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Unionville‑Chadds Ford touts big early‑literacy gains after first year of full‑day kindergarten
Summary
District officials and teachers said the first year of full‑day kindergarten produced substantial early‑literacy gains and strong social‑emotional development, highlighting a reported rise on DIBELS reading benchmarks from about 56% at the start of year to 87% at year’s end for the cohort presented.
Unionville‑Chadds Ford School District officials presented year‑one results from the district’s new full‑day kindergarten program at a June 8 work session, saying the program produced large early‑literacy gains and notable social‑emotional and engagement benefits.
District slides and presenters showed DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) assessment results for the kindergarten cohort that the presentation summarized as rising from about 56% at the beginning of the year to about 87% at the end of the year (a 31‑percentage‑point net gain). Administrators said the improvement was achieved without adding more content to kindergarten; instead, teachers used the extra time to deepen instruction, add early intervention supports and increase reading‑specialist coverage so specialists could work with kindergarten students.
The board presentation credited several operational elements for the outcomes: an expanded instructional timeline, additional reading‑specialist staffing, and two new core literacy resources (Heggerty and Foundations) adopted in kindergarten through grade 3. Administrators said MTSS (Multi‑Tiered System of Supports) work enabled earlier identification of students who needed extra help; they reported that roughly 13% of the kindergarten cohort—about 26 students districtwide—remained below or well below benchmark and will receive targeted interventions over the summer and into first grade.
Teachers who led parts of the presentation emphasized how the program protected time for play and daily outdoor learning in addition to focused literacy work. "Play is the work of children," said Danielle Martens, a kindergarten teacher who described a classroom schedule that included structured and unstructured play centers, daily outdoor games that reinforce academic skills, and protected blocks for dramatic‑play centers. Moren Fricker, a Hillendale kindergarten teacher who described the program’s nature component, said her class went to campus outdoor spaces weekly for nature‑based science and exploration, and that families were invited to a woodland‑trail walk to see student work.
Board members pressed administrators on how gains will be sustained in first grade and beyond. District leaders said they intend to leverage the same curricula and reading supports in first and second grades, expand outdoor classroom capacity (additional turf pads and outdoor classroom spaces) so older grades can access outdoor instruction more readily, and report longitudinal data tied to a Longwood grant. The district said it will track next year’s first‑grade cohort and report two‑year longitudinal results when available.
The board heard requests for continued cross‑building sharing of what worked, grant pursuit to fund outdoor play materials (examples cited included a mud kitchen and all‑weather large blocks), and ongoing professional development. Administrators said they will report additional achievement and implementation findings during the district’s normal achievement reporting cycle and at upcoming Curriculum/Instruction meetings.
The work session was a non‑voting presentation; several policy, contract and budget items were scheduled for consideration at the board’s June 15 regular meeting.
