Carlena Lowell

SEI 525 Environmental Evaluation

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Carlena Lowell
Environmental Evaluation
November 24, 2012












Carlena Lowell
SEI 525 Environmental Evaluation
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Background Information
This environmental evaluation was completed using the Early Childhood
Environmental Rating Scale, Revised Edition (ECERS-R) at the Wiscasset Head Start
in Classroom A on November 19, 2012. There were nine children and two teachers
present on the day of the evaluation. The Wiscasset Head Start is located at the
Wiscasset Primary School; therefore, some spaces are shared with the primary school
such as the parking lot and playground. There are two classrooms at this center, A and
B. Classroom A is an inclusive classroom, and is collaborative between Child
Development Services and Midcoast Maine Community Actions Head Start program.
This is the first year of this collaborative classroom. CDS provides a 282 certified
teacher, Carlena Lowell, and Head Start provides a teacher with 081 certification, JL. In
addition, until an educational technician is hired through CDS, there is an assistant
teacher from Head Start, KP, in the classroom from 8:30 to 11:30 daily, at which point
she goes into Classroom B for the rest of the morning. The classroom runs Monday
through Thursday from 8:30 to 12:30. Head Start uses the Creative Curriculum in
conjunction with Teaching Strategies Gold for documenting, assessing, and planning
purposes.
There are currently 13 children enrolled, with a maximum allowance of 14. The
children range in age from 3 years, 1 month to 4 years, 10 months. Five of the children
currently have Individualized Education Programs in place; in addition, there are two
upcoming initial IEP meetings to be held in the next week in which the children will
qualify for services. The current disabilities in the classroom include physical/sensory
and cognitive/language. Child Development Services pays for the children receiving
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services through them to attend; however, the families were all recruited by Head Start
first. Therefore the families are income eligible to be enrolled in Head Start. Wiscasset
Head Start enrolls children from families that live in Wiscasset, and the surrounding
communities of Edgecomb, Alna, Dresden, Woolwich, and Westport Island. Wiscasset
is a coastal Maine community with much emphasis on marine jobs such as lobstering,
and more so, clamming and worming. There is a wide gap in the socioeconomic status
of the residents of Wiscasset, many living well above, as well as far below, the poverty
line.
Findings
Spaces and Furnishings
Of the eight items scored in this category, there was a subscale total of 42; this
equates to an average score of 5.25. A few strengths in this category are the amount of
child sized furnishings in the classroom, the room arrangement (e.g., noisy centers
together, clearly marked boundaries for the centers) and the indoor space (e.g., good
ventilation, lots of natural light). A couple of aspects that could be strengthened are the
amount of soft things available to children, the level at which and types of childrens art
that are displayed, and space for gross motor equipment. There is not a space
designated in the classroom for gross motor equipment; however, on rainy days gross
motor equipment can be used in the hallway adjacent to the classroom provided there is
enough supervision.
There are two safety hazards on the playground; one major and one minor. The
major safety hazards on the playground are the swings, particularly when the older
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children are outside as well. This is partially due to the size of the swing set. The swing
set was chosen to fit the size of school aged children rather than preschoolers. The
safety issues of the swing set resonate also to the space available for safe swinging.
According to Thompson, Hudson, & Olsen (2005), The use zone for swings is twice the
height of the beam in front and in back of the swing (p. 20). Unfortunately, this is not
the case for the swing set on our playground. To encourage using the swing set as
safely as possible, they are discussed almost daily with the children in the classroom,
large pictures of safe swinging and the standing zones are shown to the children, and
large orange cones are placed on the swing boundary line as reminders to children.
The boundary line is clearly marked between rocks and grass. The minor hazard is a
common area for tricycle riding and ball play. Although the area is fairly large, it is still a
hazard when both items are in use.
Personal Care Routines
Five of the six items in this category were scored as this classroom does not
have rest time. A subscale total of 30 was found for the five items, which lead to an
average score of six. A few strengths in this area include the greeting/departing
routines (i.e. friendly tones, parents and children greeted by first name) and the amount
of hand washing. An area of concern is, again, the major safety hazard of the swing set
outside.
There is a nose blowing station so the children always know they can go to it and
there will be tissues. The hand washing sinks are located down a hallway near
Classroom B. There is a homemade hand washing book with real pictures from the sink
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the children use to wash their hands; this is read at circle and is available to the children
to read independently during free play. Head Start has a rigid cleaning procedure with
many aspects. Hand washing is done often by both children and teachers. There are
daily, weekly and monthly cleaning tasks posted for the teachers to do. The tables are
sanitized before each meal; first they are cleaned with soap and water, then sprayed
with a bleach dilution, wiped down and air dried. Children with food allergies are
required to have an Individual Health Plan designed with the parents with a note from
the childs primary care physician and the Health Coordinator from Head Start.
