Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 38, September 20, 2024
15.1.
Curriculum is part of the inter-related approach that includes formative
assessment and approved content standards to facilitate individualization and
direction of classroom programming.
15.2. The WV Pre-K classroom must implement
Policy 2520.15, which is aligned with Head Start Early Learning Outcomes
Framework and the West Virginia College- and Career-Readiness Kindergarten
Standards. The approved content standards for programs serving eligible
children are written to reflect a developmental continuum that enhance
ssuccessful transitions into kindergarten. Utilizing the formative assessment
process, evidence of children's individual growth along the developmental
continuum is used to personalize learning and share progress with
families.
15.3. Only comprehensive
curricular systems that are adopted based on the latest state-approved
instructional materials list or county process for review and adoption of
instructional resources by each county collaborative early childhood team, with
input from stakeholders, shall be used by WV Pre-K classrooms, including
classrooms that serve children with identified special needs. A county process
for review and adoption must include the use of criteria for adoption furnished
by the WVBE, which includes non-negotiable, general, and specific evaluation
criteria based on W. Va. 126CSR35 Policy 2445.40, Instructional Resources
(Policy 2445.40).
15.4. A
comprehensive curricular system must meet the following standards:
15.4.a. include a philosophy, goals, and
objectives based on current knowledge of child development and learning styles
and reflect an understanding of how children learn and develop by:
15.4.a.1. addressing the developmental needs
of eligible children through practices that are consistent with current,
nationally recognized, most effective practice;
15.4.a.2. valuing exploration, creativity,
play, and construction as the child's primary learning approaches;
15.4.a.3. engaging children actively in the
learning process and providing them with opportunities to make meaningful
choices;
15.4.a.4. responding to
individual children's interest, strengths, and needs based on ongoing
observation and assessment; and
15.4.a.5. supporting children so they view
themselves as part of a larger community.
15.4.b. be balanced and designed to achieve
the long-range goals for social, emotional, physical, cognitive, and academic
(early literacy, early numeracy, and language) achievement by:
15.4.b.1. incorporating a wide variety of
learning experiences, materials and equipment, and instructional strategies
that are responsive to the differences in prior learning experiences,
maturation rates, and learning styles young children bring to the
classroom;
15.4.b.2. supporting a
balance of large and fine motor activities, quiet and active times, individual
and small and large group activities, child-initiated and adult-initiated
activities, planned and spontaneous activities, and indoor and outdoor
opportunities; and
15.4.b.3.
addressing the development of knowledge and understanding, processes and
skills, dispositions, and attitudes.
15.4.c. integrate development of all domains,
abilities, and content that are relevant, engaging, and meaningful to young
children by:
15.4.c.1. meeting the
developmental continuum contained in the approvedcontent standards for eligible
children as prescribed by the WVBE;
15.4.c.2. building on what children already
know in order to consolidate their learning and foster the acquisition of new
concepts and skills;
15.4.c.3.
reflecting the needs and interests of individual children in the group by
including the immediate environment and world with which the children are
acquainted;
15.4.c.4. supporting
integration of curriculum content through use of various forms of documentation
(such as themes, projects, key experiences, or webs); and
15.4.c.5. including materials and activities
that reflect a variety of cultures, languages, ages, abilities, and
beliefs.
15.4.d.
emphasize the development of thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving skills
through strategies such as open-ended questions, investigation, imaginative and
dramatic play, and peer interactions;
15.4.e. promote flexibility and adaptation to
unique needs of children and families where ongoing observation and assessment
are used to determine appropriate planning and adaptations for varied learning
styles, temperaments, abilities, and languages or modes of communication by:
15.4.e.1. integrating curriculum and the
formative assessment process to benefit the child; and
15.4.e.2. making opportunities for all
children, regardless of ability, to participate in all activities through
appropriate adaptations or modifications of activities, assistive
technology, materials and/or learning environments.
