Caitlin Wynne, a member of the Community Supports for Children and Families Action Team who works as a school social worker at Bristol Elementary, reached out to ask if the Building Strong Brains network had a kindergarten readiness tool for public use.
Caitlin was seeking a tool that she could share with families to help encourage kindergarten readiness. When she approached Leah Plank, Senior Director at Horizon Education Alliance and Parent and Family Systems Acting Director for Triple P Elkhart County, the collective work began with making a connection with Sonya Overman, Growing Readers Supervisor at Elkhart Public Library.
Caitlin wanted a simple tool that was an easy-to-read resource that aligned with the state standards. She volunteered to lead the development of the tool and worked with Leah to develop a draft that she could share with the families at her school. This draft (with her consent) was then shared out with the action team. (Download a Spanish or English version in the upper right.)
Additionally, Triple P partner Emily Herriott wanted the tool translated into Spanish for an upcoming Triple P K-Readiness presentation she was leading. She collaborated with Goshen Community Schools translation services to ensure a high-quality Spanish translation. Andrew Hershberger, in his Director of Marketing and Communications role with Triple P/HEA, created the design for both the English and Spanish tools.
The tool was then distributed at Triple P workshops and with action team members. We are grateful for the collective effort that went into creating this valuable resource. It truly exemplifies the power of collaboration and innovative collective thinking.
Thank you to all who collaborated in developing, designing, providing feedback, and implementing the K-readiness checklist. This is exciting collective work!