Tooth brushing happens daily after breakfast during the first part of free play.
Children are given a verbal prompt as a group that tooth brushing is going to happen;
children who have a difficult time transitioning are given a warning of two minutes so
they know they will be asked soon. Tooth brushing is done during free play to diminish
children waiting in line. Each childs and teachers toothbrush is labeled with their
name. They are stored so no toothbrush touches another and they are able to be air
dried.
Language-Reasoning
All four items were scored under this category; language-reasoning received an
average score of 7, as all of the items were scored as 7. This area is an overall
strength for Classroom A. There is a nice array of books, and the teachers encourage
the children to communicate to their abilities, as well as encourage the development of
reasoning skills. There are paperback, hard cover and homemade books that serve a
variety of purposes. There are also several stories from the Center on the Social
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Emotional Foundation for Early Learning; the children seem to particularly enjoy the
story Tucker Turtle Takes Time to Tuck and Think as they act this out during free play.
The teachers are able to ask questions and provide enough time for a response from
the child to encourage children to reason. This was seen throughout the areas of the
classroom and throughout the morning. The teachers also do well with expanding on
childrens language, and pairing some verbal language with sign language. For
example, during an art activity a child verbally said, ah duh (all done), to which the
teacher replied, You are all done and signed all done.
Activities
Out of the ten items under this category, nine were scored; a subscale score of
48 led to an average score of 5.33. The use of TV, video, and/or computer was marked
not applicable, as none of these things are available for use in the classroom. All of the
areas and materials in the classroom are available for a substantial portion of the day (1
hour and 20 minutes) with the exception of the art area, block area and the water table,
which are available for one hour a day. Some areas of strength in this area include
math and number materials, promoting the acceptance of diversity, science materials,
the dramatic play area, and materials that encourage the use of fine motor. A few areas
that could use strengthening are the use of labels around the room and the use of music
and movement.
Classroom A provides a wide array of materials in each center that encourage
many uses and serve a variety of functions. Doctoroff (2001) states the following in
reference to classroom materials:
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Careful attention should be paid to the variety and balance of play materials
available to children. Materials should encourage all types of play (e.g.,
functional, constructive, dramatic, games, solitary, parallel, and group) and all
aspects of development in children (e.g., motor skills, social competence,
cognitive abilities, creativity, language skills, literacy). In additions, it is desirable
to diversify within the categories of materials. (p. 106)
There are materials in all of the centers that promote the use of fine motor. For
example, small and large paintbrushes and crayons in the art area, magnetic sticks and
magnetic letters in the sand table, manipulatives, and shirts to button in the dramatic
play are. There are also many materials throughout the classroom that encourage math
skills such as various types of manipulatives, various types of blocks and various types
of puzzles. A nice example of nature and science found in the classroom is an orange
tree sprout. Two months ago, a child found a seed in her orange slice at breakfast.
The teacher asked what would happen if they planted it. A nice individualized activity
ensued of planting the seed, and last week the plant sprouted. The materials provided
for children to play with in this classroom are varied to incorporate many types of play,
and also take into consideration the development of the whole child. There is a wide
selection of additional materials available to change as the childrens interests change.
In the classroom, there are some labels identifying where materials belong, such as
shapes labeling the block shelves. However, there are not labels on the manipulatives
shelf or the puzzle shelf, and there are not as many as there should be in the art and
dramatic play areas.
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Sensory tables at the center include a sand table indoors and a sand box
outside; however, there is only a water table inside. Given the set-up of the classroom
to the playground, it would be difficult to incorporate a water table in outside play at this
particular center. The group must walk through the primary school in order to get to a
playground. There is no hose available to them outside, and it would not be practical to
carry buckets of water that distance to fill an outdoor water table daily. According to
Eric Nelson (2006), Healthy outdoor development can only happen when there is the
full range of activities that is required for development of the whole child. This means
that indoor activities need to be outdoors as well (p. 42). When considering this
statement, incorporating blocks, as well as, art materials outside would allow the
children to engage and benefit from a greater range of activities. However, in addition
to the water table, blocks and art materials are not available for use during outside play
at this center either.
