- Are there TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) or a required state curriculum for prekindergarten?
- How do I use the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines with my special needs students?
- How can I get copies of the Early Childhood Outcomes & Prekindergarten Guidelines Alignment?
- Is there training available for the Early Childhood Outcomes & Prekindergarten Guidelines Alignment?
- Is prekindergarten included in the review and adoption cycle for textbooks?
- How can I get copies of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines?
- What is the copyright/royalty agreement for the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines?
- Are there physical education requirements for prekindergarten?
- Are teacher aides or assistants required in prekindergarten classrooms?
- Are children required to have a rest time in prekindergarten?
- What does a developmentally appropriate schedule for half day and full day prekindergarten look like?
- What is the Texas Kindergarten Readiness System (KRS)?
- Who may participate in the KRS?
- What are the benefits of KRS participation for parents and children?
- What are the benefits of KRS participation for schools, licensed child care and Head Start programs?
- What burden does this application process place on my current staff?
- Does recognition in the KRS qualify subsidized child care programs for enhanced reimbursement rates from the Texas Workforce Commission?
- When can my prekindergarten or preschool program apply?
- Is KRS participation mandatory?
- How does the agency determine if a KRS program is effective?
- How much does it cost to apply for the PreK Center of Excellence designation?
- What kindergarten literacy assessments are collected by the program?
- When will my campus or center be named a PreK Center of Excellence?
- Is the PreK Center of Excellence designation an annual designation?
- Does the agency use a prekindergarten assessment to determine kindergarten readiness?
- How can a program register to be part of the KRS?
- Is technical assistance for KRS provided?
- Is training available for the KRS?
- Where can I find more information about KRS criteria, funding, and participating prekindergarten programs?
- How do I find a School Ready or Kindergarten Ready certified program?
- Are there prekindergarten assessment or progress monitoring instruments on the Commissioner’s List of Adopted Instruments?
1. Are there TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills) or a required state curriculum for prekindergarten?
- There are no Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for prekindergarten nor is there a required state curriculum. However, in an effort to align the prekindergarten program with the TEKS, prekindergarten curriculum guidelines have been developed and distributed to school districts. The Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines provide challenging but achievable skills and concepts that children in high quality prekindergarten programs are to know and be able to do in each subject area delineated in the kindergarten TEKS. The guidelines are organized into 10 skill domains that support integration of curriculum and build connections between and among all disciplines. Because there is no state required prekindergarten curriculum, use of these guidelines is voluntary.
- Citation: TEC §28.002
2. How do I use the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines with my special needs students?
- Recently, the agency commissioned a companion document to the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines known as the Early Childhood Outcomes & Prekindergarten Guidelines Alignment. This document is designed to align each Prekindergarten Guideline to one or more of the three Early Childhood Outcomes, and provide educators and families with discussion prompts to explain how each outcome relates to the Guideline.
3. How can I get copies of the Early Childhood Outcomes & Prekindergarten Guidelines Alignment?
4. Is there training available for the Early Childhood Outcomes & Prekindergarten Guidelines Alignment?
- ESC Region 13 was the lead agent in developing the document and training. You may contact your local ESC or Region 13 for training options.
5. Is prekindergarten included in the review and adoption cycle for textbooks?
- Yes. The State Board of Education shall adopt a review and adoption cycle for textbooks for elementary grade levels, including prekindergarten and secondary grade levels, for each subject in the required curriculum under Section 28.002. In November 2010 the State Board of Education (SBOE) adopted instructional materials for prekindergarten systems. The new list and descriptions of materials may be found at the first link under the heading Proclamation 2011,Instructional Materials Adopted Under Proclamation 2011.
- Citation: TEC §31.022(a)
6. How can I get copies of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines?
7. What is the copyright/royalty agreement for the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines?
- Copyright 2008, the University of Texas System and Texas Education Agency. Permission for in-State, Texas uses: These Guidelines were developed at public expense to benefit Texas public school districts; Texas approved charter schools, Texas regional education service centers and other Pre-K Texas entities. Residents of and entities operating within the State of Texas may freely copy, distribute, create derivative products based on and publicly display and perform these Guidelines (“use the Guidelines”) for the intended beneficiaries. All other uses (non-Texas uses) require the express permission of the copyright owners. For information, please contact the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Office of Technology Management, by telephone at 713-550-3369, or by email at otm@uth.tmc.edu.
