Michigan Department of Education was awarded a $400,000 grant for PRE-SCHOOL student data system.
LANSING — The Michigan Department of Education received a $400,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to begin development of a student data system for pre-kindergarten children, the department announced Tuesday….
The system is intended to allow state agencies to share data in real time about children enrolled in public pre-kindergarten programs, according to a news release. The data would be used to encourage participation in health and development programs and close service gaps, and would allow education officials to monitor a child’s progress from preschool through graduation, according to the release. The data would be used to encourage participation in health and development programs and close service gaps, and would allow education officials to monitor a child’s progress from preschool through graduation, according to the release. (Emphasis added.)
The system will comply with state and federal privacy regulations, the release states….
State Superintendent Mike Flanagan said “the grant will help Michigan prepare to build the system.”
“We need to be able to follow and measure the successes, and opportunities, of quality early childhood learning,” Flanagan said in a statement. “This generous grant from the Kellogg Foundation will help get us to the starting line.”
Common Core State Standards strictly involves K-12 math and English Language Arts standards but the student data collection will begin before kindergarten. This is the starting line of a P-20 student data pathway from cradle to career.
Michigan Governor Rick Snyder said in 2011, ” It is time that we view our educational system which runs from pre-natal to lifelong learning. It’s time to start talking about P-20 instead of just K-12. We need to establish a system that focuses on real achievement for all of our children.”
Eventually, Early Childhood Learning will be aligned with the Common Core.
“Without nationwide guidelines, it will be a challenge for early educators to prepare children for a Common Core K-12 system while fostering social, communication, and self-regulation skills and providing outlets for expression and development of ideas, such as art and movement.
Since when did the goal of preschool become preparing children for a Common Core K-12 system?
At the preschool stage, curiosity is the best curriculum and exploration the best teacher. We don’t need a $400,000 data system to track their achievement. Their success is measured by the quantity of smiles generated not the quantity of data collected.