The Partnership for Pre-K Improvement (PPI) was launched in 2016 with a vision to develop and sustain high-quality, equitable state pre-K systems. Throughout the 5-year project, we partnered with 3 states – Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington – to learn alongside state education leaders, advocates and researchers about how to systematically improve pre-K quality. Along the way, we focused in on infrastructure and the policies, data, and implementation supports pre-K programs need to succeed.

As a culmination of this project, we created a report to capture lessons learned and recommendations for state early learning agency leaders, researchers and advocates, along with a free toolkit to support pre-K systems improvement.

What We Learned

• Systems change is complex and occurs over a long period of time. Although we saw important improvements during the life of the project, substantial systems change is ongoing and occurs in cycles as states navigate governmental, political, leadership, and funding changes and challenges.
• Practice frameworks can both advance and impede systems change work. While focusing on core elements of teaching and learning seemed that it would yield the greatest impact on quality, states were most successful when focusing on just one or two elements at a time.
• Implementation science is useful at the systems level but does not sufficiently advance equity. While an implementation science framework was very helpful in driving improvements, equity does not automatically follow quality changes. Equity must instead be intentionally centered.
• At the systems level, coordination, alignment, and resource-sharing across programs are necessary when striving to improve pre-K statewide. Quality and equity can only improve when pre-K is seen as a legitimate part of the broader education system.
• Strong, trusting, and stable partnerships between advocates and researchers are key to success of improvement efforts. Specifically, relationships that are pre-existing, intentional in terms of allocating staff and resources, and provide opportunities to learn from each other, are all critical factors in building stable and successful partnerships.

Recommendations

For state systems leaders, advocates and research partners:

• Build meaningful partnerships among systems leaders, advocates, and researchers.
• Think beyond pre-K.
• Recognize that implementation and infrastructure are critical missing pieces of systems change.
• Use intentional strategies for increasing equity and elevating parent and teacher voices.
• Prioritize data infrastructure and your state’s ability to use data for improvement.

For national and local consultants and technical assistance providers:

• Center equity from the beginning of any project.
• Ensure that state and local voices drive systems improvement consultation and technical assistance.
• Throughout this work, keep in mind both long-term vision, and more pressing, daily challenges.
• Provide flexible resources and funding.

Executive Summary

In spring 2020, Start Early engaged more than 150 participants from 12 states and the District of Columbia in the Build it Back Better Dialogues*. The dialogues afforded space for Start Early to hear directly from parents, systems leaders and early childhood practitioners. Actively listening to stakeholders’ concerns provided critical insight into the challenges facing early childhood professionals and the families they serve. By sparking courageous and often difficult conversations, Start Early gained a deeper understanding of the disparities that perpetuate the opportunity gap among our youngest learners.

This report outlines key findings from the Build it Back Better Dialogues, including actionable information to help lead long-term, systemic changes through research- and evidence-based policies. Listening to the lived experiences of families and early childhood professionals generated critical questions that can be used to guide further discussions about the future of early childhood education and care in a post-pandemic world. Paying attention to the voices of people on all sides of early childhood systems will allow the creation of more equitable, responsive policies moving forward.

We are excited to share our annual Start Early 2021 Year in Review, which showcases accomplishments and elevates reflections from last fiscal year (July 1, 2020 – June 30, 2021).

Highlights from this past year demonstrate how the early learning field adapted to continue being fully present for our families and providers regardless of where they were physically and emotionally.

At Start Early, we collaborated across program, policy and research partnerships to gather new perspectives and lessons learned. We implemented new strategies and expanded our innovative and interdisciplinary portfolio, positioning us to transform the field and drive collective action in the years to come.

2021 Year in Review

We are fortunate to have incredible partners in this work, and we are grateful for each of our supporters who make this work possible. We are champions for early learning, and together, we can transform lives.

Executive Summary

In March 2021, Start Early received a short-term exploratory grant from the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities to gather insights into how to better support the inclusion of young children with disabilities across school and community settings by engaging school district leaders and their management organizations. From March through August 2021, Start Early conducted key informant interviews and focus groups with school management associations and school district leaders, including principals, superintendents, school board members, and early childhood and early childhood special education coordinators to gain an understanding of what Local Education Agencies (LEAs) would need to be able to provide services to all preschool aged children with IEPs regardless of setting, with a focus on outside-of-school settings.

