EEC Advisory Council June 7, 2011

1. Strengthening Birth to PK-3 PartnershipsApproaches to Linking PK-3 in Massachusetts:Activities to Support Continuity for Children andFamilies Across Early Learning and Elementary Grades EEC Advisory Council June 7, 2011 Including Data from the Office Of Head Start Summit, “On the Road to School Readiness” presented by Catherine Scott-Little on February 15-17, 2011 Baltimore, MD

2. Overview of Presentation Content: • PK-3 Alignment • Mission Statements Support Alignment • What Science and Research Tell us • Key PK-3 Principles and Elements • Examples of current and future activities • Other Initiatives -Birth to age 8 • Infrastructure and Accountability • Looking Ahead • On the Road to School Readiness • Aligning State Standards, the Head Start Child Development Early Learning Frameworks & Our Work with Children • Head Start & Public Schools Memorandum of Agreement • State-wide meetings with Head Start, Public Schools, Early Intervention and CFCE Grantees. • Purpose of MOU • 10 Federally Mandated Activities • Feedback to date from participants

3. Mission Statements to Support PK-3 Alignments

4. Mission Statements Support Alignment provide the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learnersand contributing members of the community, and supports familiesin their essential work as parents and caregivers. strengthen the Commonwealth’s public education system so that every student is prepared to succeedin postsecondary education, compete in the global economy, and understand the rights and responsibilities of American citizens,and in so doing, to close all proficiency gaps. Department of Early Education and Care Department of Elementary and Secondary Education • Head Start • Improve Children’s school readiness outcomes and promote changes that integrate children into a continuum of high-quality early care and education spanning from birth to age eight. • Boston Public Schools • As the birthplace of public education in this nation, the Boston Public • Schools is committed to transforming the lives of all children through • exemplary teaching in a world-class system of innovative, welcoming • schools. We partner with the community, families and students to • develop within every learner the knowledge, skill, and character to excel in • college, career, and life.

5. Our unified vision is...…Proficiency on Grade 3 Statewide Literacy and Mathematics Assessments

6. What Science and Research Tell Us About Child Development

7. What the Science Tells Us About Child Development • The brain’s architecture is being built from the bottom up • Early experiences literally shape the developing brain—for good or ill

8. How the Science Guides Policy Shonkoff, Jack P., MD: Leveraging an Integrated Science of Early Childhood Development to Strengthen the Foundations of Health, Learning, and Behavior. Harvard University Center on the Developing Child. Presentation to the EEC 2010 Early Childhood Information Systems Strategic Planning Institute - Cambridge, MA | November 18, 2010

9. What We Know fromExperience and Research

10. National Center for Children in Poverty Access Related Data (2009) There are 459,330 children in MA under age six, 29% live in low income

11. Children Experiencing Multiple Risks in MA

12. Policies to Consider and Discuss Universal Preschool Mandated, Universal Full-Day Kindergarten (Offering and Attendance) Class Size and/or Ratio Regulations in PK-3 Shift in access eligibility from family income to child need

13. PK-3 Alignments:Key Principles and Elements

14. Key Principles in the PK-3 Alignment Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Temporal alignment

15. Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Temporal alignment Horizontal alignment is created by using consistent learning approaches within an age range or grade. Principle 1: Horizontal Alignment Full-day kindergarten

16. Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Temporal alignment Vertical alignment is created by using consistent learning approaches across ages or grades. Principle 2: Vertical Alignment 3rd grade 2nd grade 1st grade K Pre-K

17. Horizontal alignment Vertical alignment Temporal alignment Temporal alignment is created by using consistent learning approaches across a child’s day. Principle 3: Temporal Alignment

18. What does Pk-3 look like in Massachusetts? A coordinated and collaborative approach

20. PK-3 Elements1 • Mechanisms for cross-sector alignment • (Governance, strategic plans) • Administrators and Leadership Quality • (Leadership is inclusive/facilitative and focused on instruction) • Teacher Quality and Capacity • (Focus on credentials and professional development; professional dispositions; professional community) • Instructional Tools and Practices • (Curriculum content; alignment of standards and curricula; pedagogical methods) • Instructional Environment • (Student-centered learning culture (classroom and school)) • Data and Assessments • (Data and assessment used to improve instruction) • Engaged Families • (Families and communities engaged in student learning) • Transitions and Pathways • (Focus on children’s movement through the continuum) • 1 Kauerz, Kristie (2011). Sustaining Your Work: PreK-3rd Implementation and Evaluation Framework; a presentation to ESE PK-3 grantees. Harvard University: Cambridge, MA.

