December 9, 2010

News Release

TISD Classrooms Receive State Recognition

Prekindergarten teachers in Tyler ISD were rewarded this week for their dedication to preparing students for kindergarten when their classrooms received Texas School Ready! certification.

“Strong prekindergarten programs help get at-risk children off to a good start and improve their chances for success throughout their school career. This certification can be used by parents to quickly identify programs that are effectively preparing children for kindergarten,” said Texas Commissioner of Education Robert Scott.

The teachers receiving the 2010 Texas School Ready! Certification are: Billy Smoot from Bonner Elementary School; Marcia Trifilio, Yesenia Milan Stephanie Denton, Jackie Jackson, and Tamela Struggs from Griffin Elementary School; Traci Sanders, Ivonda Williams, Bobbie Reddic, and Monica Wood from Jones Elementary School; and Alicia Guajardo and Vicki Haddad from the Boshears Center.

For prekindergarten classrooms from the 2008-2009 school year, 1,765 classrooms are receiving 2010-2011 certification through a Texas Education Agency-funded evaluation system operated by the Children's Learning Institute (CLI) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).

To achieve certification, teachers at preschools and centers apply to CLI and provide information about their classrooms. CLI then studies information provided by Texas public school districts to assess students' early reading and social development skills after they advance to kindergarten. The annual certification shows that children who graduated from these prekindergarten classrooms went to public kindergarten with the fundamental skills in place to be successful. Licensed childcare providers, Head Start and public prekindergarten classrooms are included in the voluntary program.

Texas School Ready! also provides support throughout the certification process, such as professional development, mentoring for teachers and progress monitoring tools.

###