CERDEP Resources and Forms
The Child Development Education Pilot Program (CDEPP) was established in annual budget proviso starting in 2006 as a pilot program for children residing in the plaintiff districts in the school funding lawsuit, Abbeville County School District et al. vs. South Carolina. On June 11, 2014, Governor Nikki Haley signed Act 284 (Read to Succeed); section 2 of that act codified the Child Early Reading and Development Education Program (CERDEP). Section 59-156-110 states, “There is created the South Carolina Child Early Reading Development and Education Program which is a full day, four year old kindergarten program for at risk children which must be made available to qualified children in all public school districts within the State.” CERDEP required providing funds first to eligible children in the state’s eight trial districts in the Abbeville County School District et al vs. South Carolina. With remaining funds, the program expanded to the plaintiff districts in Abbeville County School District et al vs. South Carolina and then expanded to eligible children residing in school districts with a poverty index of ninety percent or greater.
The South Carolina General Assembly has expanded the funding for many of the state’s at-risk 4-year-olds to have an opportunity to attend a full-day educational program. In 2020-21 the original districts entered their fifteenth year since implementation in 2006; the expansion districts of 2013 entered their ninth year; and the districts added in 2014 entered their seventh year. In addition, the 2020-21 CERDEP budget proviso 1.56 allowed for CERDEP expansion to extend into non-CERDEP districts. CERDEP expansion eligibility for schools in non-CERDEP districts is defined as schools where 60 percent or more of the student body are considered Pupils in Poverty in the 2019–20 and/or 2020–21 school years. Proviso 1.48 (2023-2024) and Proviso 1.47 (2024-2025) expanded eligibility to all districts based on school level poverty.
Section 59-156-110 mandates that in CERDEP classrooms districts will provide (1) a comprehensive, systemic approach to reading that follows the State Reading Proficiency Plan and the district’s comprehensive annual reading proficiency plan, (2) successful administration of the readiness assessment; (3) the developmental and learning support that children must have to be ready for school; (4) parenting education, including educating the parents as to methods that may assist the child; and (5) identification of community and civic organizations that can support early literacy efforts.
In an effort to ensure that as many four-year-old children have access to a high-quality education program, SCDE encourages districts to communicate any 4K vacancies for child care with your local South Carolina Office of First Steps provider(s).
GOLD
Teaching Strategies GOLD® is an authentic, ongoing observational system for assessing children from birth through kindergarten. It helps teachers to observe children in the context of everyday experiences, which is an effective way to learn what they know and can do. GOLD is based on 38 objectives for development and learning that include predictors of school success; teachers use them to focus their observations as they gather information to make classroom decisions. More information about the assessment is located on the Teaching Strategies web site.
Additional Teaching Strategies GOLD® resources and training information
MyIGDIs
myIGDIs Literacy is a formative assessment individually administered by the teacher to support the identification of preschool children requiring additional diagnostic assessment or levels of intervention in oral language, phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, and comprehension. This assessment can be used to measure developmental gains and inform instructional needs of individual children. More information about the assessment is located on the myIGDIs web site.
Additional myIGDIS resources and training information
S.C. Code § 59-155-150 requires that students entering publicly funded prekindergarten and kindergarten beginning in Fiscal Year 2014–15 must be administered a readiness assessment by the forty-fifth day of the school year.
Overview of KRA
The KRA is a developmentally appropriate instrument that measures a child’s school readiness across multiple domains. Understanding a child’s school readiness helps kindergarten teachers best meet the child’s needs, and it helps schools, families, communities and policy makers know how best to support young children as they enter the K-12 environment.
The KRA determines each child’s readiness level from an evaluation of four domains: Social Foundations, Language/Literacy, Mathematics, and Physical Well-Being. The KRA provides a snapshot of students’ abilities at the beginning of the school year.
Additional KRA information and resources
Early Learning Standards
South Carolina's Division of Early Care and Education, in the Department of Social Services, and the Department of Education’s Office of Instructional Supports (Early Learning and Literacy) worked together to develop the SC-ELS, which describe goals for young children’s development and learning. The SC-ELS is a resource for all programs serving young children in South Carolina. The SC-ELS provide support for teachers in serving children from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds and with children with divergent learning needs. Teachers and caregivers can turn to the SC-ELS to learn about child development as the document provides age-appropriate Goals and Developmental Indicators for each age level—infant, toddler, and preschooler.
Professional Learning Opportunities
The Office of Instructional Supports (Early Learning) provides support to South Carolina’s districts and will offer several free professional learning opportunities (PLOs) for teachers, teaching assistants, reading coaches, and administrators that will consist of face-to-face experiences to focus on literacy instructional strategies that impact student learning for students in four-year-old kindergarten (4K) through middle school. Participation in these PLO sessions will afford attendees the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the Profile of a Ready Kindergartener, Profile of the South Carolina Graduate, South Carolina Early Learning Standards (SC-ELS), and South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Standards.
For more information, please visit Office of Instructional Supports professional learning opportunities.
First Five South Carolina
First Five SC is a collaborative effort of SC public services and is supported by the Early Childhood Advisory Council. This resource connects families with South Carolina's public services for young children. Families can check eligibility for over 40 services and can find information on a variety of topics including food and nutrition; health and safety; and child care and early education. For more information, visit the First Five SC webpage.
The Share First Five SC page was created for service providers and agencies to access materials and resources that can be easily shared with families. Material order forms, FAQ, and material downloads can all be accessed at the Share First Five SC webpage.