8. Are there physical education requirements for prekindergarten?
- Full-day prekindergarten students are required to participate in moderate or vigorous daily physical activity for at least 30 minutes throughout the school year as part of the district’s physical education curriculum or through structured activity during daily recess. To the extent practicable, half-day prekindergarten students are required to participate in the same type and amount of physical activity as a student enrolled in full-day prekindergarten.
- Citation: TEC §28.002(l)
9. Are teacher aides or assistants required in prekindergarten classrooms?
- No. Policy regarding teacher aides/assistants in prekindergarten is a local district decision.
10. Are children required to have a rest time in prekindergarten?
- Policy relating to rest time has always been determined at the local district level.
11. What does a developmentally appropriate schedule for half day and full day prekindergarten look like?
- Schedules give children a sense of structure throughout their day so they can anticipate when specific activities will occur and how long these activities will be. This sense of anticipation facilitates children beginning to regulate their attention and emotions. It gives them a plan of their daily routine. For sample schedules and additional information, please see page 21 of the Texas Prekindergarten Guidelines.
12. What is the Texas Kindergarten Readiness System (KRS)?
- The new Texas Kindergarten Readiness System (KRS) recognizes excellence in Texas early childhood education programs across the state. The KRS, formerly the School Readiness Certification System (SRCS), is a voluntary system used to evaluate the effectiveness of prekindergarten, Head Start, and community-based child care programs in preparing children for kindergarten. The Kindergarten Readiness System values local control and creative classroom efforts. High performing programs will be awarded the PreK Center of Excellence designation, a state of Texas gold standard for high quality prekindergarten.
- The KRS is the only system in the nation that accommodates all program types and uses input data from a student’s preschool as well as outcome data from the kindergarten reading diagnostic instrument to determine the effectiveness of early childhood education programs in preparing students for kindergarten.
- KRS recognizes the positive impact of prekindergarten programs with a “PreK Center of Excellence” designation.
- The KRS program values local control and creative classroom efforts that prepare preschoolers for success in kindergarten.
- Any district or licensed prekindergarten program can join KRS using a simple and web-based application process.
- The PreK Center of Excellence designation is considered a gold standard in high quality prekindergarten by the State of Texas.
- This system is voluntary and offered at no charge.
- Citation: TEC §29.161, TEC §28.006(d)(3)
13. Who may participate in the KRS?
- Any Texas school district prekindergarten program, licensed child care center or Head Start program currently serving prekindergarten students can now apply to be a Prek Center of Excellence. Non-licensed and registered child care homes are not eligible to participate in the KRS program at this time.
14. What are the benefits of KRS participation for parents and children?
- The KRS informs parents and communities about the positive student impact high quality early childhood education programs offer. This designation is offered by the state of Texas and assures parents that their children are getting the educational foundation they need to succeed in kindergarten.
15. What are the benefits of KRS participation for schools, licensed child care and Head Start programs?
Participation in the lets parents and your community know your program cares about giving their children the very best start when they enter kindergarten.
The KRS is a web-based system that is fully integrated with PEIMS and all kindergarten reading diagnostic instruments on the Commissioner’s approved list of instruments. It serves to inform school districts, communities, and early childhood programs about the quality of programs in the community and their ability to prepare children for success in kindergarten and beyond. For public schools, it serves to inform districts about which prekindergarten classrooms are succeeding and which require additional support. For licensed childcare, certification can result in increased revenue and enrollment. For Head Start programs, participation demonstrates the required collaboration with local school districts.
16. What burden does this application process place on my current staff?
- Registering has been simplified from the previous year. Data about your preschool program is entered into the KRS website once, which is designed to minimize data entry burdens. ISD campus-related information has already been preloaded into KRS. In addition, hundreds of licensed childcare centers and Head Start programs are pre-populated in KRS. Most data fields that are required to apply for the PreK Center of Excellence designation can be imported from existing file sources.
17. Does recognition in the KRS qualify subsidized child care programs for enhanced reimbursement rates from the Texas Workforce Commission?
