 813.689.6360 if you need further information or have questions about Project LASER.