The Beaverton School District is working to build a pre-K program where children are supported to enter kindergarten with a strong foundation for lifetime learning. We believe in using current research about learning and the child’s brain development, our experience as educators, and what we know about the experiences of our children and their families as we develop our Pre-K through 2nd grade alignment practices.
We are committed to building culturally responsive, nurturing environments that are inclusive of all children, particularly children with developmental delays or disabilities, who speak languages other than English, children of color, and children living in poverty.
As we work with children we will:
- Consider what is known about child development and learning, what is known about each individual child, and what is known about the social, linguistic, and cultural contexts in which each child lives.
- Concentrate on all domains of child development, focusing on the whole child, remembering that children construct their learning in progressions and on a developmental continuum.
- Work to develop each child’s sense of self as the foundation of their social emotional growth.
- Remember that children learn through experiences on their way to developing the ability to translate what they know about their environment to abstract thoughts.
- Create opportunities for children to interact with interesting challenges in their environment through inquiry and play as a way to build their brains.
- Celebrate the ways children learn from each other, and create space for peer interaction as a tool for learning.
- Work to build secure attachments with each of our students because we know that a warm and nurturing relationship with their teacher supports the development of empathy, self-regulation, and a strong self-concept.
- View and work with every child in the context of their culture, their family, and their community.
- Commit to connecting with families and caregivers, valuing their diverse perspectives and cultural knowledge as assets, and to working with them as partners in their child’s education.
We are committed to this vision because young children inspire us with their curiosity, playfulness, and sense of wonder about the world around them. We see the core of our work as celebrating and understanding the strengths and great capacity of young children; working to sculpt their minds so they become powerful thinkers, and building Pre-K and early elementary programs worthy of their capabilities.