- Recognition in the KRS qualifies childcare providers for enhanced reimbursement rates since it is the state’s authorized school readiness certification system.
18. When can my prekindergarten or preschool program apply?
- The KRS is available for registration beginning March 20, 2012. It is important that you get your program’s prekindergarten data submitted as soon as possible in order to be considered for the Prek Center of Excellence designation in 2013.
19. Is KRS participation mandatory?
- The KRS is voluntary except for Texas Literacy Initiative and Texas School Ready! grant participants, whose participation is mandated under the state’s grant. TEA is using the KRS to fulfill the evaluation requirements of these two grant programs. All other Texas preschools are welcome to participate in KRS and seek the PreK Center of Excellence designation.
20. How does the agency determine if a KRS program is effective?
- The KRS is the only system in the nation that accommodates all program types and uses input data from a student’s preschool as well as outcome data from the kindergarten reading diagnostic instrument to determine the effectiveness of early childhood education programs in preparing students for kindergarten.
- Preschools simply enter information about their programs into a secure web-based system and then the KRS project does the rest. In the fall of each year, the KRS will collect kindergarten reading diagnostic results (the outcome data) from school districts. The project links student records from a prekindergarten program to their corresponding kindergarten literacy results so the impact of each applicant’s early childhood education program can be determined. Designations are awarded by the Texas Education Agency and Education Service Center 17.
21. How much does it cost to apply for the PreK Center of Excellence designation?
- This system is offered at no cost to public schools, licensed childcare providers and Head Start programs.
22. What kindergarten literacy assessments are collected by the program?
- Starting in the 2012-2013 school year, TEA’s plan is for the KRS system to collect outcome information from all the reading assessment instruments included on the Commissioner’s approved list.
23. When will my campus or center be named a PreK Center of Excellence?
- The Texas Education Agency awards the PreK Center of Excellence designations in the spring, beginning spring 2013. Recognized programs will receive a congratulatory letter and means to download web banners, print materials, and school banners for use in notifying parents and their communities about this achievement. Non-recognized programs will be notified in writing and given information about research-based best practices and resources available to them for program improvement.
24. Is the PreK Center of Excellence designation an annual designation?
- At this time, the designation is determined on an annual basis.
25. Does the agency use a prekindergarten assessment to determine kindergarten readiness?
- No. The KRS analyzes other data from participating prekindergarten programs and from each student’s kindergarten reading diagnostic instrument administered at the beginning of the child’s kindergarten year.
26. How can a program register to be part of the KRS?
27. Is technical assistance for KRS provided?
28. Is training available for the KRS?
- Live and recorded WebEx (webinar) training sessions are available to support users starting March 26, 2012. Visit the TEA ECE webpage for additional information.
29. Where can I find more information about KRS criteria, funding, and participating prekindergarten programs?
TEA and ESC Region 17 fund a Help Desk for customer support for KRS. You may contact them at KRS@oz-systems.com or 866-336-3025, option 4.
In addition, TEA maintains and Early Childhood Education website. The site contains fact sheets for agency administered ECE programs, including the KRS. KRS was formerly known as the School Readiness Certification System (SRCS) and fact sheets for both programs may be found on the TEA ECE web page.
30. How do I find a School Ready or Kindergarten Ready certified program?
- TEA provides a searchable database to find certified Kindergarten Readiness programs. Visit the KRS website for additional information.
31. Are there prekindergarten assessment or progress monitoring instruments on the Commissioner’s List of Adopted Instruments?
- In November of 2011, TEA issued a Texas Register Notice notifying publishers that reading diagnostic instruments for Prekindergarten through Grade 8 may be submitted for review for inclusion on the 2012-2013 Commissioner's List of Reading Instruments. The List is expected to be final in spring 2012. Because there is no statutory requirement for schools to administer such assessments, use of instruments on the List is optional for districts, unless otherwise required.
- Citation: Texas Register, Volume 36, Number 46, Page 7900, November 18, 2011
Contacts
Department of Federal and State Education Policy: 512-936-6060
Program Contacts:
Gina S. Day, gina.day@tea.state.tx.us
Howard Morrison, howard.morrison@tea.state.tx.us