Early childhood educator and author, focused on using learning data to design Tier 2 and Tier 3 support in TK.
A California Early Learning webinar series featuring leading experts
on high-quality UPK curriculum, PTKLF-aligned instruction, DRDP 2025
assessment, and practical next-step support for TK and Pre-K teams.
California Early Learning leaders, researchers, and practitioners come together to address the curriculum, assessment, and implementation challenges educators have been working around for years.
Early childhood educator and author, focused on using learning data to design Tier 2 and Tier 3 support in TK.
Former Executive Director of Early Childhood Education at LAUSD, one of the largest UPK systems in the country.
Director of Early Learning at Lancaster School District, exploring how AI can honor children’s culture, identity, and community.
Early learning leader in Lindsay Unified School District and a board member with EveryChild California.
Co-Founder and CEO of Learning Genie, connecting curriculum, assessment, and AI to support California early learning.
Early learning specialist who partners with educators across the series on curriculum, assessment, and everyday classroom practice.
Director of Kindergarten Readiness at Oakland USD, building practical TK assessment across PTKLF, DRDP 2025, and direct measures.
TK teacher in Chula Vista Elementary School District, bringing Pyramid Model self-regulation strategies into PreK and TK classrooms.
Experts tackle the challenges educators have faced for years, from classroom readiness and PTKLF implementation to curriculum, assessment, and next steps.
Plus: Using AI to Build Learning Around Children’s Culture, Identity and Community
The role and application of PTKLF, DRDP 2025, CLASS, and the Pyramid Model vary across Pre-K, CSPP, and TK programs.
PTKLF defines what children are developing and learning.The California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF) describe the knowledge and skills children typically develop and provide a research-informed foundation for curriculum, instruction, observation, and intentional teaching across preschool and TK.
An observation-based assessment of children’s developmental progress.DRDP 2025 is California’s developmental assessment instrument used in CSPP and other designated early learning programs to observe, document, and assess children’s progress over time.
A measure of the quality of teacher–child interactions.CLASS is an observational tool used to assess the quality of educator–child interactions, including emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support.
A framework for promoting social-emotional development and positive behavior.The Pyramid Model provides a tiered approach to nurturing social-emotional competence, building supportive classroom environments, and addressing children’s behavioral needs.
When curriculum, assessment, professional learning, family engagement, and behavioral support live in separate systems, teachers carry the burden of connecting them.
Play-based instruction built directly on PTKLF: 8 units, 31 weeks, 301 activities, with Science of Reading and early math every week.
One path from observation to evidence: portfolio-based PTKLF, DRDP 2025, or direct early literacy and math checks.
Teacher guides that double as job-embedded PD, so staff learn the new PTKLF standards while they teach them.
Accessible communication and family resources, including Spanish-language curriculum, that carry learning home.
Unit 0, Advancing the Pyramid: high-quality social-emotional instruction, small-group targeted support, and individualized intervention.
When these five connect, implementation gets easier for teachers and more coherent for leaders.
See how Learning Genie connects the system ↓Learning Genie helps early-learning teams connect curriculum, observation, assessment, professional learning, and family engagement in a workflow that can adapt to different program requirements.
Discover & Grow connects daily instruction, observation, assessment, and tiered intervention: curriculum informs assessment, assessment informs intervention, and what teachers learn feeds back into the next week of teaching.
Why: California’s 2026–27 Student Support and Professional Development Discretionary Block Grant identifies professional learning in developmentally appropriate instruction as an allowable use—creating an opportunity for districts to strengthen TK implementation.
How: Learning Genie can help districts translate that investment into classroom practice by connecting developmentally appropriate curriculum, professional learning, assessment-informed instruction, and multilingual learner supports within a cohesive implementation approach.
The opportunity: Move funding from a one-time investment to sustainable improvements in teacher practice, instructional coherence, assessment insights, and child learning experiences.
View official CDE guidance ↗Articles, the speaker series, and California use cases for putting Discover & Grow to work.
The state’s Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations — the framework Discover & Grow is built directly around, not mapped to.
Read the foundations →
Missed a live session? Every Learning Genie webinar is recorded and posted to our YouTube channel — PTKLF, DRDP 2025, and California early-learning practice, on your own time.
Watch on YouTube →When a class of young children got curious about volcanoes, an educator used Discover & Grow’s curriculum planning tools to turn that spontaneous interest into a three-week, standards-aligned unit — without losing the play-based approach.
Read the use case →
See how Discover & Grow and Learning Genie bring curriculum, assessment, and coaching into one coherent, California-aligned system. Book a demo, or explore the webinars first.
View the Discover & Grow Curriculum Guide