This report outlines key findings from these focus groups and potential next steps for policy makers and systems leaders to build LEA and state capacity to leverage new federal resources on inclusion. This work will inform early childhood systems efforts in Illinois including the Early Childhood Transformation’s implementation of the Funding Commission recommendations, the Governor’s Office of Early Childhood’s needs assessment and strategic planning process funded through the federal Preschool Development Grant, and the work that is anticipated under the Build Back Better Act.

Acknowledgements

This report was prepared thanks to many individuals and organizations that generously provided time and expertise, research, consultation and other supports. Special thanks to: Debra Pacchiano, Isabel Farrar, Ann Kremer, Emily Ropars, focus group participants and key informants.

In partnership with the Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities. This project was supported, in part by grant number CFDA 93.630, from the U.S. Administration for Community Living, Department of Health and Human Services, Washington, D.C. 20201. Grantees undertaking projects with government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their findings and conclusions. Points of view or opinions do not, therefore, necessarily represent official ACL policy.

By Debra Pacchiano, Vice President of Translational Research and Isabel Farrar, Research Associate at Start Early

Start Early recently organized a session at the 2021 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) conference that highlighted three soon-to-be published research studies from across the field that push our understanding of whether and how The Essential 0-5 Survey framework relates to other aspects of quality and outcomes we care about in early childhood programs. Together, these studies examine how specific organizational conditions identified in the survey framework impact teacher well-being and retention and how to measure the strength of these essential conditions within programs serving infants and toddlers.

What we continue to find is that nurturing begets nurturing: when teachers, staff and families are nurtured and supported by robust organizational conditions, especially facilitative and instructional leadership and routine collaboration with peers, teachers and staff are more committed, persistent, and competent in meeting the dynamic and changing needs of children and families.

In one upcoming study, researchers Anna J. Markowitz, Daphna Bassok, and Amanda Rosensky of the University of Virginia used data from early childhood programs across Louisiana to explore associations between teachers’ perceptions of their leaders as effective instructional leaders and measures of teacher turnover intentions, observed turnover, teacher well-being and the quality of teacher-child interactions. Their initial findings strengthen the evidence that site leadership is critically important to the quality of teachers’ interactions with children, as well as to teachers’ commitment to the program and decisions to remain in their position. These authors suggest that their findings indicate that coherent leadership development is a “potentially powerful area of intervention” impacting teacher/staff retention and quality improvements in early education settings.

Another study, conducted by Allison Friedman-Krauss, Milagros Nores, Charles Whitman, and W. Steven Barnett at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) examines how differences in teachers’ perceptions of organizational conditions vary by teacher/school/district characterizations and impact classroom quality and teachers’ well-being. This research finds a strong association between teacher perceptions of their school organizational conditions and teacher depressive symptoms, suggesting that supporting teacher well-being is particularly important in today’s pandemic context.

Pre-kindergarten (pre-K) enrollment has risen steadily in the United States in recent decades, largely driven by the mounting body of research evidence on the effectiveness of early childhood education. However, the same children, who are most at-risk for ongoing academic struggles and the most likely to benefit from high-quality early educational experiences, are least likely to have access to high-quality pre-K options, which contributes to inequitable enrollment within districts. Importantly, school districts are making choices about where to place pre-K classrooms and developing policies for how families can apply and who is enrolled. In doing so, districts are pulling policy levers that influence students’ access to pre-K; but to date very few of these policies have been rigorously examined.

A recent study by education researchers at Start Early, NORC at the University of Chicago, and UChicago Consortium on School Research explores whether and how Chicago’s pre-K system was more equitable after the district implemented a set of policies focused on access to and enrollment in school-based pre-K beginning in 2013-14. Furthermore, this research seeks to understand how access and enrollment varied depending on students’ neighborhood characteristics and how policy changes and access to full-day, school-based pre-K were related to learning outcomes in elementary school.

The findings from this study of Chicago’s efforts offer key insights for other school districts implementing similar policies nationwide.

Funders

The research described here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant #R305A180510 to NORC at the University of Chicago. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides states with a unique opportunity to strategically lay the foundation for addressing long-standing inequities and best supporting children with disabilities and developmental delays, who have long been underrepresented in our early childhood system and have endured some of the greatest impacts of the pandemic. As states navigate the complexity that is effectively utilizing and distributing these historic funds, equity should be at the center of their process to prioritize the needs of children and families who have been disproportionately impacted.

