5.11
School Readiness Goals
School readiness goals are the expectations of children’s status and progress across various domains that will improve their readiness for kindergarten.
These domains include:
- Social and Emotional Development
- Approaches to Learning
- Language and Literacy
- Cognition and General Knowledge
- Physical Development and Health
“Shasta Head Start has established School Readiness Goals to help ensure that children are ready for school and families are ready to support their children’s learning. These goals will help children develop the skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for school and later learning in life. Together we will focus on achieving these goals by planning activities and individualizing for your child.”
School readiness goals were developed through the process of meeting with kindergarten teachers and principals from local schools, early childhood services, parents, and community assessments to determine the need for our children.
There are separate versions of the goals for preschool children and infants & toddlers.
Additionally, there are three different versions of the School Readiness Goals for Preschool Children based on how they are used:
- An Overview version (English/Spanish available) – used for agency planning
- A Family version (English/Spanish available) – this version is given to the families of preschool children at the first home visit and reintroduced at the second conference
- A Curriculum binder version (English only) – this version is kept in the Teacher’s curriculum binder
There is one version of the School Readiness Goals for Infant and Toddlers available:
- A Family Version (English/Spanish available) – this version is given to the families of infants & toddlers
Additional Information
- School readiness goals are used by Child Development staff to assist with curriculum planning (group and individual).
- Child Development Staff is responsible for informing parents of school readiness goals and encouraging them to work with their children in these areas to prepare them for kindergarten.
- Training is provided periodically on the areas covered in the school readiness goals.
- Managers analyze the outcome of all school readiness goals to determine if the program is supporting growth and developmental progress across each of the domains, and to report on results.