15.4.f. support the importance of
learning during routine times of the day and meeting the physiological needs of
children by:
15.4.f.1. promoting consistency
in schedules and routines and facilitating smooth transitions;
15.4.f.2. supporting continuity between home
and school;
15.4.f.3. encouraging
children's participation in routines to develop responsibility and
independence;
15.4.f.4. recognizing
the integral role of adults during routine times;
15.4.f.5. allowing for flexibility and
adaptations for individual children;
15.4.f.6. supporting positive health and
nutrition practices; and
15.4.f.7.
providing daily opportunities for children to rest in an area set up to reduce
distraction or disturbance from other activities.
15.4.g. promote, through a variety of
strategies, the essential role of families as partners in planning and
implementing their child's care and education;
15.4.h. emphasize the value of social
interaction to learning in all domains and promote frequent, responsive,
respectful interactions between children, staff and children, and staff and
families;
15.4.i. recognize the
role of children's psychological safety in learning and include guidance
techniques that support children;
15.4.j. promote the use of developmentally
appropriate curriculum and formative assessment principles to determine how
technology is incorporated into the classroom environment as a resource, rather
than a substitute, for effective teaching or quality curriculum.
15.5. The West Virginia Early
Learning Reporting System: Pre-K (WV ELRS: Pre-K), inclusive of the Early
Learning Scale, and which focuses on the formative assessment process, shall be
utilized with all children enrolled in WV Pre-K programs. The assessment system
is designed to inform classroom instruction, assist with integration of
personalized learning, and to foster interactions, competencies, experiences,
and skills of children participating in WV Pre-K programs through appropriate
measures. Comprehensive assessment systems must address how the curriculum:
15.5.a. supports the whole child across
multiple learning domains as the child progresses developmentally;
15.5.b. supports family engagement and
relationships with their children's educational experiences;
15.5.c. demonstrates the child's overall
strengths and progress;
15.5.d.
encourages self-evaluation by the child;
15.5.e. relies on demonstrated performance of
real, not contrived, activities;
15.5.f. utilizes a variety of tools and
processes;
15.5.g. allows for
differences in learning style and rate; and
15.5.h. provides a comprehensive reporting
system on children's individual accomplishments, as well as aggregated data to
inform classroom, site, or district decision making.
15.6. Selection and use of supplemental
materials/curricular enhancements that address core content areas such as
language and literacy acquisition or numeracy, must be based on research-based
research and support the philosophy and techniques of the comprehensive
curriculum and the requirements of this section. Guidance provided by the WVDE
will assist county collaborative early childhood teams regarding the
collaborative, local decision-making processes pertaining to supplemental
materials/curricula enhancement.
15.6.a.
Instructional practices such as worksheets, extended periods of sitting, seat
work at desks or tables, flashcards, prescribed sequence of content, content
areas taught in isolation, requiring all children to be working on the same
skill, lack of individualization, or a high level of teacher directed
instruction are not permissible.
15.7. When a WV Pre-K classroom plans an
activity that involves active media, the center shall ensure that:
15.7.a. the active media supplements but does
not replace traditional early childhood materials or experiences;
15.7.b. a child has a choice of other
activities and materials;
15.7.c.
staff members are available to support the activity by discussing the use of
the active media with the child;
15.7.d. active media chosen is
developmentally appropriate and supports creative play and learning;
and
15.7.e. screen time, whether
through active or passive media, should be limited.
15.8. If passive media is used, a WV Pre-K
classroom shall ensure that:
15.8.a. passive
media is not routinely part of the daily schedule;
15.8.b. staff members are available to
support the use of the passive media by discussing with the child what is
viewed with the child; and
15.8.c.
the contents of passive media are developmentally appropriate and designed to
benefit the child, with limited viewing time and the child who does not wish to
watch has a choice of other activities.
15.9. In classrooms where specialists are
incorporated into daily routines, environments and experiences must be
reflective of the approved county-adopted comprehensive curricular system and
support integration of Policy 2520.15.
15.10. Time shall be set aside for joint
planning by the teacher, co-teacher, and/or other personnel working with the
children.
