Princeton Regional School's Preschool Program
PRESCHOOL CURRICULUM
Princeton Regional Schools selected the High/Scope Curriculum for its integrated preschool program. This curriculum is one of five preschool curriculums that the NJ Department of Education has approved as a research-based curriculum with a track record of preparing students for success in elementary school.
Why did we choose High/Scope?
The High/Scope Curriculum is a comprehensive, research-based program that provides a curriculum to guide daily activities and instruction, staff development, and assessment tools and practices. This comprehensive program is compatible with NJ Department of Education Preschool Standards and Expectations. It is also compatible with the Guidelines for Appropriate Practice published by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).
Who created the High/Scope Curriculum?
High/Scope is an independent nonprofit research, development, training, and public outreach organization, established in 1970, with headquarters in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The organization’s mission is to “lift lives through education”. High/Scope’s work is funded by grants from foundations and corporations and contracts with local, state, and federal governmental agencies. It also receives revenue from sales of its materials published by the High/Scope Press.
High/Scope is perhaps best known for its research on the lasting effects of preschool education (The Perry Preschool Study) which has had an important impact on public policy, contributing to Head Start program and other educational programs for young children. High/Scope has been adopted as the curriculum for many preschool programs in New Jersey, schools in other states and other countries around the world including, the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Ireland, Mexico, The
Netherlands and Singapore.
What is the High/Scope Curriculum?
The High/Scope Curriculum is based the principle that children and adults learn best through hands-on learning experiences with people, materials, events and ideas. Teachers and children are partners in these experiences; teachers offer guidance and support to children and build on learning experiences. The curriculum is built around activities in five main curriculum content areas:
- approaches to learning;
- language, literacy, & communication;
- social and emotional development; physical development, health, and well-being; and
- arts and sciences.
Within these content areas are 58 key developmental indicators that teachers use to plan learning experiences and interact with children. (See www.highscope.org/Content)
What does it look like when the High/Scope Curriculum is used in a preschool classroom?
Adult-child interaction . . . teachers and children are active partners in the learning process. ~In this approach teachers use “intentional teaching” techniques that encourage learning in specific content areas as well as strategies for helping children resolve conflict.
Classroom arrangement, materials, and equipment . . .~the classroom’s furniture and materials are carefully arranged to promote active learning. There are “centers” or “interest areas” that are organized around specific kinds of play: block area, house area, small toy area, book area, sand-and-water area, and art area.
Daily routine . . .~ teachers give children a sense of control over the events of the day by planning a consistent daily routine so that children can anticipate what happens next. The daily routine includes greeting time, the plan-do-review sequence, small and large-group activities, meal time, rest time and outside time.
Assessing child progress and program quality . . . High/Scope created a tool called the Child Observation Record (COR) to evaluate child progress on a daily basis. Another tool called the Preschool Program Quality Assessment (PQA) evaluates the quality of the program by looking at seven key areas: learning environment, daily routine, adult-child interaction, curriculum planning and assessment, parent involvement and family services, staff qualifications and staff development, and program management.
For accuracy, the descriptions of the curriculum and classroom practices are taken from High/Scope’s website at www.highscope.org/)
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