Ready Schools - History

History

The concept was popularized in the 1990s by the National Education Goals Panel, a taskforce of educators and politicians. The purpose of this taskforce was to set national educational policy in terms of readiness goals for children and schools. This work was discontinued with the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act. Ready schools work was continued at the state level, particularly in North Carolina, and through initiatives led by the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

The National Educational Goals Panel (1998) recognized that preschool and family support services may not be sufficient to enable children to learn skills that precede an ability to succeed academically. The Panel stated that schools had a responsibility to be ready to meet the diverse needs of children. The ten key principles that the panel considered essential to achieving “ready” schools are that schools must: • Smooth the transition between home and school • Endeavor to achieve continuity between early care and education programs and elementary schools • Help children learn and understand their complex world • Strive to help every child achieve success • Help every teacher and every adult who interacts with children during the school day be successful • Introduce or expand approaches shown to raise achievement • Alter practices and programs if existing ones do not benefit children • Serve children in communities • Take responsibility for results • Have strong leadership