1. Program philosophy

Statement of Educational Philosophy

Articulate your program's core educational approach (e.g., play-based, Montessori, emergent curriculum, Reggio Emilia-inspired). This statement should clearly communicate your beliefs about how young children learn best and what role educators play in supporting that learning.

Template Guidance: Your philosophy statement should address:

• The image of the child (capable, curious, competent learner)
• The role of play in learning and development
• Your view of the teacher's role (facilitator, co-learner, guide)
• How you honor children's diverse backgrounds and identities

Connection to Foundational Research and Frameworks

Explicitly connect your philosophy to established research and frameworks that guide high-quality early childhood education:

• NAEYC Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP): Demonstrate how your curriculum reflects knowledge of child development, individual children, and cultural contexts
• Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF): Connect learning goals to its developmental domains; distinguish this framework from program compliance requirements
• National Academies Reports: Reference current research on learning sciences, equity, and quality indicators
• State Early Learning Standards: Map to your specific state or local requirements

Example: "Our approach uses play, responsive relationships, and intentional teaching to support learning across developmental domains, consistent with NAEYC’s Developmentally Appropriate Practice position statement (2020)."

Source: NAEYC, Developmentally Appropriate Practice (2020).

Overarching Goals

Establish program-wide goals that emphasize:

• Child Development: Supporting holistic growth across all domains
• Family Engagement: Building authentic partnerships with families as children's first teachers
• Inclusive Community Responsiveness: Creating learning environments that reflect, honor, and celebrate the diversity of your community

2. Developmental domains

Consider children’s learning across connected developmental domains over time. Select meaningful goals, experiences, and observation methods in context; one activity need not cover every domain. These domains organize planning, not a pass/fail checklist for children.

Social and Emotional Development

• Self-awareness and self-concept
• Self-regulation and emotional management
• Relationship skills and social problem-solving
• Empathy and perspective-taking

Physical and Motor Development

• Gross motor skills (running, jumping, balancing, coordination)
• Fine motor skills (grasping, cutting, drawing, manipulating small objects)
• Health, safety, and nutrition awareness
• Body awareness and spatial orientation

Language and Literacy

• Receptive and expressive language development
• Vocabulary acquisition and language complexity
• Phonological awareness and early reading skills
• Writing and symbolic representation
• Multilingual development for dual language learners

Cognitive Development

Mathematics

• Number sense and operations
• Patterns, sorting, and classification
• Measurement and spatial relationships
• Data analysis and mathematical reasoning

Science

• Scientific inquiry and investigation
• Physical science concepts
• Life science and natural world exploration
• Engineering and design thinking

Creative Arts

• Visual arts (drawing, painting, sculpture, collage)
• Music and movement
• Dramatic play and theater
• Creative expression across media

Social Studies

• Self, family, and community identity
• Cultural awareness and diversity appreciation
• Civic engagement and citizenship concepts
• Geography and environmental awareness

Approaches to Learning

Critical for School Readiness: Approaches to learning represent the dispositions and behaviors children develop for engaging with learning opportunities.

• Initiative and Curiosity: Eagerness to explore, ask questions, and seek new experiences
• Persistence: Ability to continue working through challenges
• Self-Regulation: Managing attention, emotions, and behavior
• Cognitive Flexibility: Adapting to new situations and thinking in different ways
• Creativity and Inventiveness: Generating novel ideas and solutions

3. Standards alignment

Mapping Learning Goals to Relevant Guidance

Map learning goals and representative experiences to applicable standards. Match detail to program requirements and the selected implementation level. Alignment documents intended coverage; it does not by itself establish teaching quality, child learning, or compliance.

Keep source types distinct: DAP guides professional practice; ELOF describes learning and development; state standards and program rules may carry different requirements. Record each source’s title, version, and purpose rather than treating them as interchangeable child benchmarks.

Include Alignment to:

• NAEYC Developmentally Appropriate Practice principles
• Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) domains and sub-domains
• State Early Learning Standards
• Local school district kindergarten readiness expectations
• Any quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) criteria

Alignment Matrix Format

For easy reference and ongoing compliance checking, organize your alignment matrix with:

• Curriculum Objective: What children will learn or be able to do
• Related Activities/Experiences: How this objective is addressed
• NAEYC Guidance Reference: Specific DAP principle or guideline; include a separate accreditation standard only when applicable
• ELOF Domain/Subdomain: Federal framework alignment
• State Standard: Your state's specific code
• Assessment Method: How progress is documented

Maintain this matrix as a living document, updating it as standards evolve or curriculum is revised.

