New Project Highlights SC Early Learning Standards

With the support of a grant from SC First Steps to School Readiness, we are launching Step Up to School Readiness – a brand new project to help raise awareness about the school readiness goals contained in the SC Early Learning Standards. The standards, created by an interagency group, and adopted in 2017, provide a “common set of expectations for children’s development, and, at the same time, validate the individual differences that should be expected in children.”

The SC Early Learning Standards are arranged into six domains of development:

• Approaches to Play and Learning
• Emotional and Social Development
• Health and Physical Development
• Language Development and Communication
• Mathematical Thinking and Expression
• Cognitive Development

Each domain contains three or more subdomains, and is further broken down into specific school readiness goals.

Each month starting in March 2019, we will spotlight one school readiness goal from the standards. All classrooms receiving technical assistance in our Excellence in Care and Early Learning (ExCEL) program will get a new activity for their classroom with guidance from RCFS Technical Assistance Providers on ways to help children move toward the goal while in their care. Families participating in home-based programs will receive a new material to keep (e.g., book, toy, recycled materials project). Their Family Support Advocate will discuss the goal with them and model ways parents can help support their children’s school readiness at home.

In addition, we’ll be sharing the goals through our website, outreach events, and social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter), so be sure to follow us there for lots of great school readiness content.

South Carolina Early Learning Standards Interagency Stakeholder Group. (2017). South Carolina Early Learning Standards. Columbia: Author