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FY15 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Renewal Grant Proposal. Policy and Research Committee : January 6, 2014. UPK : Overview. Line Item 3000-5075 Description :
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FY15 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)Renewal Grant Proposal Policy and Research Committee: January 6, 2014
UPK: Overview • Line Item 3000-5075 Description: • Provides grants to preschool programs to promote school readiness and positive outcomes for children and to inform the longer term implementation of a program of universally accessible, high-quality education. • This account is funded at $7.5 million in FY14 as it was in FY13. • FY14 Renewal Grant - approximately $5.6 million granted to 208 UPK providers. • FY14 Open Competitive Grant – approximately $692,000 will be granted to new UPK providers by February 2, 2014.
FY15 UPK: Grant Proposal • Develop a renewal grant with the allocated $6,291,985. • There is potential to fund approximately 418 UPK classrooms and identify approximately 2,091“high needs children.” • The eligibility criteria for the renewal grant bid will be streamlined compared to the eligibility criteria for the FY14 Renewal Grant. • In order to be eligible to apply for the UPK renewal grant, the designated classrooms and/or family child care homes must satisfy all eight (8) of the criteria outlined on the next slide.
FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria • Criterion 1: • “All programs must be ‘Self-Assessed – Final Submitted’at a level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager.” • All programs must be EEC Licensed or License-Exempt. • All programs must provide a developmentally appropriate program. • All programs must provide a competitive compensation package for lead teachers. • Criterion 2: • “All programs must also have an income-eligible contract, and/or voucher agreement in place and be willing to accept EEC-subsidized or low-income children.”
FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria (cont…) • Criterion 3: • “All programs must provide access to full-day, full-year services for working families.” • Criterion 4: • “All programs must have current accreditation or a non-expired Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or higher for family child care educators (AA, BA, or Master’s degree).” • Criterion 5: • “All classrooms for which an applicant is seeking UPK funding must be serving preschool-aged children (age 2 years 9 months to kindergarten eligible in the community in which they live).”
FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria (cont…) • Criterion 6: • “All programs must demonstrate that they serve ‘high needs children.’” • Criterion 7: • “All programs must collect and enter formative assessment data for each child in the classroom.” • All programs must satisfactorily complete and submit all prior year data assessment reports. • Criterion 8: • “All programs must demonstrate pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment with the school district in which they are located.”
FY15 UPK: Grant Funding Formula • Funding is limited up toa maximum of five “high needs children” per classroom. For those programs that have less than five “high needs children” in their classrooms, the formula was calculated to fund the specific number of students in their respective programs.
FY15 UPK: Priorities • As part of the Priorities Section of the grant that addresses “[enhancing] developmentally appropriate practice and instructional support,” EEC will include the following recommendations around professional development: • Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Standards; • Early English Language Development: Massachusetts Guidelines to Serve Dual Language Learners; • Evidence-based Early Literacy; and • Working with Families.
FY15 UPK: Considerations for FY16 and Beyond • Noticeof Changes to UPK: language will be incorporated into the FY15 UPK Renewal Grant that notifies the field of potential changes that EEC will be considering for FY16.