4. Scope & sequence

Developmental Observation & Planning

Use original, identified sources when discussing developmental patterns. Keep the source, age, and purpose attached to each published milestone; do not assemble a new age-norm checklist from unrelated sources. Appendix B instead provides author-created, unscored prompts for observing learning and adjusting support.

• Record what the child does in context, including language, access, and adult support.
• Choose meaningful opportunities to explore and practice without assigning a fixed developmental age.
• Use CDC’s original age-specific checklists for developmental monitoring and validated tools for screening.
• Discuss concerns promptly with families and appropriate professionals; “patterns, not deadlines” is not a reason to delay a referral.

Critical note: ELOF guides planning; it is not a curriculum, assessment, or checklist. Do not use it to determine failure or readiness for transition.

Source: Office of Head Start, ELOF. See Section 10 for assessment and referral safeguards.

Yearly and Unit-Level Overviews

Provide clear roadmaps showing when and how skills and concepts are:

• Introduced: First exposure and initial exploration
• Practiced: Repeated engagement and skill building
• Assessed: Formal and informal evaluation of progress
• Extended/Deepened: More complex applications and connections

Revisit meaningful ideas across different experiences, using observations to decide what to revisit or extend.

Suggested Pacing Guides

Offer flexible pacing recommendations that balance structure with responsiveness to children's interests and needs. Include guidance for:

• Small Group Activities: Targeted skill development with 4-6 children
• Large Group Activities: Community-building experiences with whole class
• Individual Activities: Self-directed learning and personalized support

Review opportunities across developmental areas over time while following children’s interests, access needs, and opportunities to participate.

5. Unit & theme planning

Unit Structure Overview

Each unit or theme should be carefully designed to integrate learning across developmental domains. A unit may span several days or weeks; duration should follow children’s engagement, learning goals, and opportunities to deepen inquiry. Units are one planning option, not a requirement for every age group or program.

Unit/Theme Title and Duration

Choose themes that are:

• Meaningful and relevant to children's lives and communities
• Rich enough to support extended investigation
• Connected to real-world experiences and phenomena
• Culturally responsive and inclusive

Essential Questions

Frame each unit with 2-4 essential questions that:

• Guide inquiry and exploration
• Have multiple possible answers and interpretations
• Promote higher-order thinking
• Can be revisited throughout the unit with deepening understanding

Example for a "Growing Things" unit: "How do living things change over time? What do plants and animals need to grow and be healthy?"

Key Vocabulary

Select a manageable set of useful words for repeated, meaningful use; adjust the number to children’s ages, languages, and learning goals. Include:

• Content-specific academic vocabulary
• Process words (observe, compare, predict, measure)
• Translations for dual language learners
• Visual representations and real objects to support understanding

Domain Integration Points

Plan meaningful connections across developmental domains; review overall coverage across experiences and time rather than forcing every domain into every unit. Create an integration web showing how activities connect mathematics, literacy, science, social-emotional learning, and other areas within the theme's context.

Activities Calendar

Develop a weekly or daily activities calendar that features a balance of:

• Small group focused instruction
• Large group community experiences
• Individual exploration and practice
• Indoor and outdoor learning
• Active and quiet activities
• Teacher-guided and child-initiated experiences

Materials and Resources Guidance

For each unit, provide recommendations that balance:

• Open-ended materials: Items with multiple uses that support creativity (blocks, loose parts, natural materials)
• Closed materials: Tools with specific purposes that teach particular skills (puzzles, measuring tools, specific manipulatives)
• Sustainable resources: Reusable, natural, or recycled materials that model environmental responsibility
• Natural materials: Items from nature that connect children to the environment
• Culturally relevant resources: Books, artifacts, and materials that authentically represent diverse cultures and experiences

6. Activities & experiences

Play-Based, Hands-On, Exploratory Opportunities

Design preschool activities that prioritize:

• Child agency: Opportunities for choice, decision-making, and self-direction
• Active learning: Physical and mental engagement with materials and ideas
• Meaningful contexts: Activities connected to children's lives and interests
• Social interaction: Collaborative learning and relationship-building

Balance is Key: Effective early childhood programs integrate teacher-guided instruction, child-initiated play, and structured exploratory experiences. No single approach dominates; instead, teachers thoughtfully blend approaches based on learning goals and children's needs.

