LCCAA Helps Write New Standards

posted 3/25/23 -- LCCAA Head Start has a strong connection to the State of Ohio’s new Early Learning and Development Standards.

Site Administrator Kara Goodwin served on the content and review team for the standards which were nearly two years in the making. Released last week, the document is the result of a collaborative effort between the Ohio Department of Education and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

The standards cover the essential domains of development and school readiness from infancy through the end of preschool. They describe what children need to learn and illustrate how skills may develop in the first five years of life. The standards have been updated to reflect new knowledge about how young children learn and develop as supported by research. Early care and education providers across Ohio will use the standards to guide curriculum selection and implementation.

Goodwin became involved by volunteering for the review team during the state’s comment period.

“They wanted all areas of the state and all types of early childhood programs represented,” she said. “The goal was to make the standards more inclusive of special needs, English language learners and cultures.”

Goodwin joined the Creative Arts Team and collaborated via Zoom beginning May 2021. Standards for other states were reviewed and the new section created from scratch.

The standards are available on the Ohio Department of Education’s website and training opportunities will be provided this spring.

“It was a lot of work,” Goodwin said, “but I was proud to be involved because early childhood education and developmentally appropriate practice is so important to me.”