21. Examples of PK-3 Elements:Current & Future Activities

22. Mechanisms for Cross-Sector Alignment (Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) • Executive Office of Education Inter-agency Taskforce focused on PK-3 Literacy • Support the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between EEC and Springfield PS to develop a PK-3 infrastructure • Early Childhood State Advisory Council (SAC) • Support collaborative efforts between early education and care providers and the public schools (e.g., joint professional development) • Co-sponsor an Institute on Literacy and Mathematics, weaving the social-emotional and family engagement frameworks into the content

23. Administrators and Leadership Quality(Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiatives) • Support the CAYL Institute and Principal Leadership forums • Create a survey course for Literacy PK-3 in collaboration with University of Massachusetts Boston • Link the STEM work with the professional development priorities around literacy and mathematics in early education • Support principals to develop early education and early elementary expertise

24. Teacher Quality and Capacity (Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) • EEC Licensing requirements and ESE Teacher certification requirements • Administer the Early Literacy Grant and the Early Childhood Special Education Grants • Create opportunities for collaborative team planning between general and special education • Create common planning time for school staff across and between grade levels • Coordinate across program types to support children with disabilities

25. Instructional Tools and Practices (Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) Standards: • Roll-out the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for English Language Arts and Literacy and the Massachusetts Curriculum Framework forMathematics Curriculum: • Align the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences and Kindergarten Learning Experiences with the new frameworks • Integrate content areas and create interdisciplinary curriculum • Develop a birth to literacy curriculum for educators Instruction: • Ensure developmentally appropriate practice in PK-3 classrooms • Provide knowledge of child development to teachers, administrators and assistants • Differentiate instruction • Implement tiered systems of support • Enrich learning experiences for children PK-3 • Focus on the whole child • Use play effectively to promote learning

26. Instructional Environments (Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) • Administer the PK-3 Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Alignment Project • Administer the Universal Preschool Grant • Administer the Quality Full-Day Kindergarten Grant • Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) • Create small class sizes and appropriate adult: student ratios • Alignment of schools and after-school and out-of-school time programs related to curriculum, instructional strategies, and professional development

27. Data and Assessments(Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) • Develop and use data systems to address PK-3 issues • Implement comprehensive assessment approaches by using formative assessment, progress monitoring, and summative student data • Replicate the Chicago Study focused on Literacy/Mathematics and social-emotional competencies • Use Classroom Assessment Scoring System instrument in Head Start programs, as an option in QRIS and in some Quality Full-Day Kindergarten grant classrooms. • Implement Quality Rating and Improvement System requirements for evidence-based formative assessments in early education and care programs (infant, toddler, and preschool) and after-school and out-of-school time programs

28. Engaged Families(Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) • Administer the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grants (EEC) • Create opportunities for staff from EEC and ESE to jointly develop a family and community engagement framework • Support the work of the Wraparound Services model and School Turnaround work, including engagement of families • Conduct home visits and other non-traditional strategies (e.g., parent groups, resource rooms) • Build partnerships among families, schools, and community-based organizations • Access behavioral health services and other supports (e.g., mental health)

29. EEC Family and Community Engagement Networks FY12 CFCE Grant Awards Total :107

30. Transitions and Pathways (Examples of current and future activities to support PK-3 initiative) • Support student transitions within and across grades • Create and use common transition forms between public and community-based preschool programs to share data with kindergarten teachers • Provide opportunities for preschool children to visit kindergarten classrooms and kindergarten teachers to visit children in their preschool program • Develop a common understanding about student expectations and share that understanding among birth to five providers and PK-3 staff

31. Other RelatedPreK- Grade 3/ Birth- Grade 3 Initiatives

32. Springfield Public Schools Partnership • EEC and the Springfield Public Schools entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to: • Encourage use of (EEC) Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences and ESE Guide to Kindergarten Learning Experiences in order to align learning experiences across multiple settings before children enter Kindergarten. • Track outcomes with regard to the progress of children, family mobility and workforce participation and development. • Develop a plan to share information, to the extent permitted by law, regarding professional development and/or training opportunities for early educators. • Share information, to the extent permitted by law, regarding comprehensive developmental and health teams for children in all settings. • Coordinate better transitions and connections between Pre-K programs and school programs. • Promote better coordination and connections between public schools and School-Age programs. • Promote mentoring/coaching between public and private entities to better influence instructional learning practices. • Work on best practices for family engagement. • Develop a shared practice and effort around the development of early literacy skills from Pre-k through 3rd grade. • Develop methods to support children and families to manage transitions.