Indoor and Outdoor Learning Integration

Explicitly plan for outdoor learning and nature-based experiences that promote:

• Physical development: Large motor skills, coordination, risk assessment, body awareness
• Scientific curiosity: Observation of natural phenomena, weather, seasons, living things
• Environmental awareness: Connection to nature, ecological concepts, environmental stewardship
• Sensory experiences: Rich tactile, auditory, visual, and olfactory learning
• Risk-taking and resilience: Appropriate challenges that build confidence and capability

Protect outdoor child-directed play as well as intentional learning opportunities. Prepare a safe, accessible environment and offer materials or guidance that extend exploration without scripting every experience.

Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies

Embed practices throughout your curriculum that honor and build upon children's cultural and linguistic identities:

• Diverse, authentic books: Literature representing many cultures, family structures, abilities, and experiences—both mirrors (reflecting children's own identities) and windows (introducing different perspectives)
• Multilingual supports: Home language use, bilingual materials, translated family communications, songs and stories in multiple languages
• Authentic cultural activities: Celebrations, customs, foods, music, art, and traditions presented accurately and respectfully, ideally with family and community member involvement
• Anti-bias curriculum: Addressing stereotypes, building positive identity development, promoting justice and equity awareness

Move Beyond "Tourist Curriculum": Rather than superficial exposure to cultures (e.g., one week on Mexico with tacos and sombreros), integrate authentic cultural content consistently throughout the year. Partner with families to ensure accurate, respectful representation.

Trauma-Informed and Equity-Focused Strategies

Embed trauma-informed and equity-focused approaches in daily interactions and routines:

• Predictability and consistency: Clear routines, advance warning of transitions, reliable adult responses
• Choice and autonomy: Opportunities for children to exercise appropriate control
• Emotional co-regulation: Adults modeling calm, supporting children's emotional expression and management
• Strength-based language: Focusing on capabilities rather than deficits
• Culturally responsive behavior support: Understanding behavior in context, avoiding culturally biased interpretations
• Restorative practices: Repairing relationships and building community rather than punitive approaches

7. Materials & environment

Learning Centers and Classroom Design

Organize your classroom with clearly defined learning centers that support diverse types of play and learning:

• Dramatic Play: Props, costumes, and materials for role-playing and storytelling
• Blocks and Construction: Various building materials and accessories
• Sensory Tables: Water, sand, rice, or other materials for tactile exploration
• Art Studio: Open-ended art materials and creative exploration tools
• Library/Literacy Center: Books, comfortable seating, writing materials
• Science and Discovery: Natural materials, magnifying tools, living things to observe
• Math and Manipulatives: Counting materials, sorting objects, puzzles, games
• Nature Corner: Natural materials, plants, collections from outdoor exploration
• Music and Movement: Instruments, recorded music, space for dance and creative movement

Culturally Responsive and Sustainable Materials

Select materials that reflect your commitment to equity and environmental responsibility:

• Authentic representation: Images, dolls, books, and materials that accurately represent diverse races, ethnicities, family structures, abilities, and body types
• Sustainable and natural: Wood, fabric, metal, and natural materials rather than excessive plastic; reusable and durable items
• Open-ended and versatile: Materials that can be used in multiple ways to support creativity and imagination
• Culturally meaningful: Items from families' and communities' cultures integrated throughout centers, not segregated

Equity Check: Regularly audit your materials. Do all children see themselves reflected? Are any groups stereotyped or absent? Are materials accessible to children with diverse abilities?

Accessible and Inclusive Design

Design your environment to support all learners:

• Physical accessibility: Wide pathways for mobility devices, materials at various heights, adaptive seating options
• Visual supports: Picture schedules, labeled centers (with words and images), visual timers
• Sensory considerations: Quiet spaces for overwhelm, natural lighting, noise-dampening materials
• Dual language learners: Bilingual labels, visual cues, materials and books in home languages
• Flexible seating: Options for floor sitting, standing, moving while learning

Technology Integration Principles

When technology is used with young children, ensure it is:

• Age-appropriate: Aligned with developmental capabilities and needs
• Intentional: Used for specific learning goals, not as a time-filler
• Interactive and co-engaged: Adults and children use technology together, with conversation and reflection
• Balanced: Technology is a small part of a primarily hands-on, physically active program
• High-quality content: Vetted, educational, free from commercialism and inappropriate content
• Equitable: Careful not to exacerbate digital divides or privilege certain families

NAEYC and Fred Rogers Center joint position statement on technology and interactive media provides detailed guidance for appropriate use with young children.

