What if all children in Western Tidewater had the educational experiences they need to become successful in school and in life? That is the question the UVA CASTL team is working hard each day to find the answer to.
In our state, millions of dollars from private and public funds have been invested in early education, but funding alone will not get us to the goal of ensuring that ALL children have high quality educational experiences. The hard work of parents, teachers, directors, advocates, business leaders and philanthropists working together is what will make this vision reality!
Included in the state budget was funding to pilot the STREAMin3 Curriculum developed by UVA CASTL in The New E3 School in 50 classrooms from diverse regions across the state. Thanks to the Obici Healthcare Foundation, $1m in private funds were leveraged to expand the pilot into 50 additional private, faith-based, VPI and Head Start Classrooms in Western Tidewater, taking the total number participating to 100. Additionally, all kindergarten classrooms across the state are mandated to participate in the VKRP by fall 2020. These are big developments! Virginia’s early education professionals are hustling this Spring and deserve to be commended.
April alone is jam-packed with activities related to VKRP and CLASS Professional Development initiatives. Upcoming events for Western Tidewater Include:
- April 17, 19, 23, 25 – CLASS-PD Administrator Webinars
- April 23, 24 – Suffolk VKRP (select teachers)
- April 25 – Surry VKRP (select teachers)
- April 29 – Southampton VKRP (select teachers)
This is an exciting time for early education in our state and we are grateful for the UVA CASTL team and all the teachers working hard each day to provide the highest quality educational experiences for our children.