VPK Assessment Successes

Providers are in the second year of conducting the required VPK Assessment with each VPK child. Providers are given the first and last 30 days of their VPK program to conduct the assessment. Then providers have an additional two weeks to complete the Online Reporting System data entry.

Assessment Period 2, AP2, is only required for providers on probation. However, the Coalition was excited to find that last year roughly 75% of Pinellas County providers chose to conduct AP2 in January and completed the data entry within two weeks after it was concluded. We received calls from both teachers and directors who were amazed to see their children's progress not only in the classroom but in an official report that could be shared with parents. Many classrooms also used this information to redirect their instruction so as to provide a higher quality VPK experience to the children who may have been struggling up to that point. As AP3 concluded last year, many teachers called stating they felt rewarded after seeing such positive results with their children. Many felt their redirected instruction in January did indeed help their children in a way that would not have been possible without the assessment reports. AS we have entered the time frame for AP2 and the corresponding additional two weeks for data entry, know that this a fantastic opportunity to reach out to your families and make the difference that we all strive for as educators.

When your program conducts the next VPK Assessment, whether it is AP2 or AP3, please remember that if the assessment is conducted during VPK hours then it must be conducted within the VPK classroom. The Coalition has heard of many success stories from providers that they chose to conduct the assessment before or after VPK hours. Please know it is NOT a requirement to do the assessment outside of VPK time. However, the providers who used these additional hours in the day were able to remove the children from the VPK classroom, so long as they complied with licensing requirements. We have been told it allowed the children to focus more on the assessment and less on the distraction of the other children in the classroom.

VPK Providers also reported having success with children by conducting the assessment only 1 or 2 sections at a time. Though this is not necessary for all children it can be very beneficial for children who have a hard time doing the entire assessment in one sitting. Please remember to date each section so it can later be referenced if necessary as to whether the sections were completed on the same day or different days.

VPK Assessment Website

If you have any questions regarding your Provider ID or Password for the the assessment website, please contact1-866-447-1159 or visit the Request Assistance page of the website. 

If you have any other questions regarding the VPK Assessment, please contact Jenifer Caccia, Assessment Coordinator, at 727-400-4412 or  jcaccia@elcpinellas.net.

Improvement Process Meeting

Last year the Coalition conducted a meeting in January to discuss how a VPK program may be improved using the provider Improvement Plan. Though this plan is required for providers on probation it has been beneficial to those providers who are not on probation but would like to see improvements in their program. Providers with a Preliminary Readiness Rate of 75 of less have been notified by email regarding details of the Improvement Process Meeting for this year.