Two years ago, statewide implementation of the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) for all of the Commonwealth’s kindergarteners began. No one imagined this inaugural year for gaining the state’s first fully comprehensive understanding of students’ foundational literacy, mathematics, self-regulation and social skills would be interrupted by a pandemic. The challenges that lay ahead of us as COVID-19 continued to impact access and full implementation were simply unforeseen.

The VKRP/PALS/UVA-CASTL teams turned these challenges into opportunities and there are many achievements to acknowledge: remote options for PALS and the EMAS; the addition of well-being items and open response fields to the CBRS and the subsequent launch of the ECE Resource Hub (which now also provides a set of infant and toddler resources in addition to those designed to help preschool educators better foster young children’s social emotional skills); preschool access to the CBRS in fall of 2020; and the expansion of VKRP to pre-K beginning this fall. But the important thing to note is that all of these accomplishments would not have been possible without your persistence, innovation and flexibility around implementation, and more specifically, administration of the VKRP assessments amidst vast unknowns and incredibly stressful times. On this note: check out our previous blogs that offer self-care and mindful tips to help you de-stress — Self-care and the Four R’s of Resilience or Acknowledge Your Needs & Know Your S.T.U.F.

Your strongly held belief in the importance of having school readiness data for every child is what truly warrants the applause. These data provided a clearer picture of pandemic-related impacts on children’s learning and development and became the basis for the targeted instruction (whether in-person, virtual or hybrid) you skillfully provided students in areas most critical to their success in kindergarten and beyond. VKRP data also informed decisions around supportive resources for K-2 and early childhood educators, leading to increased state-funded preschool slots and greater investments in tools like PALS and interventions such as tutoring and extended day programs. Millions of dollars are now being allocated to younger learners largely because of you. Thank you for remaining valued partners in the success of this important initiative and for your part in helping make so many monumental and timely achievements a reality!