According to the Mississippi Department of Education’s kindergarten readiness assessment data released this week, Tallahatchie County’s entering kindergarten students outpaced many statewide peers.
Five-year-old students’ kindergarten entry scores were 533 in the East Tallahatchie School District and 538 in West Tallahatchie.
“Considering that kindergarten readiness is a score of 530 and that the year the Tallahatchie Early Learning Alliance (TELA) collaborative began, kindergartners scored an average of 469, we are exceedingly thrilled by the success of our students,” said Meghan Tooke, Strategy and Operations director for the Tallahatchie River Foundation, which funds and supports the work of TELA. “It is also encouraging to see the impact that attending a high-quality pre-K program can have for children’s future education.”
TELA, an organization founded in 2013, participates in one of the 10 state-funded pre-K collaboratives.
Since the TELA pre-K Collaborative launched, kindergarten readiness has climbed an average of 67 points. In 2016, Tallahatchie County’s kindergarten readiness scores were only exceeded by two other districts with collaboratives, and approximately 10 districts that use other means to fund pre-K. This puts Tallahatchie County entering kindergartners at the top of their peers.
The same study showed that entering pre-K students served by TELA had the highest average score of any of the first 10 state-funded Mississippi early learning collaboratives. The average Mississippi score on the 2016 kindergarten readiness assessment was 502. This year, Tallahatchie County entering four-year-olds scored 446, climbing 37 points and exceeding the average entry scores.
“We are beyond proud of our students, their families and their teachers,” said Tooke. “We believe that this jump in kindergarten readiness is in part due to our blended learning model, where 3-year-olds and 4-year-olds learn together. Two years of access to a high-quality learning environment has given them an additional educational advantage. We expect that the head start will carry over into next year’s results as well.”
Tooke added that this head start puts Tallahatchie County entering 4-year-olds outpacing students in suburban, wealthier districts, “boosting TELA’s core belief that when children have access to a high quality early childhood program, there are no limits to their success and future potential.”
