Manchester Early Childhood Education Program

A Cohort 1 School: 2011 – 2014

Introduction:

In January 2012 Manchester Head Start and the Manchester Preschool Center embarked on a joint journey to improve systems for behavior and literacy support. The programs had been sharing some space and administrative and support staff for some time. They decided to delve into CT’s SPDG with one team to represent both programs. It was a real opportunity to establish coherence and collaboration in education for some of Manchester’s youngest students who already benefit from the supports offered by both programs.


Highlights:

  • Improved outcomes for all students in Early Literacy
  • Students with IEPs increased from 16.67% to 55.55% at benchmark for literacy in 2013-14.
  • There has been a decrease in referrals to special education.
  • A new workshop series for families on Shared Reading and Stamina was implemented with great success for both the families and students.
  • Equity: The programs now have a stronger focus on supporting home language of students who are Dual Language Learners.
  • Implementation of PBIS gave the program better defined behavioral expectations resulting in a significant decrease in office referrals.
  • The team created expectation books which are colorful and engaging for pre- school age children.
  • The program now uses screening tools such as the BASC-2 and has added to the availability of individualized social/emotional strategies in the classroom.

Data & Next Steps:

  • The Leadership Team to meet regularly and systematically support the Manchester Early Learning Community, and add other individuals to the membership of the team.
  • Revisit/revise SRBI Process and Flowchart.
  • The team will strengthen the Check in/Check Out Data Collection.

Read the full CT SPDG Cohort 1 Brag Sheet for Manchester Early Childhood Education Program



Download the complete Manchester Early Childhood Education Program Brag Sheet

“As a result of the SPDG, both programs have more defined behavioral expectations and a systematic means of tracking data” – Shelly Matfess, Assistant Superintendent, Manchester Public Schools