33. Out-of-School/District Partnership (Worcester) • EEC identified a great need for out-of-school-time care at two underperforming elementary schools in Worcester. • These schools have been designated by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as “Level 4” for having scored poorly on the MCAS in both Math and English Language Arts over a four-year span with no signs of “substantial improvement.” • In an effort to assist these schools in their redesign and turnaround efforts, EEC sought a program to implement out-of-school-time services on-site at one or both of these schools. • Through quality programming, primarily offered after-school, children can receive assistance in completing their homework, preparing for MCAS examinations, and reinforcing lessons and skills taught during the school day. • EEC sought to award up to forty (40) out-of-school-time slots (up to twenty (20) per school) to an existing income eligible provider for out-of-school-time care to be provided at one or both of these underperforming schools starting on or before February 28, 2011. • EEC received one application from the Guild of St. Agnes to provide services. The Guild was awarded 40 school age slots amended to their income eligible contract to provide out-of-school time programs at the “Level 4” Union and Chandler Schools in Worcester. The programs will open on February 29, 2011.

34. Pre-Kindergarten Quality Improvement and Partnership Grant (Lowell Public Schools) • In an effort to assist children, schools, and communities, EEC is seeking to implement quality improvement services which will be supported by community partnerships between the pre-kindergarten program and the local public school. • Through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP), EEC has awarded grants in the amount of $50,000 to Community Teamwork Inc. to partner with Lowell Public Schools and to Associated Day Care, Inc to partner with Lee Academy (pilot program in Boston Public Schools). Both grant recipients are contracted with EEC to provide preschool child care. • The grantees will collaborate public schools awarded contracts through the 2009 Income Eligible Child Care Financial Assistance Program Demonstration Project for Public and Private Schools in order to improve program quality, increase available community and staff resources, and expand support for children with special needs.

35. Birth to Eight Leadership Institute • In partnership with ESE, EEC is sponsoring a Birth the 8 Leadership Fellowship Institute focused on three areas of importance: • child growth and development; • literacy, and • dual language learners. • Educators are eligible for the Fellowship if they are: • An elementary school principal; or • A director of a program such as Head Start, center-based and out-of-school time care programs, and FCC systems • The Institute includes three in-depth meetings with national experts and state leaders on March 26, April 30, and June 4, 2011. • Meetings target leaders throughout Massachusetts, with priority for principals of Level 4 Elementary Schools, and include proportionate numbers of representatives from Head Start, family child care, center-based care and other programs. • Cities/towns represented by multiple participants:

36. SAC Goal 3 – B-8 Community Planning and PK-3 Partnerships • Co-Investment Funding Partnership Contracts with the Philanthropic Sector • Supportfor community birth through age 8 (B-8) strategic plans, anchored in local data on: • Child/family needs, and • The quality/effectiveness of PK through Grade 3 aligned systems linking local schools, local providers, and families through grants to communities. • Development of tools and assessments which are aligned based on child development including standards, to be used locally between the early education and public schools SAC Goal 3 Related Updates: • ESE/ EEC PK – 3 Partnership • Head Start and the Public Schools

37. Proposal: Grants to Support Birth to 8 Community Planning in Rural Communities • In response to feedback provided by the SAC suggesting that resources be targeted to rural communities, EEC proposes awarding grants to rural communities to support birth to 8 community planning. • Grants relate to SAC Goal 3: Birth to 8 Community Planning and Pre-k to 3rd partnerships. • EEC plans to allocate $95,000 of the ARRA SAC the purpose of rural community planning grants. • Grants will be approximately $5,000 each and will be focused on supporting the needs of children and families in rural communities through community planning. • EEC has reviewed population per square foot and the number of children ages 0-5 in communities to determine which communities would be eligible to apply for funds (see following data).

38. Out-of-School Time Literacy Initiative Out-of-School Time (OST) Literacy and Learning Promotion Initiative • Goal is to retain or increase students’ academic gains, particularly in the area of literacy, by reinforcing their school day and year learning through high-impact activities and effective curricula during the summer months and throughout the school year. • Supports OST programs’ ability to implement high-impact learning activities through partnerships with public school districts for direct training, modeling of effective direct instructional practice and coaching/feedback for program staff). • The United Way is partnering with BOSTnet, WestMOST, and Boston DELTAS to support Out of School Time programs in partnering with seven school districts (Boston, Lowell, Lawrence, Lynn, Holyoke, Springfield, Worcester) designated “Commissioner’s Districts” by ESE • United Way Mass Bay is also collaborating with United Way of Central Massachusetts and United Way of Pioneer Valley to provide a statewide learning community for participants in the initiative. • Evaluation results show that 85% of all participants avoided typical summer literacy loss; 68% showed gains in reading

