Partners
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) is a partnership between several organizations. Each partner brings a unique set of expertise that makes VKRP possible.
The Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning (CASTL)
The Center for Advanced Study of Teaching and Learning at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development is an interdisciplinary center that provides leadership on effective teaching and learning through scientific study in educational settings from infancy to higher education. VKRP is implemented by a CASTL team of early childhood education researchers and specialists.
Virginia Department of Education
The mission of the Virginia Department of Education is to advance equitable and innovative learning. VDOE helps prepare all children for kindergarten by supporting birth to five programming. Quality early learning experiences are an essential element to preparing children to succeed in kindergarten and beyond. The VDOE provides oversight and guidance to CASTL in their implementation of VKRP to help ensure that this initiative is useful for teachers, principals, and school, program, and division leaders.
Virginia Literacy Partnerships (VLP)
VKRP provides assessments of mathematics, self-regulation, and social skills to complement the Virginia Language & Literacy Screening System (VALLSS). Literacy data gathered from VALLS: Pre-K and VALLS: Kindergarten come directly from Virginia Literacy Partnerships (VLP). Additional information on the literacy assessments can be found on the VLP website.
Elevate Early Education
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) was initiated by Elevate Early Education (E3), a statewide bipartisan issue-advocacy organization dedicated to early childhood education, in partnership with CASTL and with guidance from the Virginia Department of Education. E3 secured funding for phases I and II of VKRP through public and private investments.
Participating Virginia School Divisions and Programs
The development of VKRP was supported by a number of divisions and programs across the state, who volunteered to pilot the measures, reports, resources, and online system and provided valuable feedback that was incorporated into the system. VKRP now partners with all 132 school divisions and publicly-funded classrooms (e.g., VPI, VECF Mixed Delivery) serving three- and four-year-olds to get a more comprehensive picture of children’s school readiness in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten.
