Transcript FY14 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Policy and Research Committee Monday, April 1, 2013

FY14 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)
Policy and Research Committee
Monday, April 1, 2013
0
Review of UPK Policy Objectives for FY13
(1) Further Alignment of UPK with the Quality Rating
Improvement System (QRIS):

Current UPK programs must be at least self-assessed Level 3 in QRIS in
order to be eligible for the renewal grant.
(2) Increase Access to UPK Funds:
Current UPK programs must also demonstrate that they serve “high
needs children” to be eligible for the renewal grant.
 Programs will be required to conduct formative assessments and
screenings to identify “high needs children.”

(3) Increase the Number of Programs Participating in UPK:

1
Any program that attains at least a self-assessed Level 3 in QRIS and
serves “high needs children” will be considered a UPK program and can
apply for the open competitive grant.
Review of FY 13 UPK Eligibility Requirements
#
2
FY 13 Eligibility Requirements
Renewal Grant (511-A)
Exemption(s)
Open Competitive (511-B)
Exemption(s)
1
EEC Licensed or License-Exempt.
√
√
2
Have an income-eligible contract, and/or voucher agreement in place and be willing to accept
EEC-subsidized or low-income children.
√
√
3
Provide access to full-day, full-year services for working families.
√
√
4
Provide a developmentally appropriate program.
√
√
5
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).
6
Be serving preschool-aged children (age 2 years 9 months to kindergarten eligible in the
community in which they live).
√
7
Satisfactorily complete and submit all prior year data assessment reports.
√
√
8
Participate in the Massachusetts QRIS.
√
√
9
Be at least a level 3 in QRIS.
GRANDFATHERING CLAUSE
NO GRANDFATHERING CLAUSE
10
Demonstrate that they serve “high needs children.”
√
√
11
Provide screening and/or formative assessment scores for each child in the classroom.
√
√
12
Provide a competitive compensation package for lead teachers.
FUNDING EXEMPTION
NO FUNDING EXEMPTION
13
Program match is required of all programs.
√
√
14
Demonstrate pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment with the school district in which they
are located.
√
√
ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT NO ACCREDITATION REQUIREMENT
WAIVER for Level 3 Grantees
WAIVER
√
FY13 UPK Grant Information
3
Renewal Grant (511-A)
Open Competitive (511-B)
FY13 UPK Total
Date Posted
March 30, 2012
August 30, 2012
N/A
Money Allocated
$5,500,000.00
$500,000.00
$6,000,000.00
Money Awarded
$4,714,458.00
$983,366.00
$5,697,824.00
Number of High Needs
Children Identified*
1,611
342
1,953
Number of Children in UPK
Classrooms*
5,844
1,492
7,336
Number of UPK Programs
180
46
226
Number of UPK Classrooms
362
80
442
Proposed FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Eligibility Criteria
4
1
All programs must be EEC Licensed or License-Exempt.
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.
3
All programs must provide access to full-day, full-year services for working families.
4
All programs must provide a developmentally appropriate program.
5
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).
6
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).
7
All programs must satisfactorily complete and submit all prior year data assessment reports.
8
All programs must be self-assessed at a level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager.
9
All programs must demonstrate that they serve “high needs children.”
10
All programs must provide screening and/or formative assessment scores for each child in the
classroom.
11
All programs must provide a competitive compensation package for lead teachers.
12
Program match is required of all programs.
13
All programs must demonstrate pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment with the school district in
which they are located.
Proposed FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Eligibility Criteria
5

Criterion 1: “All programs must be EEC Licensed or License-Exempt.”
 No Changes Proposed.

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 lowincome children.”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 3: “All programs must provide access to full-day, full-year services for
working families.”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 4: “All programs must provide a developmentally appropriate
program.”
 No Changes Proposed.
Proposed FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Eligibility Criteria
6

Criterion 5: “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).”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 6: “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).”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 7: “All programs must satisfactorily complete and submit all prior
year data assessment reports.”
 Proposal – add clarifying language: “A program will be considered to
satisfactorily complete the data reporting requirements by entering the
data for all domains for all the children in the UPK classroom(s) in the
formative assessment tools for each reporting period.”
Proposed FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Eligibility Criteria

Criterion 8: “All programs must be self-assessed at a level 3 or above in the
Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager.”
 Proposal – add clarifying language: “For the purposes of this grant, ‘selfassessed’ at level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS is defined as a
program completing an online application with the status of ‘Final Submitted to EEC’ for level 3 or above in EEC’s QPM.”

7
Proposal - the “grandfathered” UPK programs must demonstrate
movement toward Level 3 in QRIS by the end of FY13: the
“grandfathered” UPK programs that are not self-assessed level 3 in QRIS,
at a minimum, need to open an online application in EEC’s QPM by June
30, 2013 in order to receive the first grant payment. Those programs
who fail to open an application for level 3 by June 30, 2013 will not be
eligible to receive the first grant payment. Programs will not receive any
further grant payments until they complete the online application for
level 3.
Proposed FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Eligibility Criteria

Criterion 9: “All programs must demonstrate that they serve ‘high
needs children.’”

