a different way of doing business: examples of pre-k to third grade alignment in practice

8/20/2019 A Different Way of Doing Business: Examples of Pre-K to Third Grade Alignment in Practice

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1 Center for American Progress | A Different Way of Doing Business

A Different Way of Doing Business:

Examples of Pre-K to Third GradeAlignment in PracticeBy Rebecca Ullrich and Maryam Adamu January 13, 2016

Te years spanning pre-kindergaren o hird grade are paricularly imporan ones:

During his ime, children develop crucial social-emoional and cogniive skills ha

build he oundaion or laer success inside and ouside he classroom. High-qualiyearly learning programs have a significan posiive impac on 4-year-olds’ academic

achievemen and social-emoional skills over he course o heir pre-K year.1 Children

who atend preschool gain our addiional monhs o learning, on average, compared

wih heir peers who do no atend.2 Many sudies show ha cogniive gains or children

who atended high-qualiy preschool las ino early elemenary school3 and adoles-

cence,4 while ohers have idenified a convergence o achievemen scores beween chil-

dren who atended high-qualiy pre-K and hose who did no by hird grade.5 Long-erm

benefis, paricularly gains in social-emoional learning, generally persis.6

Tere is growing recogniion among early childhood expers ha high-qualiy earlylearning opporuniies are necessary bu no sufficien o ensure long-erm success

or all children.7 Children’s experiences in early elemenary school can have similarly

significan and lasing effecs on developmen,8 bulike or pre-Khe qualiy o

elemenary school classroom environmens is highly variable.9 Consisen access o

high-qualiy classrooms and schools rom preschool o hird grade provides opporu-

niies or all children o build coninuously upon he oundaional skills developed dur-

ing he firs our years o lie.10

Early childhood is widely recognized as he mos flexible developmenal period or

influencing children’s uure rajecories,11 and his criical period o developmen is no

limied o he years beore children ener ormal schooling. Recognizing his, saes and

school disrics across he counry are making an effor o align he policy and pracice

in early care and educaion wih subsequen K-12 sysems. Tis issue brie provides

an overview o some o he key componens and challenges o pre-K o hird grade, or

P-3, alignmen iniiaives idenified by implemeners a he sae and local levels. (see

Appendix or ull lis o inerviewees)


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Creating a unified vision

Implemeners emphasized ha a crucial firs sep oward alignmen is working wih

parners across sae and disric agencies and he privae secor o esablish an overarch-

ing goal or all children. Ideniying a big-picure goal in he conex o children’s ou-

comes allows implemeners o employ concree, argeed sraegies or alignmen.14 In

Oregon, policymakers and praciioners realized ha he educaional programs servingchildren and amilies beween early childhood and hird grade were scatered and no

working oward he same goal. Sakeholders across he sae responded by ideniying a

benchmark or all Oregon children: 100 percen reading proficiency a he end o hird

grade. Wih a common goal in mind, parners are now working o improve how children

are ransiioning rom early care and educaion setings o kindergaren and beyond.15

For a vision o be ruly unified, all parners mus be invesed in he goal. Adminisraors in

Massachusets described he sae’s college- and career-readiness definiion as one “where

he early childhood sysem didn’ see hemselves.”16 Beore hey could engage in align-

men iniiaives, implemeners needed o ground hemselves in he definiion. Similarly,leaders in New Jersey had o ideniy wha college and career readiness means or 4-, 5-,

and 6-year-olds, as well as how educaors migh ideniy “readiness” in young children. 17

Esablishing his collecive vision or alignmen was imporan or saes and disrics

o overcome he disjoined naure o early learning and K-12 educaion sysems and

philosophies. Unified under a single goal, implemeners were able o ideniy how he

srenghs o each parner could be leveraged o achieve alignmen or children and ami-

lies, deermine how larger goals should play ou a each level o implemenaion, and

selec he iniiaives ha would help achieve hose goals.

Establishing a collaborative system

Te sheer number o agencies, programs, and unding sreams ha serve young children

and amilies can presen a barrier o creaing an aligned coninuum o services. o break

down exising silos, implemeners execued sysems-level changes in how heir agencies

were organized and/or operaed in conjuncion wih oher sakeholders. Tese changes

can mean he difference beween isolaed iniiaivesin which children and amilies

migh all hrough he cracksand achieving a unified vision.

One approach o creaing coninuiy is carving ou a new home or P-3 work.

Implemeners in Pennsylvania work ou o he Office o Child Developmen and Early

Learning, or OCDELa join office beween he sae Deparmen o Human Services

and he sae Deparmen Educaion. By nesing many o he programs ha serve

young children and amilies in OCDELrom early inervenion o subsidized child

carePennsylvania is able o collaborae and share inormaion across bureaus.18 In

“We’re telling them that it’s not an

add-on or an extra. It’s a different way

of doing business.”

