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2007 Kindergarten Readiness: Percentage of Students Demonstrating Early Literacy Skills Continues to Increase The 2007 Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS measures each Kindergartener’s school readiness in seven areas, including language and literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, social and personal skills, physical health and fitness and the creative arts. The screening, administered within the first 30 days of Kindergarten, is used to determine student school readiness, inform classroom instruction and provide useful information to parents and teachers. This year’s results show a continued increase in the percentage of Kindergarten students demonstrating early literacy skills. All kindergartners are measured through FLKRS, which assesses what students should know and be able to do as defined by the VPK Education Standards. The FLKRS screening instrument includes selected measures from the Early Childhood Observation System™ (ECHOS™), and the first two criteria of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills™ (DIBELS™) for Kindergarten. Scannable response sheets were received for 193,817 kindergarten students, representing 98 percent of the total Kindergarten FTE for 2007. A summary of the screening results is as follows:
For more information concerning these results please refer to the following links:
Florida Ekes Out a B- in School Food Kentucky and Oregon top the nation in healthy school foods policies, but two-thirds of states have no or weak nutrition standards to limit junk-food and soda sales out of vending machines, school stores, and other venues outside of school meals, according to a school foods report card from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). “Over the last ten years, states have been strengthening their school nutrition policies,” said Margo G. Wootan, director of nutrition policy at CSPI. “But overall, the changes, while positive, are fragmented, incremental, and not happening quickly enough to reach all children in a timely way.” No states received an A grade, though two states (Kentucky and Oregon) received an A-; six states received a B+ (Nevada, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Washington and New Mexico); nine states earned a B or B-, including Texas, Florida and Arizona;; six states and the District of Columbia received Cs; seven states got Ds; including NC (D+) VA (D)and Georgia (D-) and 20 states got Fs, including Massachusetts, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Most improved honors go to Oregon, which upgraded from an F in last year’s report card to an A-, and Washington state, which moved from an F to a B+. Since CSPI’s last report card in 2006, Oregon passed a comprehensive school snack and beverage policy which limits calories, saturated and trans fat, and sugars in snacks in K-12 schools and limits the sale of most sugary beverages in schools. Both states previously had no guidelines beyond USDA’s bare-bones rules. “You would think that with all the concern about childhood obesity that getting junk food and soda out of schools would be easy. But, it took us six years of hard work to pass our school nutrition legislation,” said Mary Lou Hennrich, executive director of the Community Health Partnership: Oregon's Public Health Institute, who led Oregon’s effort to improve school foods. “We welcome national action to build on what we and other states have done and ensure that all children go to school in junk-food-free environments.” CSPI found that only 11 states have comprehensive food and beverage standards that apply to the whole campus, the whole school day, for all grade levels. Thirteen states limit portion sizes for snacks, and only 11 states limit portion sizes for beverages. Fifteen states limit the saturated-fat content of school snacks, and only ten address trans fat. Just five states set limits on sodium in school foods. “The majority of states still rely on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s outdated school nutrition standards,” said Wootan. “Those national standards limit only the sale of jelly beans, lollipops, and other so-called ‘foods of minimal nutritional value.’ Those standards don’t address calories, saturated and trans fat, sodium, or other key nutrition concerns for children today.” CSPI based its grades on five key considerations:
Over the last 20 years, obesity rates have tripled in children and adolescents, and only 2 percent of children eat a healthy diet, according to key nutrition recommendations by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Despite that, about a third of elementary schools, 71 percent of middle schools, and 89 percent of high schools sell items such as sugary drinks, snack cakes, candy, and chips out of vending machines, school stores, or a la carte lines in the cafeteria, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study: Full Report Card: Florida Middle Schoolers Teach Their Fellow Students a Lesson -- About Hand Hygiene At DeLaura Middle School, students in Jeanne Dery’s pre-advanced language arts class wanted to teach their fellow students a lesson. Their lesson – about the importance of handwashing with soap and water – garnered the Satellite Beach, Florida students the 2007 Top Classroom Award from the “Healthy Schools, Healthy People: It’s a SNAP” program. SNAP – the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention (http://www.itsasnap.org) – is a collaboration between The Soap and Detergent Association (SDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The six-year old program encourages middle schools to help develop programs that make hand hygiene a priority for students, teachers, school health personnel, administrators and parents. Ms. Dery’s students created an entertaining and educational video that promoted personal hygiene through handwashing. Their video includes four different scenes: scientific research, a handwashing demonstration, and two segments portraying students as villainous germs being pursued by the “germ police.” The students also worked with local hotels to obtain sample bars of soap to give away to every student who viewed the video. In return, the students created a flyer promoting SNAP and handwashing to be displayed in hotel restrooms and employee lounges. “Emphasizing hand hygiene in schools has never been more important, especially with the threat of MRSA and staph infections in schools around the country,” said Nancy Bock, SDA Vice President of Education. “Students recognized by the SNAP program are helping to spread the message that washing with soap and water is the simplest way to prevent the spread of the germs that can make us sick.” The DeLaura students were recently honored for their work at a school assembly and reception. Several SDA member companies contributed products and/or financial assistance for the SNAP National Award Program, including The Dial Corporation, A Henkel Company; GOJO Industries, Inc.; Reckitt Benckiser, Inc.; Technical Concepts, LLC; and Water Journey, Ltd. Interested educators can learn more and download specific information about SNAP by visiting the SNAP website, http://www.itsasnap.org, or sending an email to SNAP@cleaning101.com.
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