COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 251

December 1, 2006

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	New Data Requirements for Pre-Kindergarten Education

On January 16, 2006, Governor Tim Kaine signed Executive Order #7 thus creating the Start Strong Council to develop expanded access to quality pre-kindergarten for Virginias four-year-olds. In cooperation with the council, which includes legislators, representatives from public school divisions, private providers of early childhood education programs, elected local government officials, community business leaders and parents, the Virginia Department of Education will begin to collect two new data elements about pre-kindergarten experiences for pre-kindergarten and kindergarten students in the Commonwealth.

Students pre-kindergarten experience will be collected in the Student Record Collection. Students currently enrolled in pre-kindergarten or junior kindergarten programs that are locally, state, or federally funded should be included in the student record collection beginning with the spring collection in April 2007. As with all students on the student record collection, these students will need a State Testing Identifier.

Beginning with the fall collection in October 2007, pre-kindergarten experience data will also be collected for all kindergarten students. In order to report the pre-kindergarten experience of these students, schools may need to collect additional information from parents during kindergarten registration.

Data element definitions and codes are described in attachment A. Additional information, including reporting scenarios is available at: http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/Publications/student-coll/new_coll.html

BKCJr/MA/rt

Attachment

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/administrators/superintendents_memos/2006/inf251a.pdf