Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Early Childhood topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Gilbert board spotlight: district preschool programs show early literacy gains, expand options
Summary
District preschool leaders told the governing board the program now spans 71 classrooms and 116 sections, reported rapid gains in early literacy metrics (letter-name/sound proficiency rose from 57% to over 72% in one quarter) and outlined expansions, partnerships and parent engagement initiatives to boost kindergarten readiness.
The Gilbert Public Schools governing board on March 31 heard a long-form presentation on the district’s preschool programs from early‑learning leaders, who described program growth, curriculum changes and early literacy gains that officials said are positioning more children to enter kindergarten ready to learn.
District preschool director Don Cobberstein told the board “My name is Don Cobberstein, and I am the proud director of early learning,” and described a system that now includes 71 classrooms across roughly 30 campuses and four program options: Advantage (integrated preschool), Building Blocks, K‑Prep and tuition-based Toy Box. He said the district offers part‑ and full‑day options and is pursuing site expansions where families indicate demand.
The presentation emphasized measurable progress in foundational literacy. Julie Stockton, coordinator of the Advantage program, summarized baseline work in January and said the district’s teaching-and-learning collaboratives set a goal for naming letters and corresponding sounds. “At the initial data collection, only 57% of our students were proficient,” she said; a later slide presented to the board showed that proficiency rose to more than 72% in one quarter after structured, data‑driven instruction and collaborative professional development.
Leaders described several district initiatives: a reducing‑screen‑time campaign that engages families through home activity calendars, a gross‑motor equipment rollout (gross‑motor carts and outdoor classrooms) at multiple campuses, expanded instructional resources funded via grants and partnerships (Gilbert Friends of the Library, DonorsChoose), and an ARC collaborative coaching model to align intervention supports across program types. Kelly Jarrett, the district’s early‑childhood behavioral coach, and preschool instructional staff described efforts to standardize curriculum, implement Foundations PreK and integrate early literacy curricula such as Learning Without Tears and I‑Ready foundational skills.
Officials also discussed parent engagement and workforce connections: a preschool parent series (including an event focused on transition to kindergarten), partnerships that deliver dental screenings, and CTE pathways that engage high‑school students in early‑childhood work through the Toy Box program and student‑worker opportunities. Don Cobberstein noted that Arizona does not fully fund preschool statewide, so the district uses mixed funding sources and scholarship partnerships to expand access.
The presentation closed with next steps: finalizing a KP‑Prep scope and a standards‑based universal preschool progress report for implementation in the 2026–27 school year, continued data monitoring via the district’s Tableau dashboards, and invitations for board members to visit preschool classrooms.
Board members thanked staff for the detailed data and the programmatic work; several requested follow‑up reports and a planned data dive when beginning‑of‑year FastBridge assessment results are available.