8. Routines & transitions

Routines as Learning Opportunities

Daily routines—arrival, mealtimes, toileting, rest time, departure—are not just logistical necessities. They are powerful contexts for learning and development:

• Self-regulation practice: Following multi-step sequences, managing impulses, transitioning between activities
• Social skills: Turn-taking, helping others, table conversations, conflict resolution
• Self-help skills: Handwashing, dressing, serving food, cleaning up
• Language development: Vocabulary for body parts, clothing, food; following directions; conversations
• Mathematical thinking: Counting plates, one-to-one correspondence, time concepts

Use Routines Responsively: Routines occupy a meaningful part of the day and offer opportunities for connection, communication, and growing independence. Preserve their care purpose; not every moment needs a lesson.

Smooth, Supportive Transition Strategies

Transitions between activities are common times for behavioral challenges and lost learning time. Implement strategies that promote engagement and reduce difficulty:

• Advance warnings: "In five minutes, we'll clean up for snack" with visual timer support
• Clear expectations: Teach and practice transition routines explicitly
• Engaging transition activities: Songs, fingerplays, movement games during waiting times
• Individual pacing: Allow children who finish early to move to next activity rather than waiting for entire group
• Visual and auditory cues: Bells, music, picture cards to signal changes
• Purposeful movement: "Move like a butterfly to the rug" rather than just "Line up"

Minimize unnecessary whole-group waiting. Use staggered transitions and individual pacing to preserve engagement and reduce avoidable demands.

9. Teacher-child interactions

The Foundation of Quality

High-quality teacher-child interactions are an important component of early childhood program quality and are associated with children’s learning and social development. Warmth, responsiveness, and cognitive stimulation are central features. A 2023 meta-analysis found generally small associations between process quality and child outcomes; it does not establish interactions as the single strongest predictor of development.

Source: von Suchodoletz et al. (2023).

Open-Ended Questions and Sustained Conversations

Move beyond closed questions that have single right answers. Instead, ask questions that:

• Invite multiple possible responses: "What do you notice about...?" "How might we...?"
• Encourage prediction and reasoning: "What do you think will happen if...?" "Why do you think...?"
• Promote comparison and connection: "How are these the same or different?" "How does this remind you of...?"
• Follow children's interests: "Tell me more about..." "What are you working on?"

Aim for back-and-forth conversations with multiple turns, not just teacher question → child answer → teacher moves on.

Scaffolding Learning

Provide the right amount of support to help children succeed at tasks slightly beyond their current independent level:

• Model: Demonstrate thinking and processes
• Hint or cue: Offer partial information to trigger thinking
• Break down tasks: Help children approach complex activities step-by-step
• Ask guiding questions: Prompt thinking without giving answers
• Provide feedback: Specific, informative responses to children's efforts
• Gradually release support: Fade assistance as children gain competence

Sustained Shared Thinking

Engage in episodes where you and children work together intellectually to solve problems, clarify concepts, or extend narratives. This involves:

• Contributing your own ideas while valuing children's thinking
• Building on what children say rather than redirecting
• Wondering aloud and modeling curiosity
• Engaging in collaborative problem-solving
• Extending play narratives through participation and suggestion

Positive Behavior Support

Use the Pyramid Model as a source for organizing support. It combines universal relationships and environments, targeted social-emotional teaching, and individualized intensive support, sustained by staff training and program systems. This field guide is not a substitute for Pyramid Model training or a fidelity measure.

• Universal support: Build predictable, accessible routines; connect with children and families; teach expectations through modeling and practice; and offer co-regulation. Record what adults change and how children participate.
• Targeted support: When universal support is insufficient, plan additional teaching and practice in communication, friendship, emotion regulation, or problem-solving. Agree on strategies with families and check whether they help in the relevant routines.
• Individualized support: For persistent challenges, work with families and appropriately qualified professionals on assessment-informed support. Describe what happens before and after behavior, consider its possible function, teach an accessible alternative, and monitor the response. A classroom tally alone cannot establish function or diagnosis.