39. Literacy Initiatives • Grants to the USDOE “Promise Neighborhoods” to support Early literacy engagement with “hard to reach” families who currently are not connected to any community agency in their area • Interactive training on assessment strategies for working with Second Language Learners through the Umass Donohue Initiative; participants receive an overview of the pre Language Assessment Scales (preLAS) oral language and pre-literacy assessment for four, five, and six year olds and strategies to use in the classroom and with families to support second language acquisition. • The Parent-Child Home Program (PCHP) literacy trainings for family child care providers (ARRA funded) • Introductory Presentations on the 2011 Massachusetts Curriculum Framework/PK-12 Common Core Standards for English Language Arts and Math through the Regional Readiness Centers • Get Ready to Read! national initiative to build the early literacy skills of preschool-age children provides an easy-to-administer, research-based screening tool to early childhood educators, child care providers, and parents in order to help them prepare all children to learn to read and write • Forum on literacy professional development and community engagement in partnership with Reach Out and Read

40. State Level Efforts on Early Childhood Assessment • EEC and ESE rolling out a PK-3 framework that looks at the alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment from birth up through grade 3 as well as elements such as leadership, professional development, and family engagement.  • Critical to promoting and understanding young children’s development and learning and, ultimately, will lead to their success in school.  • Assessment of young children that is developmentally appropriate is an important element of this framework. • Think about assessment within the context of the PK-3 framework, not just school readiness/kindergarten readiness.  • Look at children’s growth and progress in an ongoing way over time to understand where they are in their learning trajectories and how to best support them to optimize their development and learning.  • Assessment of children at a single point-in-time and in isolation of ongoing assessment practices doesn’t provide us with the broader picture of a child’s development and how to optimize their learning. • An early childhood assessment system must be comprehensive and focus on the whole child; research on children and educational outcomes has documented the importance of children’s physical and social-emotional health on their availability and ability to learn.

41. State Level Efforts on Early Childhood Assessment • MA has taken a slow-and-steady approach to the requirement to create a kindergarten readiness assessment system for a number of reasons.  • There are many different curricula and assessment practices being used and we want to make sure that we understand those practices in order to best inform what our system should look like.  • We want to be clear on the questions that a kindergarten readiness assessment system should answer so that we can ensure that we have the right tools to collect the necessary data.  • We want to make sure that we have properly trained the field on the importance of developmentally appropriate assessment, how to do it, and how to use the data to inform instruction and program improvements.  • We want to make sure that whatever we create for an early childhood assessment system aligns with infant-toddler growth and development as well as growth and development of children in the PK-Grade 3 system.

42. Assessment: Kindergarten Readiness Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Model Design and Pilot • EEC has selected New York University (NYU) Child and Family Policy Center (CFPC) as the vendor for a the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment Model Design and Pilot Project. • CFPC will design a model of formative and/or summative assessment that can be used in preschool and/or kindergarten in the mixed system of early education and care programs as well as public school programs to demonstrate children’s kindergarten readiness level. • The model will serve the following purposes: • Provide child-level data to educators which can be used to inform classroom practice and individualize instruction for children; • Provide data that can be aggregated at the program level for site-based improvement and growth tracking; • Provide sample or complete data sets that can be aggregated at the state levelto make statements about the school readiness level of children in the Commonwealth and inform policymaker decision making. • CFPC will also develop a training module for teachers, select pilot sites and work with educators to collect pre and post-test assessments of teachers perceptions of the feasibility, acceptability and educational benefit of the direct assessments being Piloted.

43. Potential Partners to Build PK-3 • Executive Office of Education • Department of Higher Education and Institutions of Higher Education • EEC (Policy, Professional Development, Early Childhood Information System) • ESE (Title 1, Targeted Assistance, Special Education, Learning Support Services, Curriculum and Instruction, English Language Acquisition, Adult and Community Education) and the regional DSACs • CAYL Institute • Readiness Centers • Davis Foundation • United Way • Resource and Referral Agencies • Massachusetts Afterschool Partnership • Strategies for Children • Head Start • Non-profit Community-based Organizations • Independent Family Child Care Providers • Massachusetts Administrators of Special Education • Massachusetts Elementary Principals Association • Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents • Massachusetts Association of School Committees

44. Questions/Feedback?

45. Setting School Readiness Goals and Aligning State Standards, the Head Start CDEL Framework and Our Work with Children and Families Data from the Office Of Head Start Summit, “On the Road to School Readiness” presented by Catherine Scott-Little on February 15-17, 2011 Baltimore, MD

46. 11

47. 12 Reason 1: Head Start Act Requirement HEAD START ACT as amended 2007 (42USC9801 et. Seq) promotes use of/ alignment with ELS in: – Professional Development – Qualified staff – School readiness goals for children – Curriculum – Head Start Collaboration Directors’ responsibilities

48. 13 Reason 2: Our children deserve it

49. 14 Reason 3: Alignment of goals and curricula is the “heart” of smooth transitions

50. 15