Barkley Bridge among five schools selected for 15k grant
Five Alabama school systems will lead an effort to improve student’s success rate with a Pre K-3rd grade leadership academy.
Of the five Alabama school systems, totalling eight individual schools, were chosen to be pilots for the Alabama.
Pre-K-through-Third-Grade Integrated Approach to Early Learning program are Pleasant Grove Elementary School (Cleburne County); Kinston Elementary School, New Brockton Elementary School, Zion Chapel School (Coffee County); Wetumpka Elementary School (Elmore County); Barkley Bridge Elementary School (Morgan County); and Skyline School (Jackson County).
Each school was selected from a pool of applicants participating in the Alabama Pre-K-3 Leadership Academy, which launched July 17.
Each participating school will receive a $15,000 grant for each classroom to purchase materials to improve early learning experiences.
Throughout the year, the mentioned schools will participate in ongoing observation and joint planning sessions, provide increased opportunities for teachers to share best practices, and organize collaborative professional development meetings across all grade levels.
The Alabama Pre-K-through-Third-Grade Integrated Approach to Early Learning program is a joint partnership between the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education and the Alabama State Department of Education. The pilot program, based on research from Harvard University, the University of Washington and others, creates a structure for aligning and coordinating academic standards, instructional practices, professional development and developmentally appropriate classroom assessments from pre-k to the third grade.
Schools participating in the program will gain access to early childhood education specialists who will help pre-k to third grade teachers implement evidence-based instructional practices. The support structure is modeled after Alabama’s nationally-recognized First Class Pre-K program and other successful leadership, instruction and assessment strategies currently being implemented in Alabama’s schools.
Lauren Estes-Vele