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Nancy Bailey's Education Website

Revive, Rally and Recover Public Schools

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Toddlers & Preschool Testing? Don’t Steal the Joy of Reading!

August 1, 2018 By Nancy Bailey 5 Comments

A child three years old is still a toddler. What demands, if any, should be placed on a child this young when it comes to learning to read? Will it harm their chances of enjoying reading in the future? This is what we should ask when it comes to the new PELI testing. The same […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: DIBELS, early reading, preschool, Preschool Early Literacy Indicator (PELI), Preschool reading assessment, toddlers and reading, Toddlers and Reading Assessment

The Danger of Online (Or Any) Pre-Kindergarten Assessment

May 16, 2018 By Nancy Bailey 8 Comments

When did we become a nation that harshly judges how young children learn? How does such inappropriate evaluation of children make our country great? The focus should be on the children and their needs. Also, does online preschool assessment violate a young child’s right to privacy? I think parents and teachers should be concerned. I […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Florida's VPK Programs, preschool, preschool assessment, preschool online testing, privatization, Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten, VPK

FORCE & FLUNK: Destroying a Child’s Love of Reading—and Their Life

October 9, 2017 By Nancy Bailey 37 Comments

We are now in the dangerous era of FORCE & FLUNK when it comes to children and reading. Here’s how it works. FORCE A frenzy surrounding reading is caused by school reformers and the media, claiming children are not learning to read fast enough. Kindergarten is the new first grade, automatically making preschool the new […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Flunking, kindergarten, preschool, Pushing children to read too early, reading, Reading Programs, retention, Technology

What’s Behind the Obsession with Kindergarten Readiness?

August 25, 2017 By Nancy Bailey 8 Comments

When I was in kindergarten, I had one line in a little play. I said, I am Patrick Potato and this is my cousin, Mrs. Tomato, and I heard laughter. I wanted to be an actress from that moment on. ~Doris Roberts, American actress, author and philanthropist. Raymond’s mom on the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond. […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: college and career ready, kindergarten pressure, kindergarten readiness, Kindergarten readiness tests, preschool, reading readiness, redshirting, school reform, self-regulation, Social skills, summer kindergarten readiness programs

Preschool Social Emotional Learning (SEL): Discipline in Disguise?

June 10, 2017 By Nancy Bailey 2 Comments

Social Emotional Learning is popular! But why do school reformers discuss SEL like it has been hiding under a rock someone just kicked over? Haven’t preschool teachers always worked with children on how to get along? While reading and thinking about preschool, I thought it would be interesting to explore SEL as it relates to […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: discipline, preschool, SEL, Social Emotional Learning

The Devil is in the Details, Utah

September 9, 2016 By Nancy Bailey 2 Comments

Some Utah parents are worried about afterschool Satan Clubs. I don’t blame them. However, and I’m no religious expert by any means, if there is a devil, I think it is always sneaking into town when and where you least expect. Utah, in my opinion, has some devil-like programs designed to eliminate public-schools. First, there’s […]

Filed Under: Featured, Uncategorized Tagged With: Computers, disabilities, Online Preschool, preschool, public schools, Social Impact Bonds, socialization, special education, Utah, Waterford UPSTART

Education Mirages and Presidential Politics—Hillary Clinton

May 12, 2016 By Nancy Bailey 11 Comments

Presidential politics and education—it’s like crawling through the desert. You see the same old landscape, and then, out in the distance you see real teacher support and quality schooling! And you hear “I will make public schools great again!” We are bombarded with statements that sound supportive of public schools and teachers, parents, and students, […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Autism, Bill Gates, charter schools, Disruptive Education, Eli Broad, Equal Pay, Hillary Clinton, preschool, public schools, Teach for America, Teacher Pay, Technology, The Waltons

The Loss of Special Education Teachers

February 28, 2016 By Nancy Bailey 30 Comments

Where did all the special education teachers go? Special education teachers who study and address the unique differences in students are really a part of the whole learning puzzle—necessary to a student’s future success. But alas, special education teachers are falling by the wayside. Time to update this post. In Washington State they are using […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: CAST, dyslexia, IDEA, learning disabilities, Least Restrictive Environment, Philippines Teachers, preschool, Response to Intervention, special education, Teacher Shortage, Teacher Support, Universal Design for Learning

Preschool Common Core Dialogic Reading: Can’t Mother Goose Fly Alone?

December 28, 2015 By Nancy Bailey 12 Comments

Yes. Mother Goose can fly alone! She doesn’t need any help from dialogic reading, which is like close reading for preschool. This formulaic reading exercise was created by Grover J. “Russ” Whitehurst an experimental psychologist who is director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution. Here is more about Dr. Whitehurst. […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Common Core, Dialogic Reading, Joy of Reading, Mother Goose, Picture Books, preschool, reading

Senator Bernie Sanders and K-12 Education: We’re Listening!

July 6, 2015 By Nancy Bailey 12 Comments

Bernie fever is sweeping the Internet. I like Sen. Sanders. He says a lot of things that make me want to jump up and shout YES! You Go Bernie! But I, like many others, am still listening for the specifics when it comes to education and public schools. On the issue of K-12 education he […]

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, charter schools, Common Core, education, ESEA, preschool, public schools, Sen. Bernie Sanders, special education, Teach for America

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