– Brett Walker, alignment specialist,

Oregon Department of Education13


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Connecicu, many P-3 iniiaives are housed in he Office o Early Childhood, or OEC,

a sand-alone agency comprised o programs ha were originally locaed in five differ-

en agencies. Programs and services in boh saes all operae under a prenaal or birh

hrough hird grade lens, allowing implemeners o hink abou how educaion, healh,

and oher suppor sysems change across he coninuum o developmen.19

Anoher sraegy is ideni ying represenaives rom differen sakeholder groups ororganizaions o paricipae in an ongoing working group. In Massachusets, P-3 work

is no conained in a paricular agency; insead, implemeners brough ogeher par-

ners across sae agencies and sakeholders in he communiy o creae a sae Birh–

3rd Grade Advisory Group. Members include he sae Deparmen o Elemenary

and Secondary Educaion, he sae Deparmen o Early Educaion and Care, he

sae Deparmen o Public Healh, and Head Sar; specialiss wihin hese agencies

ha represen special educaion, early childhood menal healh, assessmen, lieracy,

and dual-language learners; and Sraegies or Children, a sae advocacy organizaion.

Te advisory group esablished a birh o hird grade ramework ha inorms sae-

wide alignmen iniiaives.20

Sysems change a he adminisraive level can be challenging, paricularly as imple-

meners deermine how o leverage differen budges and mainain varying opera-

ing sandards. However, implemeners emphasized in heir inerviews ha working

wih parners o coordinae he adminisraion o programs and services is an inegral

componen o alignmen work, reducing he duplicaion o services and creaing a more

comprehensive, holisic se o programs or children and amilies.

“The more we build alignment,

the more support we have from

everywhere.”

– Deborah Wise, division chief,

Pennsylvania departments of

Human Services and Education,

Office of Child Development and

Early Learning21


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Building and supporting leadership

Along wih esablishing a unified vision and cenralizing he adminisraion o programs

and services, implemeners highlighed he imporance o having passionae leadership

a he helm o sae agencies. Visible and commited leaders who have long-sanding

relaionships wih disrics and programs lend credibiliy o P-3 alignmen iniiaives

and aciliae buy-in among local adminisraors.

Wih implemenaion ulimaely aking place in schools and classrooms, i is equally

imporan ha disric and school leaders see he benefi o alignmen and acively

champion alignmen iniiaives. A CPCs, elemenary school principals collaborae wih

leadership eams, comprised o

a head eacher, a paren resource eacher, and a school-

communiy represenaive.35 In Lansing, Michigan, he principal and wo eachers a

each school work ogeher o ideniy srenghs and insrucional areas wih room or

growhboh wihin each grade level and across he enire schoolbased on daa

gahered during classroom observaions.36 Te heavy involvemen o leadership in hese

models ofen creaes a climae o enhusiasm among he res o he insrucional saff.37

Funding and partnerships

Blending and braiding multiple funding sources—including

federal, state, and private monetary and in-kind support—to

launch and sustain alignment is an integral part of establishing

a collaborative system. Some of the alignment strategies that

implementers identified, such as increasing access to high-

quality early learning programs and providing aligned profes-

sional development for teachers across the P-3 continuum, did

not require new funding sources—instead, states and districts

strategically worked with their existing budgets to reallocate

funds. Other initiatives, such as aligning standards and develop-

ing kindergarten entry assessments, required implementers to

seek outside grant support22 and/or engage in partnerships with

private organizations in the community.

In Chicago, for instance, the Child-Parent Center, or CPC, modelutilizes federal, state, and private resources—including Title I,23

Head Start,24 Illinois Early Childhood Block Grants,25 and social

impact bonds26—to finance various aspects of the program.27 The

model is being further expanded into other high-need schools

in Illinois and Minnesota as part of a school reform initiative sup-

ported by an Investing in Innovation Fund,28 or i3, grant.29

Several states noted that private funding was integral to kick-start

their alignment efforts.30 In Oregon, some efforts to implement

innovative initiatives at the local level are funded with private

dollars from community foundations,31 while state general funds

support the statewide expansion of certain alignment compo-

nents, such as full-day kindergarten.32 Leaders in Pennsylvania

used Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge funds to grow their

cross-sector work, evaluate existing initiatives, and determine

next steps for alignment.33

Leveraging new and existing funds from public and private

sources is critical to systems change, as it creates widespread

buy-in across stakeholders, ensures that programs across agencies

and funding streams are working toward a common vision, and

builds sustainability into alignment efforts. One interviewee fromConnecticut noted that while bringing stakeholders to the table

can be difficult, it is extremely important—no one partner has the

resources to achieve these initiatives alone.34


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Implemeners noed ha because many K-12 adminisraors do no have a background

in early childhood educaion, hey require explici leadership raining and echnical

assisance o effecively suppor early childhood educaors and aciliae alignmen

iniiaives. In Marin Couny, Caliornia, specific meeings and raining sessions or

principals are key o ensure ha leaders are spearheading necessary sysems changes.38

In Pennsylvania, adminisraors working wih children ages 0 o 8 have he opporuniy

o paricipae in join proessional developmen hrough he Early Childhood ExecuiveLeadership Insiue.39 Similarly, sae leaders in New Jersey are piloing a proessional

developmen model ha esablishes disric eams, which include a cenral office repre-

senaive, a principal, and classroom eachers.40

Several inerviewees suggesed ha when disric and school adminisraors are knowl-

edgeable and passionae abou alignmen effors, hey are more likely o prioriize

unding and oher resources oward programs and iniiaives ha suppor alignmen.41

Tus, i is imporan ha he collaboraion occurring a he sae level also occurs a he

disric and school levels.

