NASHVILLE, Tenn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#EarlyLearning–On Monday, November 18, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) boosted their efforts to increase the quality of their Pre-K programs and advance kindergarten readiness skills for over 3000 young children.
The district will equip 159 Pre-K teachers with Hatch WePlaySmart multi-touch tables for their classrooms.
“We are excited to provide Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Pre-K students with an interactive, collaborative learning experience targeting key competency areas, such as literacy, math, and social-emotional learning,” says Phyllis Phillips, MNPS Director of Pre-Kindergarten Programs.
“Teachers will have developmentally appropriate technology to support their curriculum and classroom goals. And implementing technology tables in our classrooms demonstrates our commitment to continuing to raise the quality of our Pre-K programs and provide our students with innovative and engaging learning opportunities.”
Provided by the Preschool Development Grant-Expansion
The Preschool Development Grant-Expansion (PDG-E), which supports the goal of expanding access to high-quality preschool programs in MNPS, provided the Hatch technology.
In addition to the technology tables, PDG-E is also providing the necessary resources to strengthen the quality of existing MNPS classrooms. Through coaching, professional development, family workshops, materials, and resources they will support over 3,000 students, their families, and over 200 teachers and paraprofessionals.
How WePlaySmart Tables Support Children and Educators
With WePlaySmart tables, two to four children work together learning to take turns, follow instructions, and be team players as they use more than 275 activities.
Through collaborative play, children develop social and emotional learning, collaboration, vocabulary, math, and oral language skills.
As collaborative play is happening amongst children, video recordings also capture authentic feedback on child interactions, helping teachers assess social-emotional skills that are often tough to measure accurately. With an unbiased view of how children interact without a teacher watching, educators gain a clear understanding of how a child’s social-emotional skills are developing throughout the year.
“We are thrilled to support Metro Nashville Public Schools in their efforts to build SEL and kindergarten readiness skills while supporting early learning educators,” says Hatch President Ginny Norton. “And we’re excited to watch these educators and students excel in the months and years to come.”
Professional Development and Training Support
The MNPS Early Learning Department, in coordination with Hatch, will provide online and in-person professional development and training to help Pre-K teachers and children successfully implement and use the WePlaySmart tables.
CTA: To see a WePlaySmart table in action, visit Hatch at booth #801 at the NAEYC Annual Conference from November 20–22 in Nashville, TN. We’d love to see you there!
To learn more about how Metro Nashville Public Schools will use WePlaySmart to support early learning, contact Sean Braisted, Executive Officer of Communications for Metro Nashville Public Schools at (615) 259-8405.
About MNPS
Metro Nashville Public Schools is one of the nation’s top 50 largest school districts, preparing 88,000 students for higher education, work and life. The governing body for Metro Schools is the Metropolitan Nashville Board of Public Education, a nine-member elected body. For more information, visit MNPS.org, or follow us on Twitter @MetroSchools or Facebook.com/MetroSchools.
About Hatch:
At Hatch we create impactful education technology designed specifically to support teaching and learning in early childhood classrooms. Interact with our team on Twitter (@HatchEarlyLearn), Facebook (@hatchearlylearning) or LinkedIn (Hatch Early Learning).
Contacts
Leslie Garner
800-624-7968 x1336
[email protected]
