Norwalk ACTS Collaboration with StriveTogether’s Prenatal to Three Initiative Boosts Kindergarten Readiness by 7%

The number of children ready for kindergarten in Norwalk, Connecticut has increased by seven percentage points over two school years, according to data in a recent case study conducted on Norwalk’s Prenatal to Three Initiative.

The increase comes as Norwalk ACTS implements a new screening tool in the homes of children across the county to track and assess their development prior to entering kindergarten. The developmental screening tool, called the Standardized Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), allows parents and caregivers to pinpoint developmental progress in children between the ages of one month to five and a half years.  

The study reports that over two school years, the percentage of children that are developmentally ready to learn at kindergarten entry has increased from 67% (2018-19) to 74% (2020-21), guided, at least in part, by Norwalk ACTS prenatal to three initiative.

According to the study, the ultimate purpose of the initiative was to generate a common understanding of individual children’s development and progress and to promote productive conversations between parents, early childcare providers and pediatricians.

For this initiative, Norwalk ACTS engaged Family and Children Agency’s (FCA) home visitation program, which is designed to help parents better understand their child’s developmental needs. FCA home visitors go to the homes of families once a week with activities that allow the child to practice a variety of skills that are later measured using the ASQ.

The ASQ measures a child’s communication, fine motor, gross motor, personal-social and problem-solving skills. Parents administer the ASQ every few months, with the assistance of a home visitor, to track the child’s developmental progress, determine what is or is not working for the child and make changes accordingly.

“It is so important that a parent learns how to assess their own child, because they need to understand their child’s development. They need to know what’s going on,” says Yadira Morales, FCA home visitor.

Tracking the developmental progress of children for 60 months using ASQs allows for parents to understand their child’s developmental needs, track their progress and determine steps for early intervention if needed. Taking these steps has significantly increased the number of children who are developmentally ready for kindergarten and keep them on track for the years to come.

Norwalk ACTS worked in collaboration with their national partner, StriveTogether’s Impact and Improvement Network (INN), for 18 months to implement the ASQ from birth to kindergarten in home visiting programs and pediatric practices throughout Norwalk. Their efforts provide a standardized process for screening, tracking and promoting child development.

Their efforts of ensuring that children enter kindergarten ready to learn are far from over. Since beginning the initiative in 2018, 7,263 (and counting) ASQ’s have been administered and entered into the database, 3,904 (and counting) children have been screened, and they have successfully engaged 23 community partners to complete ASQ screenings with children and their parents and provide tiered interventions to ensure that children are developmentally on track with reduced risk for delays.

Partners include Norwalk Public School, all school readiness and state funded infant-toddler sites, all home visiting programs, Head Start, Norwalk Housing Authority and Norwalk Community Health Center. Other partners mobilizing to implement ASQ include All Our Kin, Malta House and All Saints Catholic School.

As the results of the initiative gained attention among educators in the community, Norwalk public schools have begun requiring ASQs to be completed as part of the kindergarten registration process, a major step in the right direction to ensure children in the community are developmentally ready to enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Founded in 2005, Norwalk ACTS is a non-profit, cross-sector cradle to career partnership organization. The not-for-profit organization is made up of over 170 community and civic leaders, educators, organizations, and individuals who are committed to building and sustaining a community infrastructure.

Norwalk ACTS has been a network member of StriveTogether since 2011, together they work to improve outcomes for children in Norwalk.

____________________

This article was reported and written by Lauren Malenchini, a CT by the Numbers intern who attends Quinnipiac University.  More of her work can be seen at https://malenchinilauren.wixsite.com/my-site