A NEW PRE-K COHORT BRINGS COLLABORATION AND HANDS-ON LEARNING TO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS.
THE FOUNDATION for a child’s educational career begins in Pre-kindergarten, and Early Childhood educators must ensure that this foundation is solid and holds strong for all the future learning. To help Early Childhood educators with this important task, the Region 10 Pre-Kindergarten team launched the Building the Foundation Cohort during the 2022-2023 school year. A year later, its first batch of participants are already giving it rave reviews.
“This cohort has been such a unique experience. It has been the best professional development experience I have ever had; I would even venture to say that it has been light years beyond the majority of my undergrad and Master's level classes,” shared Jasmine Coleman, a teacher at Fairmeadows Elementary School in Duncanville ISD. “The main reason this cohort has been different from any other professional development experience is that there have been countless opportunities to collaborate, problem solve, and plan with other Pre-K teachers. Christine Collins, Region 10 Pre-K Consultant, plans meaningful, hands-on learning and opportunities to experiment with, implement, and share concepts on a monthly basis. No other PD has offered that.”
The hands-on learning opportunities provided by the cohort have not only been beneficial for its participants but also for their students. Many of the activities learned have been implemented in the classroom.
“I loved the activity where we did the nature walk. I took this lesson back to my campus, with the majority of the classes doing the activity,” shared Shelby Ursey, a teacher at Glenda Arnold Early Childhood Learning Center in Royse City ISD. “I have also added environmental print inside my classroom, smaller alphabet letters on the wall next to the ABC center, and I have added more things in my home center to give my students more real-life experiences.”
The opportunity for these educators to collaborate with each other and share how they are applying their learning to the classroom is one of the cohort’s greatest benefits for Lancaster ISD teacher ShaKinya Hill.
“I love when we share our homework with each other,” she said. “You would be surprised at how the assignment is the same for everyone yet each of us always have different, fun, and engaging activities to share. I always go home with games and activities I can implement in my classroom.”
This cohort has been such a unique experience. It has been the best professional development experience I have ever had; I would even venture to say that it has been lightyears beyond the majority of my undergrad and Master's level classes.
Region 10 Program Coordinator Dr. Kelley Estes-Jones has loved seeing the relationships these educators have built as a result of the cohort. She believes that these relationships will last throughout their educational careers.
“The cohort is vital because it not only equips the teachers for success in the classroom through a specially designed and sequenced program, but it is also specifically designed to build the professional learning networks of early childhood educators as they learn, share, and grow together,” Estes-Jones shared. “The participants in the cohort have the opportunity for office hours and mentoring from the Early Childhood consultants. Our data shows that participation in the cohort leads to teacher efficacy and autonomy as well as teacher retention. The success is due to the support and mentorship provided through the cohort.”
A year into the program, its participants are already seeing glowing results. In addition to retention and efficacy, several teachers were nominated for their campus’s Teacher of the Month and one participant was even nominated for Teacher of the Year.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
About the Cohort
This year-long cohort consists of eight sessions and builds upon early childhood development and instructional best practices to ensure that educators are experts and that their youngest scholars are kindergarten-ready and well-equipped for future learning.
This cohort is perfect for teachers new to early childhood education and more seasoned educators who want to refresh and broaden their skills in the ever-changing educational landscape. Office hours, mentoring, and administrator look-fors are included in the cohort.
Submission and presentation of implementation activities and attendance for all sessions are required to receive full credit.
For more information, contact: Dr. Kelley Estes-Jones kelley.estesjones@region10.org