Welcome to the Central Rivers AEA Early Childhood website! Our goal is to partner with educators, communities, and families who impact the lives of young children.
“There are approximately 2,000 days from when a child is born until she or he enters kindergarten. Nearly 90% of brain growth occurs during these 2,000 days, making this time period one of the most critical for learning .” (Brown & Jernigan, 2012)
“When adults, know what young children need to learn during these 2,000 days, they can create appropriate situations, build healthy attachments, and provide experiences to support and nurture the best development by each child.” –Iowa Early Learning Standards, 3rd Ed., p. 8
Quick Links for Early Childhood Information
- Iowa Department of Education: State-Wide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP)
- Iowa Department of Education: Early Childhood Standards
- Iowa Early Learning Standards (IELS)
Authentic Assessments in Early Childhood
Captures how a child uses his or her skills while engaging with materials, teachers, parents and peers. Authentic assessment involves the teacher as an observer and a researcher – working from a background of solid education and specialized training, collecting data over time, selecting and organizing evidence (the portfolio), preparing a hypothesis that can be tested (the curriculum), sharing conclusions with parents and others to refine what will work best in guiding a child to develop to his or her potential, and developing lesson plans that will help students individually progress toward meeting learning expectations.
Teaching Strategies GOLD
Teaching Strategies GOLD is an authentic, ongoing assessment tool that can be used with any developmentally appropriate early childhood curriculum from birth through kindergarten. It is based on 38 research-based objectives, divided among 4 developmental domains and 6 content areas (including English Language Acquisition). The objectives are aligned with the Common Core State Standards, the Iowa Early Learning Standards, and the Head Start Child Development and Early Learning Framework. It is not designed to be a screening instrument, rather it provides a broad picture of the development of the whole child. Authentic information is gathered throughout the year from a variety of sources including teachers, family members and specialists who might be working with the child. Both print and online versions of this assessment are available.
The Iowa Department of Education requires that all children served in preschools funded through the State-Wide Voluntary Preschool Program (SWVPP), regardless of age, be assessed using the GOLD Objectives for Development and Learning. Most Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Iowa also utilize GOLD for the assessment of young children. Any preschool or childcare center in Iowa can take advantage of the State of Iowa’s discounted rate for the GOLD online system. Teachers and childcare providers who are interested in using the GOLD online system should begin at the Iowa Department of Education. See an overview of the GOLD system from Teaching Strategies; further information and support in the use of the GOLD online assessment system can be provided by your area Central Rivers AEA Early Childhood Consultant.
Assessment, Evaluation, and Programming System for Infants and Children (AEPS)
The AEPS is a comprehensive system that ties together assessment, goal development, intervention, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. The results of the evaluation provide educationally relevant, meaningful and functional information that can be used to formulate developmentally appropriate goals/outcomes and objectives/benchmarks for children. It is particularly helpful in the assessment of young children with significant disabilities. The following areas may be assessed (although it is not necessary to assess all areas of development): fine motor, gross motor, adaptive behaviors, cognitive, social-communication, and social. This is not a norm-referenced or standardized assessment, so IQ or other standardized scores cannot be obtained. Many Central Rivers AEA Early Childhood Collaborators have been trained in the AEPS and can administer the assessment as needed and/or assist in the interpretation of the instrument. An online scoring and interpretation tool, the AEPS, is also available. Further information can be found on the AEPS website. An updated version of the AEPS is set to be released in the Fall of 2020.
Screening Instruments
Screening involves brief assessments that are valid, reliable, and evidence-based. They may screen broadly for developmental concerns in younger children or may screen for more specific areas (such as literacy). Screenings are conducted with all children or targeted groups of children to identify children who may be at risk of developmental delays or future academic challenges. These children are likely to need additional or alternative forms of instruction and/or support to supplement what is typically found in the natural environment or in the conventional general education setting.
Why It Is Important
Screening detects possible developmental delays in children — and celebrates milestones. Screening young children is an effective, efficient way for professionals to gauge developmental progress and determine meaningful next steps—at a time when action can have its greatest impact: during a child’s earliest years of life. In fact, intervention prior to kindergarten has huge academic, social, and economic benefits. Studies have shown that children who receive early intervention for developmental delays are more likely to graduate from high school, hold jobs, and live independently, becoming future-ready. Similarly, the earlier possible academic difficulties are discerned in school-age children, the more positive the outcomes, especially in relation to literacy.
Early Literacy
The development of Early Literacy and Numeracy begins at birth. Families and caregivers start children on the road by interacting with children and talking about the world around them. A rich play environment encourages the development of literacy and numeracy skills. It is important for caregivers and teachers to focus not only on how we talk to children and read to them but also on having in-depth discussions about what is read and the mathematical relationships in the world around them.
Early Literacy
Literacy is comprised of skills in the areas of reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Emergent literacy refers to the set of skills that infants, toddlers and preschoolers should develop so that they may enter kindergarten ready to learn to read. In Iowa, those skills are defined in the Iowa Early Learning Standards (and assessed using Teaching Strategies GOLD). In Iowa, Early Literacy refers to the set of skills that kindergarten through third-grade children must master in order to become proficient readers and communicators by the end of third grade. These skills are defined in the Iowa CORE Standards for Reading Language Arts (RLA). The Iowa Reading Research Center contains information for parents and teachers about best practices in the area of literacy development for young children.
The emergence of literacy begins in infancy when caring adults engage children in verbal interactions and shared book experiences. It continues into toddlerhood when adults and children explore their favorite nursery rhymes and songs and adults talk to children on a daily basis about their play activities and routines. During the preschool years (3 to 5-year-olds), adults continue to support language skills by talking with children about current and past events and helping them to think about favorite stories that are read to them. As adults read to children, the children develop alphabet knowledge, phonological awareness and emergent writing skills.
Important Contacts
Staff Directory