SCHOOL
READINESS
Our pathway focuses on three major areas — Health, Early Care & Learning,
and Family Support.
Overview
The Oklahoma School Readiness Pathway is a compilation of benchmarks, goals, outcomes and indicators that illustrate how Health, Early Care & Learning and Family Support influence a child’s readiness for school. Beginning with birth through school entry, this framework allows us to monitor indicators and outcomes to inform action through policy changes, effective investments and quality improvements. We strive for a system that consistently provides services and resources while ensuring equity, economic security and sustainable funding across the state.
Health
Our Goal: Children and families have access to health services.
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Why Health? Research shows that healthy children are better able to engage in experiences crucial to the learning process. Connecting children and their parents to health services is a critical step toward school readiness. In fact, health and development begins at birth, which is why a child’s earliest years are so important. Children who are born healthy and on time have mothers who received prenatal care, including adequate nutrition and monitoring for health risks. In order to stay on track developmentally, a child and their family must continue to have access to health services during that child’s earliest years. As such, this Pathway identifies desired outcomes and indicators of physical and emotional development as children meet the benchmarks of school readiness.
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Outcomes
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As we learn more about how health can improve our early childhood system, we strive for outcomes that include:
• Babies are born on time and healthy.
• Children have access to health care.
• Children are physically and emotionally healthy.
• Children are on a positive developmental trajectory.
Indicators
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As we advocate for more investments in early childhood, indicators help us measure exactly where the state needs to focus resources in order to move the needle and make a difference. For example, since we know healthy children are better prepared for school, we may look at the number of children who have seen a dentist in the past year. We’ll then take that a step further and look at even more research that affects the outcomes we’re trying to reach, such as the percentage of children with untreated tooth decay.
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Actions
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There are many actions Oklahoma can take to ensure all children are ready to succeed in school. In order to improve outcomes for children and families, we must make data-informed decisions and work on policy changes, investments and resources. Here, we’ve compiled recommendations to improve health for children birth to five-years-old.
Early Care & Learning
Our Goal: Children are engaged in high quality early care and learning.
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Why Early Care & Learning? Children in high-quality early care and learning are more likely to succeed in school and throughout their lifetime. Engaging children in high-quality early care and learning makes them more likely to succeed in school and throughout their lifetime. What makes something “high-quality”? High quality programs are ones in which strong, exceptional teachers use effective, developmentally-appropriate curriculum to form a solid learning foundation. In addition, high-quality early care and learning requires supportive learning environments with an adequate number of teachers and leaders who tailor learning experiences to a child’s individual cultural needs. As such, the Pathway identifies desired outcomes and indicators of early care and learning opportunities as children meet the benchmarks of school readiness.
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Outcomes
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As we learn more about how early care and learning can improve Oklahoma’s early childhood system, we strive for outcomes that include:
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• Children have access to high quality, developmentally appropriate programs with professionals.
• Children attend early learning programs and schools consistently.
• Children learn in safe environments with positive climates that support social-emotional development.
Indicators
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As we advocate for more investments in early childhood, indicators help us measure exactly where the state needs to focus resources in order to move the needle and make a difference. For example, since we know early learning increases school readiness, we may look at the number of eligible children enrolled in Head Start. We’ll then take that a step further and look at even more research that affects the outcomes we’re trying to reach, such as the percentage of regular attendance at Head Start.
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Actions
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There are many actions Oklahoma can take to ensure all children are ready to succeed in school. In order to improve outcomes for children and families, we must make data-informed decisions and work on policy changes, investments and resources. Here, we’ve compiled recommendations about public and private programs, services and initiatives that provide early care and learning.
Family Support
Our Goal: Families have access to education and support services.
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Why Family Support? Educated, skilled and supported family members and caregivers are better equipped to expose children to educational opportunities. Without support, vulnerable families struggle to fulfill their child’s health and developmental needs, putting their path to school readiness in jeopardy. For example, families living in high poverty or crime-heavy areas may be less likely to utilize community resources that could enrich their child’s learning. On the other hand, families who receive support are more engaged in their child’s development. As such, the Pathway identifies desired outcomes and indicators of family support as children meet the benchmarks of school readiness.
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Outcomes
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As we learn more about how early care and learning can improve Oklahoma’s early childhood system, we strive for outcomes that include:
• Children have safe, stable and nurturing relationships with their caregivers.
• Families have the knowledge, skills and social supports for their children’s optimal development.
• Children live in economically secure families.
• Communities are safe, toxic-free and economically viable in support of children and their families.
Indicators
As we advocate for more parent education and support services, indicators help us measure exactly where the state needs to focus resources in order to move the needle and make a difference. For example, since we know families with support are more likely to provide a safe, stable and nurturing environment, we may look at the number of families that make a living wage. We’ll then take that a step further and look at even more research that affects the outcomes we’re trying to reach, such as the percentage of children who are not homeless.
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Actions
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There are many actions Oklahoma can take to ensure all children are ready to succeed in school. In order to improve outcomes for children and families, we must make data-informed decisions and work on policy changes, investments and resources. Here, we’ve compiled recommendations about public and private programs, services and initiatives that relate to family education and support.