“Those funding opportunities have

a shelf life; having leadership at the

executive level is really important if

we’re making sustainable change.”

– Donna Traynham, early learning

team lead, Massachusetts

Department of Elementary and

Secondary Education42

Pennsylvania’s P-3 Governor’s Institute

Pennsylvania’s P-3 Governor’s Institute is a unique approach to

developing leaders at multiple levels to advocate for alignment

in schools and classrooms. OCDEL accepts teams comprised of

an early learning administrator and a teacher, a K-3 administrator

and a teacher, and up to four additional members of the com-

munity—such as a curriculum coordinator, a parent liaison, anearly interventionist, or a college faculty member. In 2015, OCDEL

hosted four regional institutes with a total of 62 teams.43

Using Kristie Kauerz and Julia Coffman’s “Framework for Planning,

Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade Approaches,”44

teams kick off the three-day workshop by identifying existing

strengths and potential areas for growth in their current poli-

cies and practices and sharing with the other attendees. Teams

prioritize areas for growth and create P-3 priority documents to

guide their participation through subsequent sessions. Breakout

sessions consist of targeted content, including systems change,

team building, data-driven instruction, family engagement, and

play-based learning.

Encouraged to start with small, manageable changes that can be

achieved quickly and easily, teams create an action plan to outline

the initial steps toward P-3 alignment in the immediate future.

Teams from the 2015 institutes have taken a variety of steps toward

P-3 alignment that will lead to more substantial systematic change

down the road, including implementing joint professional develop-

ment, aligning standards, and renewing focus on family and com-

munity engagement in kindergarten through third grade.45


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Streamlining approaches to instruction

Tere are significan differences in how adminisraors and educaors approach heir

work wih children and amilies in early learning compared wih elemenary grades.

Implemeners discussed he imporance o sreamlining approaches o pracice in he

classroom o creae a seamless coninuum o learning rom preschool o hird grade.

Specifically, saes and disrics highlighed he need or aligned proessional develop-men and sandards or learning and developmen as children ransiion rom pre-

school ino he K-12 sysem.

Professional development under an alignment framework

A ruly aligned P-3 sysem includes access o high-qualiy insrucion rom age 3

hrough grade hree. Improving insrucionand hereby children’s oucomesrelies

on supporing educaors and adminisraors o provide he opimal conex or learn-

ing. Proessional developmen and raining ha is aligned across grade levels and based

on he same principles is a cornersone o ha work. In Connecicu, he OECin

parnership wih he sae Deparmen o Educaionoffers webinars, coaching, andconsuling o help eachers provide high-qualiy early learning environmens, wih a

ocus on birh o age 5. Lansing School Disric organizes proessional developmen

around insrucional srenghs and areas o opporuniy. A each grade level, daa are

aggregaed so ha eachers can look across grade levels o inorm heir pracice based

on insrucion in grades above and below.46 CPCs work o enhance heir proessional

developmen by parnering wih he Erikson Insiue, a graduae school specializing in

child developmen, o provide on-sie coaching as well as online learning modules ha

deail bes pracices linked across grades.47

Supporting social-emotional development across the P-3 continuum Anoher key componen o alignmen is ensuring ha insrucion suppors all aspecs o

children’s developmenno jus academic achievemenacross he P-3 coninuum.

Dramaic play and oher avenues or children o acquire imporan social and behavioral

skills are hallmarks in early learning classrooms. However, aciviies ha suppor he

developmen o noncogniive skills do no always ollow children ino kindergaren and

beyond. Recognizing he imporan link beween children’s social and behavioral devel-

opmen and academic achievemen, a primary goal or many implemeners is o creae

sandards or noncogniive skills ha exend ino he early elemenary grades. Several

implemeners inerviewed noed ha heir saes are in he process o rolling ou he

sandards hemselves and o creaing insrucional guides and proessional developmen

models o suppor eachers as hey implemen he sandards in heir classrooms.

One sae leader in Oregon noed ha kindergaren eachers in paricular were excied

abou his shifmany eachers knew how imporan inerpersonal skills and sel-

regulaion were o heir sudens’ learning bu ofen el lef ou o ha ramework.

Social-emoional learning, or SEL, sandards provide hem wih clear goals or children’s


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developmen and a road map o aciliae hese skills.48 EASCONN, a regional edu-

caion service cener in Connecicu, parnered wih sae leaders o rain eachers in

insrucional sraegies ha promoe execuive uncion skills, including working mem-

ory, menal flexibiliy, and sel-conrol. Te developmen o execuive uncion skills

is crucial or academic achievemen, as hey are necessary or children o sel-regulae,

hink criically abou ideas, plan aciviies, inerac wih peers, and know when o ask or

help.49 As a resul, projec saff are finding ha children are more engaged, eager o learn,and increasingly able o manage heir behavior in he classroom.50

Engaging families and the broader community

A each sep o implemening alignmen sraegies, here is a concered effor o incor-

porae a variey o sakeholders, including amilies and communiy service providers. A

rademark o high-qualiy early learning programs is ha hey ocus on engaging amilies

and mainaining srong ies o resources in he communiy.51 Many implemeners are

working oward susaining ha amily and communiy involvemen hrough hird grade.Sill, defining and engaging he communiy maniess differenly across schools and

programs and rom urban o rural setings.