Protect children from immediate harm without humiliation or withholding care. Distress, disability-related communication, and nonparticipation call for understanding and support, not automatic punishment. Use applicable safeguarding and emergency procedures when needed; do not wait through a sequence of support tiers to act on an urgent concern.

Source: National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, Pyramid Model tiers and research summaries.

Assessment with CLASS or Similar Tools

Use the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) or similar frameworks to:

• Assess and reflect on interaction quality across emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support domains
• Identify professional growth goals
• Receive coaching and feedback
• Monitor program-wide interaction quality

Structured observations can guide reflection and coaching. Use the appropriate age-level tool, edition, and observer training; interpret results alongside context and other evidence rather than treating a score as a complete or bias-free measure of quality.

10. Assessment & families

Developmentally Appropriate Observation and Assessment

Assessment in early childhood should be:

• Ongoing and embedded: Observations during regular activities, not separate testing
• Authentic: Assessing what children actually do in meaningful contexts
• Purposeful: Used to inform instruction and support individual children
• Comprehensive: Addressing all developmental domains
• Strength-based: Identifying what children can do and building from there

Assessment Safeguard: Use assessment to improve teaching and support development, not to rank, stigmatize, or exclude children. Decisions with significant consequences require multiple sources of information and appropriate professional judgment.

Source: NAEYC (2020), Observing, Documenting, and Assessing Children’s Development and Learning.

Observation Tools and Progress Monitoring

Implement systematic observation and documentation systems:

• Developmental checklists: Aligned to your scope and sequence and standards
• Anecdotal records: Brief written observations of significant moments
• Work samples: Children's drawings, writing, and creations over time
• Photos and videos: Visual documentation of learning and development
• Learning stories: Narrative documentation that captures learning in context

Connect assessment to meaningful learning goals and use tools suited to the child and the intended purpose. The framework’s charts and forms are planning and documentation aids, not substitutes for validated screening or diagnostic tools.

Distinguish Observation, Screening, and Evaluation

• Observation and formative assessment: Gather evidence across activities, time, languages, and settings to guide teaching. Include family observations.
• Developmental screening: Use an appropriate validated instrument and follow its administration and interpretation guidance; screening identifies a need for further evaluation, not a diagnosis.
• Evaluation and diagnosis: Refer concerns through qualified professionals and established early intervention or special education pathways. Do not wait for the next scheduled review to discuss concerns.

Record descriptions of what children do before interpreting them. Do not equate limited English proficiency, unfamiliarity with a task, or disability-related differences with lack of understanding. Follow program privacy and consent procedures for records, photographs, and recordings; share only with authorized recipients.

Culturally Responsive Assessment

Recognize that assessment tools and practices can reflect cultural bias. Implement strategies to ensure fairness:

• Multiple methods: Don't rely on single approach or instrument
• Contextualized interpretation: Consider cultural and linguistic backgrounds when understanding behavior and responses
• Home language assessment: For dual language learners, assess in home language when possible
• Family input: Incorporate family observations and knowledge of children's capabilities in home contexts
• Bias training: Staff development on recognizing and counteracting implicit bias in assessment

Family Communication and Partnership

Create genuine partnerships with families through:

• Regular, two-way communication: Daily informal check-ins, weekly updates, newsletters
• Family-friendly reporting: Progress reports in clear language without jargon, translated into home languages
• Strength-based conferences: Sharing children's capabilities and growth, not just concerns
• Goal-setting collaboration: Involving families in identifying priorities for their children
• Learning at home connections: Suggestions for extending learning in family contexts

Asset-Based Approach: Position families as experts on their children and valuable resources for curriculum development. Actively seek and incorporate family knowledge, skills, and cultural practices into classroom learning.

11. Inclusive practice

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Framework

Use CAST UDL Guidelines 3.0 (2024) to anticipate barriers and design options for participation from the outset. UDL emphasizes learner agency and addresses bias and exclusion in learning environments. It complements individualized accommodations and specialized support.

In early childhood, offer meaningful choices, respect different communication modes and identities, and help children reflect on what supports their learning. Review barriers in the activity and environment before locating the problem within the child.

