Virginia ELDS Birth Five Learning Guidelines

PROCESS Many documents, studies, and individuals were consulted in the process of developing the ELDS. Virginia’s standards have been informed by: • the Position Statement on Early Learning and Development (ELD) Standards from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) • the Joint Position Statement on Early Childhood Inclusion from NAEYC and the Division for Exceptional Children (DEC) of the Council for Exceptional Children • the Summary Report of the North Carolina Enhanced Assessment Grants (EAG) Consortium • existing Virginia Standards

o Milestones of Child Development o Foundation Blocks of Learning o Kindergarten Standards of Learning • the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework • a review of relevant research literature

Additionally, standards from many states were consulted as part of the development of the ELDS. See Appendix B for a list of states whose standards documents were consulted. Drawing upon these resources, a collaborative process in which a statewide cohort of stakeholders were engaged to guide the work of teams in developing the five sections of the ELDS document. The stakeholders, listed below, brought insights from all areas of Virginia: from a variety of service delivery models and systems, from different cultural perspectives, and from the colleges and universities involved in preparing the early childhood workforce. Workgroup members, also listed in the Acknowledgements section, represent numerous organizations, colleges, and universities. This broad-based participation underscores the effort to present standards that will serve and support all of Virginia’s early childhood providers and, by extension, all of the Commonwealth’s young children. WRITING STYLE The ELDS are intended to be written in a clear way that is understandable to anyone who interacts with children on a regular basis. Indicators are written in an objective and active tone with the purpose of promoting a positive skill instead of avoiding a negative behavior. Some examples are embedded within certain indicators to help illustrate or clarify a general statement. Guidance was followed in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (APA), 7 th edition (2020) whenever applicable to ensure that the writing is professional as well as reader friendly. In addition to using person-first language, we followed APA 7 th edition on the usage of the pronoun “they.” APA advocates for the singular “they” because it is inclusive of all people and it helps readers avoid making assumptions about gender. For example, instead of “engages in an activity that interests him or her,” the standard is “engages in an activity that interests them.” Instead of “the person is saying his or her name” the standard is “the person is saying their name.”

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