Te CPC model is based on a wo-generaion approach o educaion, and sies are

required o develop srong parnerships wih communiy organizaions ha serve

amilies. Te model is flexible o he paricular needs o amilies in each communiy

wihin he disric, allowing individual ceners o ideniy which parnerships would bes

suppor he parens and children hey serve. For example, some sies work wih he Ciy

Colleges o Chicago o offer GED programs o suppor young mohers who had o drop

ou o high school. More recenly, as he program expanded ino bilingual communi-ies, many CPCs sared o provide English as a second language classes.52 In Porland,

anoher diverse, urban area, implemeners modeled heir paren engagemen sraegy

off o a healh educaion worker model ha ocuses on developing culurally specific

communiy leaders. Tese leaders parner wih amilies ha have been previously dis-

conneced rom he ormal early learning sysem o do capaciy-building work, helping

hem undersand early childhood learning and developmen and o access criical social

services beore heir children ener school.53

In Yoncalla, a very small, rural, economically depressed communiy in souhwesern

Oregon, implemeners realized ha building rus among members o he communiy

was, above all else, inegral o heir alignmen effors. Originally, implemeners hough

he soluion o low raes o kindergaren readiness would be a large-scale invesmen

in pre-K, bu paren and communiy surveys revealed a differen communiy vision.

Insead, hey channeled heir energy oward oher sraegies. Specifically, implemen-

ers creaed a amily room a he elemenary school ha houses play groups or inans

and 3- and 4-year-olds, offers parening educaion classes, and hoss on-sie services


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such as lacaion consulaion or new mohers. Implemeners also work closely wih

he elemenary school o creae opporuniies o amiliarize amilies and young children

wih he school beore hey enroll in kindergaren. Implemeners were responsive o he

desires o he communiy, raher han imposing an unwaned program on amilies

consequenly, hey were able o launch successul iniiaives and likely will have oppor-

uniies o expand services in he uure.54

A all levels, a crucial componen o engaging amilies is working wih very rused

members o he communiy who champion he work and ge parens in he door.

Marin Couny, or example, recruis amily engagemen liaisons in each school who

work wih eeder pre-K programs and K-12 schools. Tis was an inenional shif rom

“orress schools” ha shu ou amilies o “parnership schools,” which give amilies

he opporuniy o ake on leadership roles and become key parners in learning. 55

Iniiaives such as hese allow schools o become sies or consan conac and, evenu-

ally, more holisic services. In souhern Oregon, a local ood bank parnered wih he

local elemenary school o hos a produce marke once per week, allowing amilies o

shop while ineracing wih eachers and principals.56

Implemeners emphasized ha effors o engage amilies under an alignmen ramework

mus be driven by he unique needs o he communiies being served by each disric or

school; a one-size-fis-all model runs he risk o alienaing parens and missing criical

opporuniies o mee amilies where hey are. However, by sraegically incorporaing

broader services rom he communiy and creaing argeed programs or amily engage-

men, many implemeners were able o suppor parenal involvemen and esablish he

school as a rused resource or amilies.

Using data to inform policy and practice

Implemeners emphasized he imporance o using daa o inorm and evaluae heir

alignmen iniiaives. Collecing and analyzing daa helped implemeners shape he

big picure, and o ideniy overarching goals and paricular sraegies o achieve hem.

Leaders in Oregon parnered wih researchers a Porland Sae Universiy o conduc

a communiy needs assessmen prior o beginning heir alignmen work. Implemeners

waned o ge a sense o he skills and suppors ha children possessed as hey ransi-

ioned rom early learning programs o elemenary school; hey also waned o ideniy

gaps and inconsisencies in he curren sysems ha serve young children and amilies.58

Building evaluaion processes ino day-o-day aciviies allowed implemeners in schools

and classrooms o ransorm insrucion. Sae leaders in Oregon59 and Pennsylvania60

ocused on equipping disrics and schools wih he ools hey needed o collec heir

own daa and on supporing heir use o hese ools. A he P-3 Governor’s Insiue, a

“[It is important for implementers]

to know the landscape of their

communities—where the resources

and people who need them are

located.”

– Amy O’Leary, director of Early

Education for All, Strategies for

Children57


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session on daa-driven improvemens in he classroom was among he mos popular

an adminisraor rom a local school disric discussed how his disric overcame chal-

lenges o effecively implemen Pennsylvania’s Kindergaren Enry Invenory and used

hose daa o improve insrucion.61

A number o disrics parner wih FirsSchool62an iniiaive ocused on improving

P-3 experiences or Arican American, Hispanic, and low-income childrenincludingMarin Couny 63 and Lansing School Disric,64 o implemen he EduSnap classroom

observaion sysem. EduSnap provides deailed, minue-by-minue breakdowns o su-

dens’ experiences in he classroom, ocusing on insrucional conen and approaches,

suden learning approaches, and aciviy setings.65 Aggregaed daa a he school level

help leadership eams choose argeed proessional developmen, while eachers use

individualized daa o improve heir insrucion in he classroom. As a disric, Lansing

schools ocused on bolsering insrucion ha arges oral language developmen,

small-group insrucion, and scaffolding. Scaffolding is an insrucional sraegy in which

eachers provide emporary guidance o suppor children as hey begin o maser new

skills or conceps.66

Las year, disric eachers increased he amoun o insrucionalime spen on scaffolding lieracy skills rom 18 percen o 35 percen.67

Regardless o how implemeners used daa, hey each emphasized he imporance o

having shor-erm benchmarks o evaluae change over ime. In he early monhs and

years o hese iniiaives, i can be difficul o assess wheher changes in policy and

pracice are having a significan effec on big-picure oucomes or childrenhird

grade reading scores, or insance, or college and career readiness. Insead, implemeners

discussed ocusing on how alignmen was changing pracice by improving insrucion,

increasing amily engagemen, and bridging gaps in differing atiudes beween early

childhood and elemenary educaors.

Data-driven improvement

Chicago’s CPC model68 is a powerful example of how data can be

used at multiple levels to improve alignment.69 Parent resource

teachers conduct a family needs assessment at the beginning of

each year to help target services for families.70 At the classroom

level, teachers collect information about children’s learning and

development; this information, along with classroom observation

data, is integrated into daily lesson plans.71 These data collection

procedures allow classroom leadership to ensure that children

and families receive individualized, high-quality educational

experiences and are put in touch with the support services that

will most benefit them.

At the programmatic level, several large-scale evaluations of the

model have been conducted over the years, and the information

from these studies has helped inform refinements to the model

and has influenced its expansion in other states. For instance,

data from evaluations of the CPC model revealed that children

who attend preschool for a full day vs. those who attend for a half

day experience greater gains in learning and development.72 This

evidence has informed hours of operation for CPCs, as well as for

public pre-K in Chicago Public Schools, as they begin to expand

their early childhood services.73

“The evidence is strong, and it’s

among the best in terms of school

reform: This continuity [from

preschool to third grade] is a big

advantage.”

– Arthur Reynolds, professor,

University of Minnesota, Institute

of Child Development 74*


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Conclusion

Increasing he access o and qualiy o educaional opporuniies during early childhood

and beyond has remendous poenial o reduce exising dispariies in achievemen and

increase he long-erm success o our naion’s younges learners. oward his goal, i is

imperaive ha we no limi our concepualizaion o early childhood o he years beore

children ener ormal schoolinghe early elemenary grades are equally imporandeerminans o children’s achievemen rajecories in school. Policymakers and praci-

ioners looking o align policy and pracice beween preschool and hird grade can learn

rom he ongoing effors o implemeners in he field and ideniy opporuniies o apply

hese iniiaives in heir own communiies.

While implemeners have and will coninue o ace a number o challenges in heir

alignmen worksuch as building rus among communiy members, overcoming

conflicing atiudes and philosophies among educaors rom differen backgrounds,

and dealing wih he logisical challenges associaed wih blending unds rom muliple

sourceshey also have made remendous srides oward aligning high-qualiy educa-ional opporuniies or children and amilies.

Sae and local leaders esablished big-picure goals or children’s achievemen, which

inormed sysems-level change in how agencies, programs, and services are organized

and operaed. Consequenly, implemeners were able o leverage new and exising

resources and parnerships o suppor widespread alignmen effors. A he disric

and school levels, implemeners ocused on creaing a cadre o leaders and increasing

cohesion in approaches o proessional developmen, insrucion, and amily engage-

men across grades. Finally, implemeners incorporaed daa collecion and analysis ino

pracice o guide sysems change and inorm insrucion in he classroom. Tis differen way o doing business, saring wih early learning and coninuing ino hird grade and

beyond, may be he shif in policy and pracice ha our naion needs o increase oppor-

uniies or all children o succeed.

Rebecca Ullrich is a Policy Analyst for the Early Childhood Policy team at the Center for

American Progress. Maryam Adamu is a Research Associate for the Early Childhood Policy

team at the Center.


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Methodology

Te Cener or American Progress seleced five saes and hree disrics o inerview or

his repor and based he selecion on a variey o acors, including he mauriy or sage

o he saes’ and disrics’ alignmen iniiaives and geography. I is beyond he scope o

his brie o provide a naionally represenaive scan o pre-K o hird grade alignmen

iniiaives across he counry. Insead, his brie seeks o describe common criical com-ponens and key challenges idenified by he inerviewees.

For each sae or disric, CAP conduced phone inerviews wih a leas one repre-

senaive rom he agency responsible or overseeing P-3 alignmen iniiaives and

also spoke wih a variey o addiional sakeholders in he public and privae secors.

Ulimaely, a oal o 31 implemeners were inerviewed. A ull lis o inerviewees

can be ound in he Appendix. Inerviews were conduced beween Ocober and

November 2015 using a consisen proocol ramework designed or qualiaive

inormaion gahering; quesions were adaped on an ad hoc basis o be appropriaeo each inerviewee. All inormaion in his brie is derived rom hese inerviews and

cied more specifically in he endnoes.


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Appendix: List of interviewees by location

Chicago, Illinois

• Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, direcor o early educaion policy, Mayor’s Office

• Chris Rosean,

execuive direcor o he Office o Early Childhood Educaion, Chicago

Public Schools

• Arthur Reynolds, proessor, Universiy o Minnesoa, Insiue o Child Developmen*

Connecticut

• Larry Schaefer, senior saff associae, Connecicu Associaion o Public School

Superinendens

• Andrea Brinnel,

educaion consulan, Connecicu Office o Early Childhood,

Division o Early Care and Educaion

• Harriet Feldlaufer, division direcor, Connecicu Office o Early Childhood, Division

o Early Care and Educaion

• Elizabeth Aschenbrenner, direcor o early childhood iniiaives, EASCONN

Lansing, Michigan

• Sam Oertwig,

direcor o school implemenaion, FirsSchool

• Betty Underwood,

Lansing iCollaborae projec leader, Lansing School Disric

Marin County, California

• Don Jen, program direcor, educaion, Marin Communiy Foundaion

• Carol Barton, Early Childhood Educaion Qualiy Improvemen Projec coordinaor,

Marin Couny Office o Educaion

• Jan La Torre-Derby, PK-3 direcor, Marin Couny Office o Educaion

Massachusetts

• Winnie Hagan, associae commissioner or academic affairs & suden success,

Massachusets Deparmen o Higher Educaion

• Donna Traynham, early learning eam lead, Massachusets Deparmen o Elemenary

and Secondary Educaion

• Carol Nolan,

direcor, policy, Massachusets Deparmen o Early Educaion and Care


14/16


• Amy O’Leary, direcor o Early Educaion or All, Sraegies or Children

• Kelly Kulsrud, direcor o reading proficiency, Sraegies or Children

• Lauren Healy, research and field associae, Sraegies or Children

New Jersey • Vincent Costanza,

direcor, New Jersey Deparmen o Educaion, Office o Primary

Educaion

• Ellen Wolock, adminisraor, New Jersey Deparmen o Educaion, Division o Early

Childhood Educaion

Oregon

• Dana Hepper, direcor o policy & program, Oregon Children’s Insiue

• Brett Walker, P-3 alignmen specialis, Oregon Deparmen o Educaion, EarlyLearning Division

• Kara Williams, early educaion o K-3 educaion specialis, Oregon Deparmen o

Educaion, Office o Learning - Suden Services

• Christy Cox, senior program officer, Te Ford Family Foundaion

• Jeneen Hartley Sago, program officer, Te Ford Family Foundaion

• Abby Bush,

associae program officer, early childhood, Oregon Communiy Foundaion

• Beth Green, direcor o early childhood and amily suppor research, Porland Sae

Universiy School o Social Work

Pennsylvania

• Jolie Phillips, program direcor, Pennsylvania’s P-3 Governor’s Insiue, Pennsylvania

Office o Child Developmen and Early Learning

• Debra Reuvenny, direcor, Race o he op-Early Learning Challenge, Pennsylvania

Office o Child Developmen and Early Learning

• Deborah Wise,

chie, division o sandards and proessional developmen,

Pennsylvania Office o Child Developmen and Early Learning

* Correction, January 15, 2016: Tis brief has been updated to reflect that Arthur Reynolds is

affiliated with the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota.


15/16


Endnotes

1 Andrew J. Mashburn and others, “Measures of ClassroomQuality in Prekindergarten and Children’s Development ofAcademic, Language, and Social Skills,” Child Development79 (3) (2008): 732–749.

2 Hirokazu Yoshikawa and others, “Investing in Our Future: The Evidence Base on Preschool Education” (Ann Arbor, MI;and New York: Society for Research in Child Development

and Foundation for Child Development, 2013), available athttp://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/wash-ington/mb_2013_10_16_investing_in_children.pdf.

3 Ellen S. Peisner-Feinberg and others, “The Relation of Pre-school Child-Care Quality to Children’s Cognitive and SocialDevelopmental Trajectories through Second Grade,”ChildDevelopment 72 (5) (2001): 1534–1554.

4 Deborah Lowe Vandell and others, “Do Effects of Early ChildCare Extend to Age 15 Years? Results from the NICHD Studyof Early Child Care and Youth Development,” Child Develop-ment 81 (3) (2010): 737–756.

5 Steve Barnett and Megan E. Carolan, “Facts about Fadeout: The Research Base on Long-Term Impacts of High QualityPre-K” (New Brunswick, NJ: Center on Enhancing EarlyLearning Outcomes, 2014).

6 Judi Boyd and others, “Promoting Children’s Social and

Emotional Development Through High-Quality Preschool”(New Brunswick, NJ: National Institute for Early EducationResearch), available at http://www.nieer.org/resources/fact-sheets/10.pdf (last accessed December 2015).

7 Rima Shore, “The Case for Investing in Pre-K-3rd Educa-tion: Challenging Myths about School Reform” (New York:Foundation for Child Development, 2009), available athttp://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/TheCaseForInvesting-ChallengingMyths.pdf .

8 Bridget K. Hamre and Robert C. Pianta, “Can Instructionaland Emotional Support in the First-Grade Classroom Makea Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure?”, ChildDevelopment 76 (5) (2005): 949–967; Bridget K. Hamre andRobert C. Pianta, “Early Teacher-Child Relationships and the Trajectory of Children’s School Outcomes through EighthGrade,” Child Development 72 (2) (2001): 625–638.

9 Robert C. Pianta and others, “Opportunities to Learn in

America’s Elementary Classrooms,” Science 315 (5820) (2007):1795–1796.

10 Arthur Reynolds, Katherine Magnuson, and Suh-Ruu Ou,“PK-3 Education: Programs and Practices that Work in Chil-dren’s First Dec ade.” Working Paper 6 (Foundation for ChildDevelopment, 2006).

11 Jack P. Shonkoff and Deborah A. Phillips, eds., From Neuronsto Neighborhoods: The Science of Early Childhood Develop-ment (Washington: Committee on Integrating the Scienceof Early Childhood Development, 2000).

12 Larry Schaefer, phone interview with authors, November 3,2015.

13 Brett Walker and Kara Williams, phone interview withauthors, October 15, 2015.

14 Amy O’Leary, phone interview with authors, October 21,2015.

15 Walker and Williams, phone interview with authors.

16 Donna Traynham, phone interview with authors, October16, 2015.

17 Vincent Costanza and Ellen Wolock, phone interview withauthors, October 30, 2015.

18 Debra Reuvenny and Deborah Wise, phone interview withauthors, October 6, 2015.

19 Harriet Feldlaufer, phone interview with authors, October19, 2015.

20 Donna Traynham and Carol Nolan, phone interview withauthors, October 16, 2015.

21 Debra Reuvenny and Deborah Wise, phone interview withauthors, October 6, 2015.

22 Several states’ initiatives were supported by Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge grants and participation inthe National Governors Association’s Early Childhood PolicyAcademy. Traynham and Nolan, phone interview withauthors; Reuvenny and Wise, phone interview with authors;Walker and Williams, phone interview with authors.

23 Title I is a component of the Elementary and SecondaryEducation Act aimed at eliminating disparities betweenlow- and higher-income students. Many schools anddistricts use Title I to invest in early education. For moreinformation, see U.S. Department of Education, “ImprovingBasic Programs Operated by Local Educational Agencies(Title I, Part A),” available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html (last accessed December 2015).

24 Head Start is a federal-to-local program to combat povertyby providing a range of health, education, and socialservices to children ages 3 to 5 and their parents. For more

information, see Administration for Children and Families,“About the Office of Head Start,” available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/about (last accessed December2015).

25 The Early Childhood Block Grant is an initiative of the IllinoisState Board of Education to support a variety of servicesand preschool programs for children from birth to age 5. Formore information, see Illinois State Board of Education, “23Illinois Administrative Code 235, Subtitle A, Subchapter F,”available at http://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/235ARK.pdf (last accessed December 2015).

26 City of Chicago, “Mayor Emanuel Announces Expansion ofPre-K to More Than 2,600 Chicago Public School Children,”Press release, October 7, 2014, available at http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.html.

27 Arthur Reynolds and Chris Rosean, phone interview withauthors, October 23, 2015.

28 The U.S. Department of Education Investing in InnovationFund grants support local educational agencies, nonprofits,and philanthropic and private partners in their effortto develop innovative practices for increasing studentachievement. For more information, see U.S. Department ofEducation, “Investing in Innovation Fund (i3),” available athttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html (lastaccessed December 2015).

29 Human Capital Research Collaborative, “Midwest CPCExpansion,” available at https://www.humancapitalrc.org/midwest-cpc/midwest-cpc-expansion (last accessedDecember 2015).

30 Harriet Feldlaufer and Andrea Brinnel, phone interviewwith authors, October 19, 2015; Trayham and Nolan, phoneinterview with authors.

31 Abby Bush, phone interview with authors, October 19, 2015;Christy Cox and Jeneen Hartley Sago, phone interview withauthors, October 22, 2015.


33 Reuvenny and Wise, phone interview with authors.

34 Schaefer, phoneinterview with authors.

35 Reynolds and Rosean, phone interview with authors.

http://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/washington/mb_2013_10_16_investing_in_children.pdfhttp://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/washington/mb_2013_10_16_investing_in_children.pdfhttp://www.nieer.org/resources/factsheets/10.pdfhttp://www.nieer.org/resources/factsheets/10.pdfhttp://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/TheCaseForInvesting-ChallengingMyths.pdfhttp://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/TheCaseForInvesting-ChallengingMyths.pdfhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.htmlhttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/abouthttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/abouthttp://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/235ARK.pdfhttp://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/235ARK.pdfhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.htmlhttps://www.humancapitalrc.org/midwest-cpc/midwest-cpc-expansionhttps://www.humancapitalrc.org/midwest-cpc/midwest-cpc-expansionhttps://www.humancapitalrc.org/midwest-cpc/midwest-cpc-expansionhttps://www.humancapitalrc.org/midwest-cpc/midwest-cpc-expansionhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/mayor/press_room/press_releases/2014/oct/mayor-emanuel-announces-expansion-of-pre-k-to-more-than-2-600-ch.htmlhttp://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/235ARK.pdfhttp://www.isbe.net/rules/archive/pdfs/235ARK.pdfhttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/abouthttp://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ohs/abouthttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.htmlhttp://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.htmlhttp://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/TheCaseForInvesting-ChallengingMyths.pdfhttp://fcd-us.org/sites/default/files/TheCaseForInvesting-ChallengingMyths.pdfhttp://www.nieer.org/resources/factsheets/10.pdfhttp://www.nieer.org/resources/factsheets/10.pdfhttp://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/washington/mb_2013_10_16_investing_in_children.pdfhttp://www.srcd.org/sites/default/files/documents/washington/mb_2013_10_16_investing_in_children.pdf


16/16

36 Betty Underwood, phone interview with authors, November5, 2015.

37 Ibid.

38 Carol Barton, Don Jen, and Jan La Torre-Derby, phoneinterview with authors, October 16, 2015.


40 Vincent Costanza, phone interview with authors, October30, 2015.

41 Elizabeth Aschenbrenner, phone interview with authors,November 2, 2015; Traynham, phone interview with au-thors; Reynolds and Rosean, phone interview wi th authors.

42 Traynham, phone interview with authors.


44 Kristie Kauerz and Julia Coffman, “Framework for Planning,Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade Approaches”(Seattle: University of Washington College of Education,2013).

45 Jolie Phillips, phone interview with authors, October 14,2015.

46 Underwood, phone interview with authors.



49 EASTCONN, “Focus on Executive Function Enhances Math,Literacy Skills,” available at http://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skills (last accessed December 2015).

50 Aschenbrenner, phone interview with authors.

51 National Association for the Education of Young Children,“NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards: A PositionStatement of the National Association for the Education ofYoung Children” (2005), available at https://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdf.


53 Abby Bush, phone interview with authors, October 19, 2015.

54 Cox and Sago, phone interview with authors.

55 Barton, Jen, and La Torre-Derby, phone interview withauthors.

56 Bush, phone interview with authors.

57 O’Leary, phone interview with authors.

58 Beth Green, phone interview with authors, October 15,2015.

59 Ibid.


61 Samantha Gray, phone interview with authors, October 21,2015.

62 FirstSchool, “Partners,” available at http://firstschool.fpg.unc.edu/partners (last accessed December 2015).

63 Jan La Torre-Derby, phone interview with authors, October16, 2015.


65 Sam Oertwig, phone interview with authors, October 28,2015.

66 The National Center on Quality Teaching and Learning,“Tips for Teachers: Scaffolding Children’s Learning” (2012),available at http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/docs/Scaffolding_TeacherTips.pdf.


68 For more information on the Child-Parent Center model andits effects on children’s outcomes, see Arthur J. Reynoldsand Judy A. Temple, “Extended Early Childhood Interventionand School Achievement: Age 13 Findings from the ChicagoLongitudinal Study,” Child Development 69 (1998): 231–246;

Arthur J. Reynolds, “Effects of a preschool plus follow- onintervention for children at risk,”Developmental Psychology 30 (6) (1994): 787–804; Arthur J. Reynolds and others,“Long-term Effects of an Early Childhood Intervention onEducational Achievement and Juvenile Arrest: A 15-yearFollow-up of Low-Income Children in Public Sc hools,”

Journal of the American Medical Association 285 (18) (2001):2339–2346; Arthur J. Reynolds and others, “School-BasedEarly Childhood Education and Age-28 Well-being: Effectsby Timing, Dosage, and Subgroups,”Science 333 (6040)(2001): 360–364; Arthur J. Reynolds and others, “Age-26Cost-Benefit Analysis of the Child-Parent Center Early Educa -tion Program,” Child Development 82 (1) (2011): 379–404.


70 Ibid.

71 Ibid.

72 Ibid.

73 Samantha Aigner-Treworgy, phone interview with authors,October 20, 2015.

http://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skillshttp://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skillshttp://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skillshttps://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdfhttps://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdfhttps://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdfhttp://firstschool.fpg.unc.edu/partnershttp://firstschool.fpg.unc.edu/partnershttp://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/docs/Scaffolding_TeacherTips.pdfhttp://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/docs/Scaffolding_TeacherTips.pdfhttp://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/docs/Scaffolding_TeacherTips.pdfhttp://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/teaching/docs/Scaffolding_TeacherTips.pdfhttp://firstschool.fpg.unc.edu/partnershttp://firstschool.fpg.unc.edu/partnershttps://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdfhttps://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdfhttps://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/Position%20Statement%20EC%20Standards.pdfhttp://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skillshttp://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skillshttp://www.eastconn.org/index.php/component/content/article/9-uncategorised/558-focus-on-executive-function-enhances-math-literacy-skills

a different way of doing business: examples of pre-k to third grade alignment in practice

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