August is Kickoff Month

The Preschool Promise team has traveled around the county with the start of a new school year Kickoffs! With 125+ partner providers, these sessions share program updates and upcoming professional development opportunities for the year.

New this year, data were presented, much of which had been collected by assessing students in Preschool Promise classrooms, observing and evaluating their teachers, and reviewing key readiness markers such as attendance, to provide context for how our Professional Development team determined which PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) are offered. 

Popular PLCs are returning—such as those focused on supporting boys in the classroom, creating Black-boy friendly classrooms and using dialogic reading to spark deeper conversations with children. Based on KRA scores and identified needs, new PLCs in math, science and early literacy have also been added.

Each PLC includes coaching, as data show that children are more Kindergarten-ready when their teachers participate in professional development and coaching. Throughout the year, we’ll highlight these PLC learning cohorts and how they support Montgomery County’s youngest learners.