State Education Board Adopts Illinois Early Learning Standards

Springfield, Ill. -After receiving input and review by early childhood teachers and specialists, the Illinois Early Learning Standards were adopted by the Illinois State Board of Education Wednesday.

The Illinois Early Learning Standards were developed with the assistance of hundreds of educators and first introduced in draft form in 2001. The Standards were finalized following a period of awareness, review and feedback activities from members of school-based and community-based early childhood programs. An aggressive training agenda brought them to early childhood classes in a variety of settings across the State.

"These Early Learning Standards are aligned to the Illinois Learning Standards and outline what young children need to know in order to be successful learners at the elementary level and beyond," said State Superintendent Robert Schiller. "The Early Learning Standards are very content oriented and we have spent a year offering training to teachers and listening to their suggestions for improvements. We are very pleased with the finished product."

Teachers of pre-kindergarten students can use the standards to choose or develop curriculum, assess children's progress, and share progress information with parents. The Standards and their accompanying pieces can be viewed at http://www.isbe.net/earlychi/pdf/early_learning_standards.pdf.