How We Share Learning and Growth in Early Learning

In Westside’s Early Learning Program, our classrooms are designed to support children as they build confidence in themselves, explore the world around them, and develop the foundations for lifelong learning. Clear, thoughtful communication with families is an essential part of this work and a cornerstone of our home-school partnership.

In Preschool and Pre-K, we share each child’s progress through a comprehensive Progress Report that reflects how children approach learning and how they are growing over time. This report, along with family conferences and your child’s ongoing portfolio, offers a holistic view of development and learning across the school year.

What the Early Learning Progress Report Includes

Rather than focusing on grades, the Early Learning Progress Report highlights a child’s learning process, emerging skills, and unique strengths. It includes a set of Learning Indicators and a narrative Learning Story that together provide insight into your child’s development across six key areas:

• Approaches to Learning
• Social-Emotional Development
• Language, Literacy, and Communication
• Math and Science
• Expression
• Physical Development and Health

Teachers gather information through daily observations, classroom interactions, and one-on-one assessments. In early childhood, learning is deeply relational, and adult support plays an important role. As children grow, the type and amount of support they need shift naturally. Our assessment reflects both what children are able to do and how much guidance they require along the way.

How Development Is Described

To describe learning clearly and consistently, we use a shared developmental progress key. This framework reflects both skill development and levels of adult support:

• I - Independently: Begins and completes tasks without adult support
• M - Minimal Adult Support: Generally works independently with occasional support
• B - Benefits from Adult Support: Regularly needs guidance or reminders
• R - Requires Adult Support: Needs consistent adult support to engage or complete tasks
• O - Observed: Skill has been seen but not yet assessed
• N - Not Observed Yet: Skill has not yet been observed in the classroom

This approach recognizes that development is not linear and that children grow at their own pace.

Learning Stories: Making Learning Visible

In addition to Learning Indicators, Early Learning teachers use Learning Stories to document, reflect on, and celebrate children’s learning. Learning Stories capture meaningful moments of play, exploration, collaboration, and problem-solving, offering a window into how children learn in everyday classroom experiences.

Each Learning Story includes:

• A narrative observation of a child during daily learning experiences
• An analysis highlighting strengths, interests, and learning approaches
• Reflections on possible next steps to support or extend learning
• An invitation for families to respond and reflect with their child

Learning Stories are written directly to the child and are meant to be shared with them. This child-centered approach helps make learning visible and valued, and it invites children to see themselves as capable, engaged learners.

A Holistic and Collaborative Approach

Together, Learning Indicators and Learning Stories provide a balanced and meaningful picture of each child’s development. Families are essential partners in this process. The narrative format encourages shared conversations at home, offers space for family insights, and supports ongoing collaboration between teachers and families.

By weaving together observation, reflection, and interpretation, we aim to honor the whole child and support learning in ways that are personal, thoughtful, and responsive.

Written by Gina Griffiths, Early Learning Division Head

About Gina: Gina’s work is grounded in anti-bias, anti-racist frameworks, a lens she brings thoughtfully to her leadership and teaching at Westside. She holds a Master’s degree in Education from the University of Southern California and a BA in Anthropology from Washington State University.

She has taught a wide range of grades as a lead teacher, from Kindergarten through 10th grade, and has served as an administrator in early learning centers in Seattle. She also taught a K–1 loop at a creative, arts-focused charter school in San Francisco.