EARLY YEARS EVALUATION (EYE)

What is the EYE?

The Early Years Evaluation (EYE) provides our early learning teachers with a framework for gathering each child’s developmental information through the use of informal observations and checklists.  This gathered information is then used to ensure that lessons for both the group and each individual meet the needs of all the children. There is an EYE-DA — Direct Assessment for EEP children and an EYE-TA — Teacher Assessment for the Kindergarten year.

used to ensure that lessons for both the group and each individual meet the needs of all the children

EYE-DA

The EYE -DA is administered to all of our EEP students prior to September 30. Parents will be asked to sign up for a 45 min appointment prior to the first day of classes to bring their child for the EYE DA screen. If you are unable to make an appointment your child’s teacher will administer the screen in September during class time.

Reports are generated at the school and are shared with parents at the November report card meeting.

EYE-TA

The EYE-TA is administered to all Kindergarten children in October and again in June.

The EYE-DA assesses four domains closely associated with readiness to learn at school:

• Awareness of Self and Environment – a child’s understanding of the world and his or her ability to make connections with home and community experiences.
• Cognitive Skills – a child’s basic math and pre-reading skills and his or her ability to solve problems.
• Language and Communication – a child’s understanding of spoken language and his or her ability to express thoughts and feelings.
• Physical Development
  • Fine motor – a child’s ability to perform small movements that require hand-eye coordination.
  • Gross motor – a child’s ability to perform large movements that involve arms, legs, and body.

The EYE-TA assesses the above areas as well as:

• Social Skills and Approaches to Learning – a child’s attentiveness during classroom activities and his or her ability to interact with peers while respecting the classroom rules.

EYE results are depicted using three color codes:

• Green – denoting appropriate development;
• Yellow-  experiencing some difficulty; and
• Red –  experiencing significant difficulty.

The EYE reports provide parents, teachers and school administrators with accurate and meaningful information on children’s early developmental skills.

How do we use the information from the EYE?

The EYE report shows each child’s areas of strength and needs. This information helps guide our instruction for both the class and each individual.

The EYE reports also help us to identify children experiencing delays in gaining age-appropriate skills.  As a school district, we are able to apply for government funding through Alberta Education’s Progam Unit Funding (PUF) grant.  This application process involves reviewing current and prior reports from specialists such as Speech Language Pathologist and Physical / Occupational Therapists to help decide which children flagged by the EYE require additional supports in the classroom.  These decisions take time but typically are finalized in November.

CONTACT EARLY LEARNING Fort McMurray Catholic School Board

For additional information contact any of our elementary schools or call Fort McMurray Catholic School District at 780-799-5799 (5043) or email one of our Early Learning Coordinators, Mishell Usick at mishel.usick@fmcsd.ab.ca or Janice Molloy at janice.molloy@fmcsd.ab.ca.