The following guide contains strategies and considerations for using federal funds to prioritize children with disabilities and developmental delays with a focus on equity. The guide specifically addresses use of the following funds:

• Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Part B – Section 619 ($200 Million) and IDEA Part C ($250 Million)
• Supplemental Child Care and Development Block Grant ($14.99 Billion) and Child Care Stabilization Funds ($23.98 Billion)
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, aka ESSER ($122.77 Billion)
• Head Start Funds ($1 Billion)

There are several opportunities to ensure ARPA funds are implemented at the state and local level to maximize impact for our children with disabilities and their families. Now is the time to ensure families — particularly families of color — can access the early intervention and early childhood special education services they need (and may have been previously disconnected from), better support inclusive child care and preschool programs for young children with disabilities, and test out innovative service delivery models. By strategically utilizing these investments to meet the needs of children and families most affected, states can work towards building a more equitable early childhood system and addressing existing disparities that were only worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In support of the Every Child Ready Chicago initiative, Start Early began exploring the creation of a Chicago early childhood research consortium, which would bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, families, and community representatives across sectors in a robust, long-term research-practice partnership focused on helping Chicago achieve its vision for a strong early childhood system.

Access to relevant, actionable, and timely evidence and data that can guide the decisions of policymakers and program leaders is critical to the success of early childhood, and any other, systems-building initiatives. For an early childhood system as large and ambitious as Chicago, no one research partner or institution can provide these supports alone; a consortium of researchers and research institutions working together is key. Chicago already benefits from several research consortia, but none focus specifically on the city’s early childhood system.

Our exploratory report presents the findings of the initial inquiry phase: stakeholder interviews with 26 participants from 16 different organizations, including researchers, advocates, practitioners, leaders of community-based organizations, City of Chicago officials and staff, and other experts. The consensus that emerged was clear:

• Chicago needs an early childhood research consortium to serve as a long-term, sustainable research partnership focused exclusively on Chicago’s cross-sector, systemwide early childhood priorities.
• The research consortium should function as:
  • A neutral third-party without allegiance to, or conflicts of interest with, any City agency, office or department.
  • A trusted thought partner and capacity support for City agencies, offices and departments, as well as community and systems leaders.
  • A “hub” for researchers across institutions and disciplines.
  • An integrated complement to existing and emerging infrastructure, systems, consortia and partnerships; it should not duplicate or replace them.

The exploratory interviews also helped to specify a set of important strategic questions that remain unanswered. In the next phase of this work, it will be important to bring together potential partners for nuanced discussions regarding these recommendations, strategic questions and additional topics that emerge as this work progresses. We are excited to catalyze these conversations and facilitate this process for Chicago’s early childhood community.

We are excited to share our annual Start Early 2020 Year In Review report, which showcases the incredible work achieved throughout last fiscal year (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020). The last half of the year proved to be challenging and uncertain – yet, the unyielding resilience of families and the early learning and care field during a devastating global pandemic has been inspiring.

The highlights from this past fiscal year demonstrate how our work and our longstanding goals for transformation have been accelerated by the crises that face our country. The report also showcases the innovative solutions that early learning champions developed and deployed to address the unprecedented challenges impacting families.

2020 Year in Review

As we look forward, Start Early recommits to strengthening and deepening our role as an anti-racist organization that works in true partnership with communities to ensure the voices of families are represented, heard and valued. We are grateful for the ongoing support of our partners and donors, and together, we can advance better, more equitable early learning opportunities for our youngest children.

Start Early, provides resources, technical and support services, content expertise and peer learning opportunities to early childhood advocates and practitioners and systems and government leaders. Our goal is to create conditions that enable meaningful policy reforms and system improvements at local, state and federal levels and transform practice across the nation.

That said, we are pleased to share our annual 2020 State Policy Update Report, which provides a snapshot of early childhood care and education budget and policy changes during the 2019-2020 legislative sessions. This robust report illuminates trends and connects early childhood policy and funding advances across the country.

Included in the Report:

• Legislative, budgetary and administrative changes across 29 states organized by topic, demonstrating the breadth of the work done by state early childhood leaders and advocates.

Topics Include:

• Early Care and Education
• Infant and Family Supports
• Early Intervention
• Home Visiting
• Workforce and Higher Education
• Revenue, Data and Governance

Additional Report Insights:

• Data that illustrates how state priorities shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and policy recommendations based on the lessons learned during the subsequent economic upheaval
• Stories from state advocates that give voices to policy wins and showcase the direct impact of their work