Board highlights teacher-led Madison Community Pre-K Consortium and "Saturday Spark" workshops

At its Feb. 11 meeting the Madison Public Schools curriculum committee reviewed the Madison Community Pre-K Consortium, a two-year teacher-led initiative that convenes district and nonpublic pre-K providers to share practice and professional learning.

Steven (board member) reported the consortium began as an effort by teachers to connect local early-learning providers. Committee members described roughly 10 community agencies taking part, four evening or weekend sessions this year (each roughly 2.5 to 3 hours) and a $2,000 grant that funded "Saturday Spark" workshops. Those workshops, committee members said, were intended as teacher-led professional development to "share passion to amplify results for kids."

Committee members praised the consortium as a public–private approach to coordinating early-learning practice in Madison, noting it supports coaching models and cross-agency professional development. The group also described outreach efforts such as setting up a table at a local career expo to encourage high-school students to consider early-learning careers and to build connections between preschools and district programs.

Committee members characterized the work as teacher-driven and said it positions the community to better support families and prepare children for entry into Madison Public Schools.

Ending

The curriculum committee asked the board to note the consortium’s progress; no funding decisions or formal votes on the consortium were made at the meeting.