Lynwood, Calif. – Enrolling young learners into transitional kindergarten or kindergarten is now much easier for parents of Lynwood Unified preschool children thanks to a student information system and access to tools that allow educators to help make more meaningful placement decisions for each child.

Aeries, a Districtwide system now being utilized for preschoolers, updates data collection practices as educational shifts in California occur. With an easy-to-use interface for administrators, counselors, teachers, parents and students, the system also gathers data and holds it in one place online.

As Lynwood Unified students enrolled in the Lynwood’s Early Childhood Education program this year, their data was entered into the system.

“Now we can estimate how many children will be enrolling in transitional kindergarten or kindergarten next school year – better preparing our District leaders and teachers,” Lynwood Unified’s Early Childhood Education Coordinator Heather Harris said. “Secondly, children will roll over into kindergarten or transitional kindergarten without parents having to re-enroll their students, easing their educational transitions.”

The District also uses an informative assessment instrument that measures preschool students’ fall and spring developmental progress. The benefits of DRDP (Desired Results Developmental Profile), now accessible on the digital cloud and through an internet-based app, are two-fold.

Teachers will be able to store children’s DRDP assessments in a secure database to guide program development, tailor instruction and generate individual and group reports. Students’ DRDP data will be linked to their student file in Aeries. The information is also more accessible for parents who can better understand student progress online or in parent-teacher conferences.

“Investing in educational technology and software that increase access to information improves the quality of our programs and services with more and more students benefitting,” Superintendent Paul Gothold said. “This system and these tools truly illustrate our ongoing, comprehensive effort to modernize Lynwood Unified so that all students are positively affected.”

Moreover, with access to clear data, LUSD teachers and administrators can also help develop strategies earlier for parents assisting their children’s learning at home.

“We can now look at certain areas, such as language and literacy development, to better predict what type of support children need to ensure they are successful readers by third grade,” Harris said.

The Desired Results system is designed to improve the well-being of all students enrolled in early childcare education programs within the District. As a result, not only is academic development tracked, but the system also gauges levels of physical and social competence, which play a role in effective and long-term learning.

“We strongly believe that early childhood education is fundamental to a student’s long-term success – inside the classroom and out,” Lynwood Board of Education President Alma-Delia Renteria said. “Research shows that children who attend early education programs do better in school from the first day of kindergarten through their post-secondary years and we remain dedicated to strengthening these programs at Lynwood Unified.”