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Fairfax Futures
School Readiness Network News
Greetings!
Ah, December! It's time to bid farewell to 2008 and to look forward to a fresh start in the new year, beginning with our premier issue of SRN News. Chances are you're already a member of Fairfax Futures' School Readiness Network. As an advocate, you know how vital it is for children to start kindergarten prepared to succeed in school and to thrive in life. We want you to be "in the know" about what's happening in Fairfax County, across the Commonwealth and throughout the country in support of school readiness. And we hope you will find each issue of SRN News to be full of information that's worth sharing. Happy holidays!  Vera Steiner Blore Executive Director |
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. . . And Four Makes Eight
Four more Fairfax County elementary schools have joined the Neighborhood School Readiness Collaborative project, working with local child care and preschool programs to smooth transitions to kindergarten. This brings to eight the number of communities working together to help children and their families prepare for the move to school. Any of the eight schools near you? Here's the list: Annandale, Centre Ridge, Freedom Hill, Hollin Meadows, Hybla Valley, Lake Anne, Lynbrook, and Providence. |
Regional Leaders Say "Fund Pre-K"
"When things get tough, it's important to push harder," Katherine Busser told colleagues at Fairfax Futures' School Readiness Leadership Forum this fall. Busser, an executive vice president at Capital One, which hosted the forum, chaired Gov. Tim Kaine's Start Strong Council. Virginia Secretary of Education Tom Morris agrees. He noted projects implementing the council's recommendations and credited bipartisan support for a $22 million increase in state education funds for at-risk 4-year-olds. |
Budding Scientists
What should children entering kindergarten know and be able to do in science? That's what researchers at the University of Texas aim to find out with help from the National Science Foundation and 25 Austin-area teachers. The Building BLOCKS for Science team will observe 4-year-olds in public and private preschool classrooms, Head Start programs and day care facilities.
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One Sock, Two Socks, Red Sock, Blue Sock
 A love of learning is key to school readiness. Fairfax Futures' free booklet, Helping Your Child Love to Learn, offers simple, everyday activities that busy parents can use as fun, teachable moments with their children, whether it is sorting laundered socks by size and color or setting the table for a meal. The booklet can be downloaded in English or in Spanish. |
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A CLASS Act
Open the Dec. 15 New Yorker to Malcolm Gladwell's article on teachers, and there he is-- Robert Pianta, dean of
education at the University of Virgina and a strong advocate for school readiness. Gladwell describes
Pianta's videotapes of teachers connecting with each child in the classroom. These tapes are part of the Classroom Assessment
Scoring System, or CLASS. Read more here.
Welcome!
New School Readiness Network members:
Boeing
Hispanics Against Child Abuse and Neglect
Hopkins House
Reston Limousine
Seven Corners
Children's Center
Share Literacy Mid-Atlantic
Springfield Chamber of Commerce
Training Solutions, Inc.
YWCA Children's Center
Not a member? Join us!
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