School Readiness

COVID-19 and Preschool Through 3rd Grade Education

CDE's Preschool Through 3rd Grade Office has gathered resources to help answer questions regarding the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to our early learners in Preschool Through 3rd Grade during the Stay-At-Home orders and the suspension of in-person learning. The Opening of School 2020-21 resources were prepared as a supplement to the CDE 20-21 School Year Toolkit.

School Readiness
Assessment Support 2020-2021

Opening of School 2020-21
Preschool Through 3rd Grade

Ready Child, Ready System

Every child, in every community deserves access to high quality, evidence-based early learning experiences. A strong start is crucial to ensuring student’s ultimate success in school, postsecondary education, in the workforce and in life (§22-7-1002). Effective, engaging programming within an aligned system ready for every child will ensure a child’s preparedness to benefit from learning experiences.

To support ready children, ready schools, and partnerships within communities, School Readiness supports ongoing, aligned assessments to inform instruction, Pk-3 transitions, and full-day Kindergarten in partnership with the Colorado Department of Human Services, the Early Childhood Leadership Commission, University partners, and other state and local agencies.

school readiness logo

Colorado’s School Readiness Definition

School readiness describes both the preparedness of a child to engage in and benefit from learning experiences, and the ability of a school to meet the needs of all students enrolled in publicly funded preschool or kindergarten. School readiness is enhanced when schools, families, and community service providers work collaboratively to ensure that every child is ready for higher levels of learning in academic content. State Board of Education, 2017.

News and Announcements

Upcoming Collaboration for K: occurring bi-monthly beginning September 10, 2020, at 3:30 PM. For topics,
dates, and registration, please visit the Training and Meetings webpage.
Collaboration for K Special Edition: On September 17, 2020, at 3:30, Kindergarten school readiness and Teaching Strategies GOLD® will co-host an extra collaboration for K with a specific focus on TS GOLD®. For more information, visit the School Readiness Training webpage.
Back-to-School Webinar: View the presentation slides on the Training and Meetings webpage
Preschool-Kindergarten Transitions: In partnership with the National P-3 Center, the Preschool-Third Grade Office hosted an opportunity specifically focused on the impact of COVID on transitions in preschool and Kindergarten. View the recording of the session.
The State Board of Education voted to provide named domains as part of the Kindergarten School Readiness data collection and reporting on March 11, 2020. CDE has gained approval to implement this change for the Fall 2021-2022 school year. For more information, view the KSR update powerpoint slides.
Improvement Planning and Early Learning guidance and documents are now available.