Source: CAST, UDL Guidelines 3.0. Implement the three principles below:

Multiple Means of Representation

• Present information in multiple formats (visual, auditory, tactile)
• Use visual supports alongside verbal instruction
• Provide options for language and symbols

Multiple Means of Action and Expression

• Offer choices in how children demonstrate learning
• Provide alternative tools and supports (adaptive scissors, pencil grips, communication devices)
• Allow varied ways to respond and participate

Multiple Means of Engagement

• Offer choices to promote autonomy and relevance
• Vary social demands (individual, partner, small group, large group)
• Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence

Supporting Children with Disabilities

Beyond UDL, provide individualized adaptations as needed:

• Environmental modifications: Adapted furniture, sensory spaces, visual schedules
• Material adaptations: Larger pieces, adaptive tools, sensory-friendly options
• Activity modifications: Simplified steps, extended time, peer support
• Assistive technology: Communication devices, mobility aids, specialized learning tools
• Embedded learning opportunities: IEP/IFSP goals integrated into daily routines and play

Collaborate closely with specialists, therapists, and families to implement effective individualized supports within inclusive settings.

Supporting Dual Language Learners (DLLs)

Children learning English while maintaining home language need specific supports:

• Home language validation: Value and use home languages in the classroom
• Bilingual staff or volunteers: When possible, include adults who speak children's home languages
• Visual supports: Pictures, gestures, real objects to support comprehension
• Repetition and routine: Predictable language in consistent contexts
• Small group instruction: More opportunities for language practice
• Peer buddies: Pairing with bilingual or patient English-speaking peers
• Bilingual materials: Books, songs, labels in home languages

Reflective Tools for Authentic Inclusivity

Regularly assess the authenticity and effectiveness of your inclusive practices:

• Are children with disabilities fully participating in all activities, or merely present?
• Do dual language learners have opportunities to use and develop home languages?
• Are materials and representations authentic, or stereotypical?
• Do families from diverse backgrounds feel genuinely welcomed and valued?
• Are children from marginalized groups achieving success and demonstrating growth?

Use these reflective questions to continuously improve inclusive practices.

12. Trauma-informed practice

Safety, Relationships, and Protective Factors

Adversity can affect development, learning, and well-being, but experiences and responses vary. ACE prevalence depends on the population, questions, and definitions used; a single percentage should not be presented as applying to all young children.

Organize practice around safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments, predictable care, co-regulation, agency, and family partnership. These supports are valuable without requiring children or families to disclose traumatic experiences. Early childhood programs provide supportive care and connections to specialized services; they do not replace trauma treatment.

Sources: CDC, Preventing Adverse Childhood Experiences; National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2020).

Creating Trauma-Sensitive Environments

Design your program with trauma-informed principles:

• Safety first: Physical and emotional safety as foundational
• Trustworthiness and transparency: Consistent, predictable adult behavior
• Peer support: Building positive peer relationships and community
• Collaboration: Sharing power and decision-making with children appropriately
• Empowerment: Building children's sense of agency and capability
• Cultural responsiveness: Recognizing historical and community trauma

Supporting Emotional Regulation

Difficulty regulating emotion can have many causes; behavior alone does not establish trauma exposure. Respond to observed needs and context without diagnosing or asking children to explain a traumatic history. Support development through:

• Co-regulation: Adults modeling and supporting calm, regulated states
• Emotion vocabulary: Teaching words for feelings
• Calm-down strategies: Explicit teaching and practice of self-soothing techniques
• Safe spaces: Quiet areas where children can retreat when overwhelmed
• Sensory supports: Offer developmentally appropriate, child-preferred options such as reduced noise, movement, or soft materials; individualize support with families and specialists
• Predictable routines: Reducing anxiety through consistency

Building Safe, Predictable Settings

Implement practices that create sense of safety and predictability:

• Clear, consistent daily schedules with visual supports
• Advance warning and preparation for changes or transitions
• Reliable, warm relationships with consistent adults
• Physical environment that minimizes overstimulation
• Rules and expectations that are clear, fair, and consistently applied

Staff Training on Responsive Care and Protective Factors

Provide comprehensive professional development for all staff on:

• Adversity and protective factors: Understand possible effects of adversity without assuming that an ACE score predicts an individual child’s future
• Objective observation: Recognize distress and possible unmet needs without interpreting behavior as proof of trauma
• Trauma-informed interactions: Responding with sensitivity rather than punishment
• Building resilience: Protective factors and supportive relationships
• Staff support: Provide reflective supervision, manageable workloads, breaks, and access to support for secondary traumatic stress
• Collaboration: Working with mental health consultants, families, and community resources

Trauma-informed practice requires ongoing learning and support, not just one-time training. When concerns persist, collaborate with families and qualified mental health or developmental professionals. Protect privacy, avoid investigating suspected trauma, and follow applicable safeguarding and reporting procedures.

