2026–27 Academic Priorities

The 2026–27 school year at Prospect Academy will focus on creating a strong educational foundation for every preschool and kindergarten child through high-quality instruction, intentional learning experiences, responsive support, and strong family partnerships.

As an early learning building, our work must address the whole child. Academic development, language and literacy, mathematics, social-emotional development, physical development, independence, engagement, and school readiness are interconnected.

These priorities will guide instructional planning, professional learning, intervention, family engagement, resource allocation, and continuous improvement throughout the school year.

Priority 1

Build Strong Foundations for School Readiness and Academic Growth

Prospect Academy will establish clear expectations for what children should know and be able to demonstrate across preschool and kindergarten.

Instruction and assessment will be aligned to the Ohio Early Learning and Development Standards, Ohio Learning Standards for Kindergarten, TS GOLD, KRA, district curriculum, and appropriate formative assessments.

Teachers will use evidence of student learning to identify strengths, learning gaps, and developmental needs and provide timely instructional support.

Children who are not yet demonstrating expected skills will receive targeted instruction and intervention through classroom supports and the MTSS process.

Success Indicators

Growth demonstrated through TS GOLD, KRA, curriculum-based and classroom assessments; increased numbers of children demonstrating age- and grade-appropriate skills; and documented intervention and progress-monitoring for children requiring additional support.

Priority 2 - Strengthen Developmentally Appropriate and Intentional Instruction

Prospect Academy will maintain high expectations for learning while ensuring that instruction remains appropriate for young children.

Teachers will use explicit instruction, modeling, guided practice, purposeful questioning, exploration, learning centers, small-group instruction, and authentic application of skills.

Instruction will provide opportunities for children to talk, investigate, create, solve problems, collaborate, and demonstrate learning in multiple ways.

Classroom observations and walkthroughs will focus not only on what the teacher is doing, but also on what children are doing, saying, thinking, creating, and demonstrating.

Professional learning and coaching will be connected to identified instructional needs and evidence gathered through walkthroughs, student work, assessment data, and teacher-team discussions.

Success Indicators:

Increased consistency in high-quality instructional practices, stronger student engagement, evidence of intentional differentiation, and observable adjustments to instruction based on student learning.

Priority 3 - Accelerate Early Literacy, Language, and Mathematical Thinking

Early literacy and mathematics will remain foundational priorities across all preschool and kindergarten classrooms.

Children will have daily opportunities to develop:

• Language and Literacy - oral language, vocabulary, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, early reading behaviors, comprehension, drawing, writing, and communication.
• Mathematics: - counting, number sense, quantity, patterns, measurement, shapes, spatial reasoning, comparison, problem-solving, and mathematical language.

Teachers will intentionally integrate literacy and mathematics into classroom routines, centers, inquiry experiences, read-alouds, transitions, and authentic learning opportunities.

Children needing additional support will receive targeted small-group and individualized intervention.

Success Indicators

Documented growth in TS GOLD, KRA and kindergarten assessment data; stronger evidence of independent application of early literacy and mathematics skills; and measurable progress for children receiving targeted interventions.

Priority 4 - Develop Independent, Engaged, and Confident Learners

At Prospect Academy, student ownership must be developmentally appropriate.

For young children, ownership means helping children learn to make choices, communicate their thinking, solve problems, persist through challenges, care for materials, participate in routines, work with others, and recognize their own growth.

Teachers will provide children with meaningful choices and multiple ways to demonstrate what they know.

During centers, play, inquiry, small groups, and classroom routines, adults will intentionally observe children, gather evidence of learning, and determine when to scaffold, extend, intervene, or plan future instruction.

Children will increasingly be encouraged to explain their thinking using words, drawings, manipulatives, movement, writing, demonstrations, and other developmentally appropriate modalities.

Success Indicators

Increased student engagement and independence; improved participation in classroom routines; stronger communication and problem-solving skills; and evidence that children can apply previously taught skills in new and authentic situations.

Priority 5 - Strengthen Social-Emotional Development, Behavior, and Belonging

Children learn best when they feel safe, connected, supported, and successful.

Prospect Academy will strengthen consistent buildingwide expectations through PBIS, social-emotional learning, responsive classroom practices, relationship-building, and developmentally appropriate behavior supports.

Adults will explicitly teach behavioral expectations rather than assuming children already know them.

When children demonstrate behavioral or social-emotional needs, staff will use observation, data, family input, PBIS and MTSS processes to identify appropriate supports.

Every child should have meaningful relationships with adults in the building and experience Prospect Academy as a place where they belong.

Success Indicators

Reduced repeated behavioral concerns, increased student engagement, stronger implementation of PBIS expectations, documented supports for children requiring intervention, and positive evidence of child-adult relationships.

Priority 6 - Use Assessment as an Instructional Tool

Assessment at Prospect Academy will be used to understand children and determine what happens next instructionally, not simply to complete a requirement.

Preschool teachers will use TS GOLD documentation and authentic evidence gathered throughout the learning environment.

Kindergarten teachers will use KRA, curriculum-based assessments, formative assessments, student work, observation, and authentic demonstrations of learning.

Teacher-Based Teams will examine multiple sources of evidence rather than relying solely on worksheets or isolated assessment tasks.

Evidence may include student writing, drawings, photographs, anecdotal notes, conversations, work samples, demonstrations, observations, assessment results, and portfolios.

Success Indicators

Assessment evidence is current, authentic, and connected to instructional decisions; TBT conversations result in specific instructional responses; and children requiring intervention are identified and supported promptly.

Priority 7 - Strengthen Family Partnerships, Attendance, and Transitions

Families are essential partners in early childhood education.

Prospect Academy will communicate regularly with families regarding student progress, attendance, developmental milestones, classroom learning, and opportunities to support learning at home.

Particular attention will be given to reducing barriers to consistent attendance and intervening early when attendance concerns emerge.

As a preschool-and-kindergarten building, Prospect Academy will also strengthen transitions:

• Home to preschool
• Preschool to kindergarten
• New family entry into Prospect Academy
• Kindergarten transition to the next elementary setting

Family events, conferences, workshops, communication tools, home-school connections, and community partnerships will be intentionally connected to children's learning and development.

Success Indicators

Improved attendance, increased family participation, documented family communication, stronger preschool-to-kindergarten transition practices, and increased family understanding of children's learning and development.