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Oakland Unified School District

Educator Resources

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Resources for Educators

This section describes steps that education practitioners can take to help support children prepare for a smooth transition into Kindergarten.

 

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Kinder Transition Plans

Kinder Transition Plans are a set of teacher-led practices that support a child’s smooth transition into elementary school.

Kinder transition practices offer families the opportunity to develop school relationship that can lead to student retention between PreK and OUSD’s elementary schools because families are engaged and supported through important processes like enrollment and making the connection between attendance and academic success.

Kinder Transition Plan Steps

  • Family engagement: K-Readiness home visits
  • Summer PreK program
  • Professional development (CSMs, PreK-K teachers)
  • Kinder Transition forms (inclusion of a Head Start)
  • Kindergarten Readiness family engagement (PreK-ES)
  • Kinder Transition plans (inclusion of a Head Start)
  • Community partnership coordination
  • Elementary schools invite PreK families to school events (literacy and science nights, health fairs etc.)
  • Elementary schools host a Kinder/TK family Orientations (attendance, early literacy)
  • PreK & Kinder teachers work on K/TK class articulation
  • Kinder Transition forms completed by PreK teachers (421 forms, 44 elementary)

 

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Kinder Transition Forms

PreK teachers complete a short Kinder Transition form sharing information about children with their receiving Kinder/TK teacher. Info includes how to best help your child succeed in Kinder/TK, what is special about them and any services that the child receives that should be continued. This helps Kinder and TK teachers best support their new students. Check out the video below on how we use them at OUSD!

Tools for Schools

Tools and suggestions for schools from teachers, community school managers, principals or family leaders

Transition Activity Ideas by Connection.pdf
Kinder Readiness Planning Tool.docx
Kinder Transition Teacher Leaders 2019-2020.pdf
Kinder Readiness Strategies.pptx

A teacher sits in front of a circle of ten young students on a colorful block rug and pulls items out of a cardboard box

 

Creating Welcoming Environments

Outreach & Enrollment for Kinder/TK

Visiting and enrolling in Kinder/TK can be a new process for many families. When families are invited to the elementary school for tours and info sessions it facilitates the process and builds trust between family and school. Below are tried and true tools directly from our schools that school leaders can use to support families and healthy enrollment numbers.

Presentation Garfield Kinder/TK Family Welcome.pptx
Presentation Bridges Enrollments Session Tour 2018.pptx
Sample Flyer Brookfield Kinder Orientation.pdf
Kinder/TK Enrollment Strategies.pptx
Attendance Works, Info for Families (Spanish).pdf
Attendance Works, Info for Families (English).pdf

 

Six young students sit on a colorful rug

Raising Resilient Kids

Oakland Unified School District, Early Learning Department embarked upon a journey to engage in trauma informed and healing practices. Our aim is to help build children's resilience from varying aspects and degrees of trauma. Educators are readily available and accessible to act as a buffer and offer healing, hope and aspiration. Classroom teaching teams are intentionally invited to join the Resilient Oakland Community & Kids (ROCK) community. Our overarching objectives are listed below along with salient articles published by New America regarding our continuing ROCK endeavors. To learn more, we invite you to read the linked articles and learn about our journey.

Objectives

  • To better understand how trauma affects young children
  • To apply research based instructional strategies to better support children and educators in a classroom where trauma is prevalent
  • To explore how race and equity play a role in our classroom culture
  • To create a space of empathy, compassion, and curiosity in service of young children
  • To build self awareness around stress and trauma and make steps to intentionally take care of ourselves

Check out these articles on raising resilient kids

Stronger Teaching and Caregiving for Californias Youngest
LaWanda Wesley on Supporting Teacher Well-Being in Oakland
Training Teachers in Trauma-Informed Classroom Practice