Another area that could use strengthening is movement and music, as it occurs
on a daily basis only during the second circle time. However, musical instruments are
not available for daily use, rather occasional use only, and music is generally not played
during free play. The reason behind this lack of music during daily free play is several
children who are easily overstimulated by environmental factors, including noise. As
Jim Greenman states in his article The Experience of Space, The Pleasure of Place
(2004), Spaces do more than speakthey load our bodies and minds with sensory
information. Alfred Mehrabian introduced the concept of environmental load: how the
amount, complexity, familiarity, flow, and intensity of the environmental stimuli affects
our behavior and feelings (p. 34). Considering the needs of some of the children in this
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classroom, reduction or elimination of factors that will lead to a high environmental load
is an important concept for the teachers to be aware of, and try to accommodate to the
greatest extent possible. When children become overstimulated, it affects their
behavior, as well as their ability to function in classroom routines.
Interaction
All five items were scored in this category; the subscale total was 35 for an
average score of 7. This is an overall area of strength for the members of this
classroom. During outside play, the staff is positioned throughout the playground in
order to closely supervise gross motor activities, particularly around the swing set. The
methods of discipline used are appropriate and follow best practice for preschool aged
children. There is a great amount of positive reinforcement of desired behaviors, and
redirection (and sometimes conversation) with undesired behaviors. The staff uses
many materials from the CSEFEL website to encourage social emotional development
of the children in their classroom, particularly the solution card kit. The interactions
among the staff and the children are positive. The interactions among the children are
mostly positive; however, when issues arise, teachers frequently assist children in
conflict resolution.
Program Structure
All four items were scored with an average score of 7; this is also an area of
strength for the classroom. The physical schedule is provided for the children at eye
level with pictures, as well as words. Every morning the schedule is reviewed so the
children know what to expect for the day. The schedule remains the same every day;
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however, if there is a change to the typical schedule, the teachers let the children know
as soon as possible, many times beginning the day before. The teachers discuss the
changes with children who have difficulty in schedule change one on one.
Most of the day is made up of free play and outdoor play. The large group time
that takes place is circle time. There is an early morning circle at 8:50 to 9:00 and a late
morning circle from 11:40 to 12:00. The early morning circle is consistent every day
with a greeting song, the daily schedule, and a review of the classroom rules. There are
usually conversations of other topics as well; for example, hand washing and covering
sneezes and coughs). The late morning circle is longer; however, from 11:40-11:50
(give or take about two minutes) there is dancing and movement to music from the CD
player, then ten minutes of a story. Meal times are after each circle; transitions to go
wash hands vary daily incorporating various skills (e.g., color matching, gross motor
tasks).
There are currently five children with IEPs with at least two more who will qualify
and have one in place soon. The teachers have access to information from
assessments; I assisted in implementing two different BDI-IIs to children in our class.
We work with a several therapists including a speech and language pathologist, an
occupational therapist, a social worker, and a physical therapist. I serve as a group
specially designed instruction therapist for the children in my classroom who qualify for
it; there is also a SDI therapist who comes in to do individual therapy. We often
converse with therapists and put to use their recommendations to the greatest extent
possible. In our classroom we use some adaptive devices, primarily in the form of
supportive seats; for example, Rifton chairs for two children at the table and a j-back
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chair at circle time for a child. We put to use many visuals including pictures, timers,
signs, and tape on the floor indicating boundaries. We discuss changes, things we tried
or are going to try, and progress with the parents on an almost daily basis.
Parents and Staff
In the six items scored for this category, a subscale of 37 was reached, which
correlated to an average score of 6.17. A few areas of strength in this category are both
provisions for parents and professional needs of staff, as well as staff interaction and
cooperation, supervision and evaluation of staff and opportunities for professional
growth. The staff is able to communicate about child related information daily, before
and after children are present. One area that could be strengthened is breaks being
provided for staff while children are present. In Classroom A it is not as important as it
only runs four hours a day; however, Classroom B runs from 8:30 to 2:30 Monday
through Thursday with no breaks when children are present. For the past three years I
had been a teacher of a classroom that ran 8:30 to 2:30. For the first year and a half,
we were able to take a fifteen minute break daily, and then due to a staff shortage, the
administration took that break away.
A nice aspect of Head Start is the strong emphasis on parental engagement and
involvement. Grisham-Brown, Hemmeter, & Pretti-Frontczak (2005) state the following
about parental involvement in preschool settings:
Both the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and
the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC) advocate the importance of involving families in early childhood programs.
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Specifically, NAEYC guidelines recommend that families be involved in three
ways: 1) as decision makers, 2) as providers and receivers of information, and 3)
as participants in the daily activities within the program (Bredekamp & Copple,
1997). (p. 50)
There is wonderful communication between staff and parents, each providing and
receiving information about the parents child on an almost daily basis. Informal
communication occurs on a daily basis and formal conferences are done three times a
year with a home visit to each family once in the fall and once in the spring, and a mid-
year conference at the school in the winter. This year as my position is a bit different as
a CDS employee I will accompany JL to the home visits of the children who are
receiving CDS services.
