Kennedy-King College Child Development Lab School, Chicago

Philosophy The program's approach to Child Development and Education is developmentally and linguistically appropriate and demonstrates the understanding that children have individual rates of development, interests, temperaments, languages, cultural backgrounds, and learning styles. Families are considered the child's first teachers and are partners in their children's education. School Readiness Vision The City Colleges of Chicago Laboratory Schools will prepare its children and families to be ready to succeed in Kindergarten. Our School Readiness goals include; developing children's "skills, knowledge, and attitudes necessary for success in school and for future learning and life." Our objective is to achieve and promote the following educational goals through effective early childhood instruction: Social Competency, Emergent/Early Literacy, Emergent Math & Science, Health & Nutritional Awareness and Cultural Identity & Awareness. We will prepare children for success in school using the Widely Held Expectations (WHE) from the Teaching Strategies GOLD observation and assessment tool that is aligned with the Head Start Early Learning Framework and the Illinois Early Learning Standards (IELS). Teachers will utilize data analysis from the GOLD to plan for each child individually in school and collaborate with families to strategize on how to best support their child's development at home.