13. Equity & community

Curriculum Equity Audits

Regularly examine your curriculum for bias, gaps, and authentic representation using systematic tools:

Questions for Equity Audit:

• Representation: Do materials reflect diverse races, ethnicities, family structures, abilities, body types, ages, and socioeconomic backgrounds?
• Authenticity: Are cultures represented accurately and with depth, not stereotypically?
• Power and voice: Are people from marginalized groups shown in positions of power, expertise, and leadership?
• Storylines: Do books and activities challenge stereotypes or reinforce them?
• Gaps: Which groups are absent or underrepresented?
• Language: Does curriculum use strength-based, inclusive language?
• Accessibility: Can all children access and succeed with materials and activities?

Taking Action on Audit Findings

Equity audits are only valuable if they lead to change:

• Remove or replace materials that are biased, stereotypical, or harmful
• Fill representation gaps intentionally
• Revise activities that perpetuate stereotypes or exclude
• Examine teaching practices for implicit bias
• Engage in ongoing learning about culturally sustaining pedagogies

Leveraging Community Resources

Enrich curriculum by connecting with your local community:

• Family expertise: Invite families to share skills, cultural practices, languages, and traditions
• Community members: Partner with local artists, musicians, scientists, tradespeople as guest educators
• Field experiences: Regular walks in neighborhood, visits to local businesses, parks, libraries
• Cultural events: Attend community celebrations, performances, and gatherings
• Service learning: Age-appropriate community service projects
• Natural areas: Regular access to outdoor spaces for nature connection

Community as Curriculum: The local community is a rich learning resource. Children develop stronger sense of belonging and citizenship when curriculum connects to the real world around them.

Building Authentic Partnerships

Move beyond token involvement to genuine collaboration:

• Seek family and community input in curriculum planning, not just implementation
• Compensate community members appropriately when possible
• Follow through on commitments and maintain relationships
• Share power in decision-making
• Reciprocate—offer your program's resources to community when appropriate

14. Continuous improvement

Annual Curriculum Review

Establish a systematic process for keeping curriculum current and effective:

• Standards alignment check: Verify that curriculum still aligns with current NAEYC, ELOF, state standards
• Research updates: Incorporate new findings from learning sciences and child development
• Effectiveness data: Review assessment data to identify what's working and what needs improvement
• Family and staff feedback: Gather input from those implementing and experiencing curriculum
• Equity audit: Annual review, with focused follow-up at the selected implementation level and prompt action on identified concerns
• Material review: Update or replace worn, outdated, or problematic materials

Schedule annual review at consistent time each year. Assign responsibility and allocate time for thorough examination and revision.

Focused Professional Development

Link curriculum implementation to ongoing professional learning in priority areas:

Cultural Responsiveness and Anti-Bias Education

• Understanding own cultural identity and implicit bias
• Culturally sustaining pedagogical practices
• Anti-bias curriculum implementation
• Engaging diverse families as partners

Trauma-Informed Teaching

• Adversity, protective factors, and the limits of inferring causes from behavior
• Trauma-sensitive classroom practices
• Building resilience and protective factors
• Reflective supervision, staff working conditions, and secondary traumatic stress

Quality Interactions

• CLASS framework and high-quality interactions
• Scaffolding and sustained shared thinking
• Open-ended questioning and rich conversations
• Positive guidance and behavior support

Inclusive Practices

• UDL principles and implementation
• Supporting dual language learners
• Adaptations for children with disabilities
• Collaborative consultation with specialists

Professional Learning Communities

Create structures for collaborative learning among staff:

• Regular meeting time for curriculum planning and reflection
• Peer observation and feedback cycles
• Study groups examining research or best practices
• Collaborative problem-solving on implementation challenges
• Sharing successful strategies and innovations

Documentation of Growth and Compliance

Maintain records that demonstrate continuous improvement:

• Professional development log: Training topics, dates, hours for each staff member
• Curriculum revision history: What changed, when, and why
• Reflection journals: Individual and team reflections on practice
• Quality improvement plans: Goals, action steps, timelines, and progress monitoring
• Compliance documentation: Evidence of meeting licensing, accreditation, and quality rating requirements