In addition, at least one parent from every Head Start center is on a board called
the Parent Policy Council, in which they are able to contribute to the making and
revisions of agency wide Head Start policies. Parents are also involved as members of
panel interviews for new Head Start hires. A parent group is formed at each center;
they put on activities such as make-a-plate day, tie-dye day, and assist with field
trips, etc. Head Start incorporates the Read with Me program; families participate in
that once a month through the school year. Parents of children in Classroom A
volunteer almost daily to assist the teachers with set-up and clean-up of mealtimes.
Each center has a case manager; this staff person assists the families in all of the initial
paperwork needed to enroll their child in Head Start, and aids them when needed for
crisis that may occur throughout the year. For example, a family who runs out of oil can
come in and meet with the case manager and they will figure out together how to get
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the family oil, or a parent who feels the need to see a doctor for mental health reasons
may come to the case manager for a list of service providers in the area.
Summary
In the assessment of Classroom A at the Wiscasset Head Start using the
ECERS-R, I was able to find much strength, as well as some areas that need
strengthening. In total, the subscale score was 248 with 41 items scored, resulting in an
average score of 6.05. Out of the 41 items scored, eight were at or below a score of
four; therefore, 33 items held a score of five or greater, 27 of them were scores of
seven. Six of the eight items that were scored at four or less were within the two lowest
scoring categories which were Space and Furnishings and Activities, with scores of 5.25
and 5.33 respectively. Three categories received overall scores of seven: Language-
Reasoning, Interaction, and Program Structure. Two items in the ECERS-R not
applicable to this classroom were item 11: nap/rest and item 27: use of TV, video,
and/or computers.
Within the Activities category, items 20: art and 22: blocks were each given a
score of 4 because they are both closed from 8:30 to 8:50 as this is arrival time before
circle starts, and they are not offered during outside time on a regular basis. Therefore,
they are only open to the children for one hour of free play per day; a substantial portion
of our four hour day is 1 hour and 20 minutes. Things available for use between 8:30
and 8:50 a.m. include manipulatives, puzzles, science/nature items, and books. In
relation to item 21: music/movement, which received a score of two, dancing to music is
done daily at circle time, usually to two songs. However, there are not instruments
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available for children to use during free play on a daily basis, nor is music played during
free play as an effort to reduce background noise for children who easily overstimulated
(as explained under Findings: Activities). The center does have a variety of musical
instruments available for the children to use occasionally; however, they are not
available for everyday use. The reasons for the other four scores of two are a lack of
soft, relaxing furnishings, a lack of an indoor gross motor area for daily use, a
hazardous swing set on the playground, and a lack of breaks for the staff while children
are present.
Recommendations for Improvement
1. Incorporate soft, relaxing furnishings, as well as soft toys, into the classroom.
Allow these furnishings and toys to be used for a substantial portion of the day.
2. Provide more labels for items in the classroom, particularly in the art and
dramatic play areas.
3. Display more artwork at childrens level (most bulletin boards are above
childrens eye level).
4. Incorporate inside gross motor play and equipment into each day.
5. Continue to reinforce swing safety by daily discussions at circle, showing large
pictures of the boundaries around the swing set, and close supervision of the
area outside while using positive reinforcement when children are being safe.
6. Encourage the making of and display three-dimensional artwork; allow for art
materials to be available for a substantial portion.
7. Slowly introduce musical instruments to the classroom once a week. Carefully
monitor children who are sensitive to overstimulation during this time. As all the
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children become comfortable with musical instruments increase the amount of
time they are available for use during free play.
8. Incorporate block play and art materials into outside time. This will allow for a
larger variance of activities available during outside play, as well as, enabling
blocks and art materials to be available for a substantial portion of the day.
9. Offer nature/science activities requiring more input from staff at least once every
two weeks.












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References
Doctoroff, Sandra. (2001). Adapting the physical environment to meet the needs of all
young children for play. Early Childhood Education Journal, 29 (2), 105-109.
Greenman, Jim. (2004, January/February). The experience of space, the pleasure of
place. Child Care Information Exchange, 34-37.
Grisham-Brown, J., Hemmeter, M. L., & Pretti-Frontczak, K. (2005). Blended practices
for teaching young children in inclusive settings. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes
Publishing Company.
Nelson, Eric. (2006, September/October). The outdoor classroom: No child left
inside. Exchange, 40-43.
Thompson, D., Hudson, S., & Olsen, H. (2005, March/April). Safe playground
equipment for early childhood programs. Exchange, 20-24.