On October 19 nearly 50 principals, assistant principals, and school district administrators from our region gathered to deepen their understanding of the WaKIDS whole-child assessment.

WaKIDS data is critical to the goals of our work as it provides us with important data about what skills and behaviors children are displaying as they enter Kindergarten. This provides an important feedback loop to early learning providers on areas they should target further, as well as areas of strength. It also informs districts' work with early learning providers as they seek to build and strengthen partnerships by offering professional development and professional learning communities.

This two and a half hour training was the last in a three-part series that will be offered again in Spring 2016, and was free for administrators at the building or district level to attend. Administrators dove deep into the technical elements of the whole-child assessment by learning how to run various reports, analyze data through a variety of tools, and support kindergarten teachers throughout the process. In addition, district leaders heard from their peers in Tacoma, Sumner and Kent School Districts as they shared lessons learned, how they share data with community-based early learning providers, and how to utilize the data to inform instruction and student supports.

For more information, please see the WaKIDS Leadership Alliance Training presentation.

Thank you for taking the time to read the Road Map Region Race to the Top grant e-newsletter! The next e-newsletter is planned for November. Click "Join Our Mailing List" on the left to receive future e-newsletters!