Tips for Sharing the EYE-DA Child Report Results with Families

Preparations to consider before meeting with families:

• Meet with the school’s multidisciplinary team to discuss the child’s Early Years Evaluation – Direct Assessment (EYE-DA) results and develop a plan for the child.
• Take some time to review the child’s EYE-DA results. Prepare notes about how you will communicate the child’s EYE-DA results as well as strategies for supporting the child at home and at school.
• While there will be an emphasis on the strengths’ of the child, it will be important to think about how you will respond to questions families may have about the child’s area(s) of need.
• Arrange for language interpreters, as needed.
• Materials to prepare:
  • Printed copies of the EYE-DA Child Report. If the family speaks English as an additional language, consider also printing the EYE-DA Child Report in their language (when possible).
  • Ensure you have the child’s learning portfolio and other related materials on hand.
  • Strategies and activities that families can use at home to support their child’s learning.

Five steps to sharing results with families:

1. Explain the objective
   • Offer the families a warm welcome.
   • Celebrate the child’s learning and successes. Discuss the child’s feelings about school and learning.
   • State the purpose of the meeting. Give families a brief overview of the EYE-DA. Consider providing a family- friendly information handout about the EYE-DA domains.
   • Remind families how and when the EYE-DA was administered.
2. Explain the content
   • Discuss each domain and why it is important for children’s learning.
   • Discuss the ‘explanation of results’ table at the bottom of the Child Report.
   • It is crucial that teachers communicate to families that:
     • The red triangle is not a ‘bad’ result and the green square is not a ‘good’ result.
   • A result of a red triangle or yellow circle means that, for this domain, the child would benefit from additional experiences in this area.
   • This does NOT mean the child is ‘BEHIND’. Instead, the EYE-DA results can guide planning decisions around the specific area(s) where additional experiences for the child would be beneficial.
   • Discuss the child’s current skill level for each domain.
3. Focus on the positive
   • Highlight observed strengths.
4. Point out opportunities
   • Discuss the domains where you’ll be working on improvements – use this as an opportunity to involve the family in strengthening the child’s skills.
5. Discuss the action plan
   • Talk about how programming will be adjusted to respond to each child’s observed strengths, interests, and preferences. Ask families for suggestions about any other interests or strengths their child may have.
   • Brainstorm ways they can support learning and development at home.
   • Provide families with resources. Be sure to go through them orally so they understand.

*Invite the family to ask questions and offer comments throughout the meeting.

School Readiness and the Key Areas of Early Childhood Development

Successful learning takes place when parents, schools, and communities work together to support their children. Below are descriptions of the four key areas of early childhood development and how they relate to school readiness and readiness to learn to read: