Raising All Boats: State Pre-K as a System-building Strategy Lessons from New York Dr. Mon Cochran Tufts University

Outline  Goals and Purposes of Pre-k Services  Pre-K in New York – An Overview  Involvement of CBOs: Opportunities and Challenges  Universal/Categorical Decision  Centralization: Of what?  Curriculum  Teacher Qualifications  Broader Infrastructure Issues  The Politics of PreK  PreK in the Next Decade – A few predictions  Q & A - discussion

Goals and Purposes of Pre-k Services  School Readiness The expressed goal of most (all?) state pre-k programs The expressed goal of most (all?) state pre-k programs How is school readiness defined? Does it include emotional and social development in addition to language and cognition? How is school readiness defined? Does it include emotional and social development in addition to language and cognition?  A Broader Perspective: Children, Families, Schools, and Communities Continuity of care for children Continuity of care for children The caring needs of employed parents The caring needs of employed parents Employers and the labor market Employers and the labor market

With the introduction of prekindergarten, do we want to expand and improve the state’s overall early care and education system, or build another silo along side Head Start, non-profit child care, for-profit child care, and regulation-exempt care? KEY QUESTION

Pre-K in New York Survey of UPK Director’s: 94 Districts; (2 years) CCR&R Study: Impact on infant & toddler programs: N=32 CCR&Rs 2001 Document Analysis: District plans & final reports (3 yrs) Intensive Case Studies: 4 school districts Community- Based Centers Survey (N=284) 2004 The Cornell Implementation Studies

Cornell Early Childhood Program Website Pre[k] Now Website: Citation: Holcomb, B. A Diverse System Delivers for Pre-K: Lessons Learned in New York State. Pre-K Now Research Series Book: The Promise of Pre-K Robt. Pianta & Carollee Howes (Eds.) 2009, Brookes My

New York UPK Program Scope

Policy Parameters – NY UPK  Administered by the State Department of Education, thru school districts  Local policy-making, within state parameters  Universal coverage over 3 to 4 years was goal; began in ‘high needs’ school districts (incl. all of NYC).  Certified teachers (Masters) and staff development  $2700-$4000 per child (2.5 hrs./day, 180 days/yr.), depending on % ‘high needs’ children  Community collaboration, with at least 10% of funds contracted out  Curriculum approach must be ‘developmentally appropriate”  Parent involvement and support services mandated

Percent of children in school- and Community-based Settings UpstateNYC

Impacts of UPK on Participating Child Care Centers in New York  Higher overall revenues  Reduced parent fees  Increased enrollments, espec. low income families, English language learners, special needs  Increased programming – literacy, math  Enhanced staff development/training  Teacher salary increases – in 40% of programs

Investment Indicators -CBOs   Remodeling classrooms   New equipment   New educational materials   Hiring more teachers   Hiring assistant teachers/aides   Hiring substitute teachers to facilitate teacher participation in professional development   Hiring staff developers or curriculum specialists   Increasing teacher salaries   Increasing salaries of assistant teachers/aides and support staff   More field trips

Other Advantages to Substantial use of Community-Based Settings  There is a better fit with the child care needs of employed parents – full-day care.  Schools needn’t find space in existing buildings.  Programs can be included that fit the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of families.  The family support and parent involvement alternatives are expanded.  Staff in Community-based Programs may have a better understanding of DAP than those in school settings

Challenges Linked to Involving Community-based Settings  Salary differential between teachers in school- and community-based settings.  Monitoring and insuring quality in community-based settings.  How to reach children in family-based care?  Infrastructure needed to write and manage contracts with community-based settings.  Need for policy innovations to allow equitable blending of UPK state funds with federal and other state funds.

Universal or Categorical?  Assumed trade-off between intensity for high- need children and political marketability.  Where is cut-off point? How regulate? Impacts on CBO involvement?  In New York, high need school districts receive higher per-child subsidies, and came first when funding was capped.

Locus of Control – How Centralized?  State agency needs to translate intent of legislation into core regulations.  State-level agency cannot anticipate or appreciate full range of possible community partners.  Local decision-making and design begets community ownership and shared values re program quality.  State-level monitoring essential; dissemination of promising practices very helpful.

One Curriculum – or Many?  No evidence that particular curriculum ‘brand’ makes difference in school readiness.  New York specified child-centered, developmentally appropriate parameters; wrote a curriculum guide; specified language and literacy.  School districts may specify curricular elements across sites, to provide consistency and focus professional development.  Recent research shows that adding curriculum “supplements” can improve reading readiness and impulse control

Percent of Classrooms With Certified Teachers UpstateNYC N=454 N=1499

Teacher Qualifications  Considerable variation exists from state to state.  New York has set a high bar: Masters plus certification.  Is there solid evidence that the Masters is worth the extra time/money in child outcomes?  New birth-grade 2 certification in New York has been a hard sell to colleges and students.

Broader Infrastructure Issues  Teacher preparation  Professional development  Promising practices exchange  Ongoing technical assistance  Site development/expansion  Blending funds  Transportation  Infants and toddlers  Evaluation

The Politics of Prekindergarten  The economic arguments Long-term financial savings Long-term financial savings Equity – reduce disparity in achievement Equity – reduce disparity in achievement  School reform/workforce preparation  ECE system-building  Time and timing

The Next Decade  Expansion to universal coverage  System-building – with addition of 3-year- olds  Professional development – cultural diversity  Head Start shift to 0-3?  Pressure from baby boom retirement