by Natashia Ford
In 2006, the state of Florida began testing the performance of all Florida Pre-K providers participating in the newly voted VPK program which started in the 2005-2006 school year.
The state has recently posted the readiness rates received by VPK providers. I pulled the list of all Orange County providers that were ranked “low performing”. Low performing means that out of a total possible score of 300 these providers received a score of 200 or below.
Ratings are based on three screenings given to children who entered kindergarten in August 2006 after attending pre-K classes. They measure such skills as ability to recognize letters of the alphabet and their sounds, as well as certain social skills that indicate a child is ready to learn.
The Orange County list named 31 VPK providers as “low performing”, and 10 of them were child care providers located in the Pine Hills zip codes of 32808 and 32818. The number even drastically increases if you add in zip codes in the surrounding Pine Hills area.
I don’t know about you, but I think 10 is a ridiculous amount of Pine Hills VPK providers rating as “low performing”.
Are our children ready to learn? With such a high number of Pine Hills providers on this “low performing” list how will our children fare in Kindergarten, Elementary, or Middle School? These younger years are the building blocks of the foundation for their educational growth. We must get our children ready to enter Kindergarten and performing at a level equal to or higher than their peers living in other parts of Central Florida.
How will we do this?
First, we cannot solely rely on the state of Florida to correct the problem of these “low performing” providers. Although the state is requiring “low performing” provider to submit an improvement plan to their early learning coalition or school district by Aug. 21, we as parents and a community must also get involved.
Providers identified as “low performing” by the state, for three consecutive years will no longer be eligible to provide the VPK program. Well, that’s three years worth of our children attending a poor performing school before the state will take action.
I urge all parents with young children soon to enter a VPK program to check the score of the VPK provider. Although the score is important it is not the only criteria of whether or not to place your child in the providers program. You must go beyond the score and ask the provider deeper questions. Ask about the curriculm and planned activities, ask about the teachers and the providers credentials.
Don’t just consider this free day care for your children. This is the early beginning to school. Ask your children what they learned in school today, reinforce it at home. Don’t depend on your VPK provider to do all the work.
There are plenty of sites on the internet that can help you choose a qualified provider. If you don’t have a computer or the internet at home, the library offers this service for free. Orange County has an Early Learning Coaliton that strives to ensure that all Orange County children will be fully prepared to enter school ready to learn. Partner with them on your child educational future.
If you currently have a child in a VPK program check the score, if it’s a “low performing” provider ask what the next step for increasing the score and how you can help.
I know its old, corny, and cliché, however it’s the truth…the children are the future.
As as we look at the number of “low performing school in Pine Hills we must also recognize the providers whose VPK programs garnered extremely high scores.
Congratulations to:
Power Care Preschool & Childcare with a score of 282
Kinder Care Learning Dorscher #1341 with a score of 276
Lake Gem Elementary School VPK with a score of 276
Scores are available through a searchable database at https://vpk.fldoe.org.
Written by Natashia Ford, freelance writer
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