The recommendation of the Frog Street Pre-K materials for the program came from the RISD Instructional Material Allotment Committee, which was chaired by Monica Simonds, RISD director of advanced learning programs and services.
“It met 100% of [the Texas Education Agency]’s criteria,” Simonds said of the program. “Other reasons for the selection included the resources having components that are culturally responsive, adaptations for learners with special needs, supports for English learners, social-emotional learning and balanced literacy components.”
District staff explained the Frog Street Pre-K program will be paid for through the instructional materials allotment in the district’s current budget.
With the board’s approval, Simonds said, the district’s literacy and interventions pre-K team will begin designing and implementing corresponding professional learning for teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators.
“To see that we've adopted a very complex curriculum for our smallest kiddos, to me, is very affirming of the work that we do,” trustee Kim Caston said of the instructional materials chosen for the pre-K program. “And that we do mean that it starts the first day that they walk through the first door of their experience in RISD.”
