California Preschool Learning Foundations - ECEZero2Three ...

A Message from the
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction
Iam delighted to present the California
Preschool Learning Foundations
(Volume 1), a publication that I believe
will be instrumental in improving early
learning and development for California’s
preschool children.
Young children are naturally eager to
learn. However, not all of them are ready
for school. All too often, children entering
school for the first time as kindergarteners
are already lagging behind their classmates,
and this disadvantage can affect
them socially and academically long past
kindergarten. Children who have had the
benefit of attending high-quality preschools
are more comfortable in their surroundings,
have been exposed to books, have
learned how to play cooperatively, and are
accustomed to learning with others.
Research shows that all children
can benefit from participating in highquality
preschool programs. And a recent
study by the RAND Corporation shows that
closing the school “readiness” gap will help
to close the achievement gap, in which far
too many socioeconomically disadvantaged
students and far too many African American
and Latino children are lagging behind
and achieving below their abilities. Not all
preschool programs are equally effective,
however. Those that strengthen children’s
school readiness operate with an in-depth
understanding of what children need to
learn before they start school.
With a goal of ensuring that all
preschools in California offer such highquality
programs, the California Depart-
ment of Education, during a three-yearlong
collaborative effort with leading
early childhood educators, researchers,
advocates, and parents, developed these
preschool learning foundations.
The foundations outline key knowledge
and skills that most children can achieve
when provided with the kinds of interactions,
instruction, and environments
research has shown to promote early
learning and development. The foundations
can provide early childhood educators,
parents, and the public with a clear
understanding of the wide range of knowledge
and skills that preschool children
typically attain when given the benefits
of a high-quality preschool program.
These foundations focus on four
domains: social-emotional development,
language and literacy, English-language
development, and mathematics. They
provide a comprehensive understanding
of what children learn in these four
domains.
It is my hope that these foundations
will help guide and support all California
preschools as they offer developmentally
appropriate activities and instruction that
are both purposeful and playful, instilling
in our young children a love of learning
that will last a lifetime.
JACK O’CONNELL
State Superintendent of Public Instruction
California Department of Education • Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1 v