8
Proposal – modify the “high needs children” definition from
“multiple risk factors” to the following: “High needs children” is
defined as children who have two or more risk factors linked to poor
school and life outcomes:
i. Children and parents with special needs;
ii. Children whose home language is not English;
iii. Families and children involved with multiple state agencies;
iv. English language learners;
v. Recent immigrants;
vi. Children with parents who are deployed and are not living on a
military base;
vii. Low-income households;
viii. Parents with less than a high school education;
ix. Children who are homeless or move more than once a year.”
Proposed FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Eligibility Criteria
9

Criterion 10: “All programs must provide screening and/or formative
assessment scores for each child in the classroom.”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 11: “All programs must provide a competitive compensation
package for lead teachers.”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 12: “Program match is required of all programs.”
 No Changes Proposed.

Criterion 13: “All programs must demonstrate pre-kindergarten to
third grade alignment with the school district in which they are
located.”
 No Changes Proposed.
FY14 UPK Renewal Grant Challenges Posed
10

Effective Data Reporting with High Needs Children.

Parental Consent Form - parents “opting out.”

Attrition Rate for UPK Grantees – possibility that a significant
number of programs do not attain Level 3 in QRIS by June
30,2013.

Funding Availability - the total ask from UPK Grantees could
exceed the total amount that was awarded in FY13
($5,697,824.00).
• Possible Scenario – all of the UPK Grantees identify 5
high needs students per UPK classroom for FY14
which would total 2,210 students. Funding Formula:
$3,009 x 2,210 students = $6,649,890.
FY 14 UPK Renewal Grant
APPENDIX
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Review of FY13 UPK Funding Formula
Number of
High Needs
Children in
Classroom
FY13 Grant
Amount
1 High Needs
Child
2 High Needs
Children
3 High Needs
Children
4 High Needs
Children
5 High Needs
Children
$3,009
$6,018
$9,027
$12,036
$15,045
• Funding was limited up to a maximum of five (5) “high needs children” per
classroom. For those programs that have less than five (5) “high needs children” in
their classrooms, the formula was calculated to fund the specific number of
students in their respective programs.
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FY13 UPK Grantee Information
Total Number of UPK Programs = 226
13
Program Type
Region 1
(Western)
Region 2
(Central)
Region 3
(Northeast)
Region 4
(Metro)
Region 5
(Southeast)
Region 6
(Metro Boston)
Center Based
19
23
18
18
34
15
Public Schools
7
0
2
0
0
2
Systemaffiliated FCCs
9
9
38
4
7
19
Independent
FCCs
1
0
0
0
0
0
Private Schools
0
0
0
0
1
0
Total
36
32
58
22
42
36
FY13 UPK Grantee Information – QRIS Levels
Total Number of UPK Programs = 226
14
Program
Type
QRIS
Level 4
QRIS
Level 3
QRIS
Level 2
QRIS
Level 1
Center
Based
4
73
41
9
•1 program has been granted Level 3 status.
•8 out of 41 Level 2 programs have opened draft applications.
•4 out of 9 Level 1 programs have opened draft applications.
Public
Schools
1
4
2
4
•1 out of 2 Level 2 programs have opened a draft application.
•2 out of 4 Level 1 programs have opened draft applications.
Systemaffiliated
FCCs
1
31
39
15
•7 out of 39 Level 2 programs have opened draft applications.
•5 out of 15 Level 1 programs have opened draft applications.
Independent
FCCs
0
1
0
0
N/A
Private
Schools
0
1
0
0
N/A
Total
6
110
82
28
Notes
•Total of 110 UPK Programs that have not self-assessed Level 3
in the QRIS Program Manager as of March 6, 2013.
*This data was retrieved from EEC’s QRIS Program Manager as of
March 6, 2013.
Communications about Self-Assessing Level 3 in
the QRIS Program Manager
Date
Source
April 13, 2011
FY12 UPK Grant,
p. 3.
“In addition, the following updates have been made to the FY12 grant … Programs
may be required to be level 3 in QRIS by FY13 subject to Board approval.”
March 30, 2012
FY13 UPK Grant,
p. 6.
“… Current UPK programs that do not satisfy level 3 in the Massachusetts QRIS may
be grandfathered in for only one year. However, the grandfathered UPK programs
will not be eligible to apply for the FY 2014 UPK grant funding if they fail to attain
level 3 in the Massachusetts QRIS by the end of the FY 2013 grant period.”
Email
“For those UPK programs that did not self-assess at level 3 in QRIS when they applied
for the FY13 UPK Grant, please start working on your level 3 QRIS applications in
the QRIS Program Manager (the sooner, the better) … As stated in the FY13 UPK
Grant RFR, programs will not be eligible to apply for the FY14 UPK grant funding if
programs fail to self-assess at level 3 in QRIS by the end of the FY13 grant period.”
March 7, 2013
Email
“… I want to remind those FY13 UPK programs that did not self-assess at level 3 in
the Massachusetts QRIS when they applied for the FY13 UPK Grant to start working
on your level 3 QRIS applications in EEC’s online QRIS Program Manager (QPM) … The
FY13 UPK Grant states that programs will not be eligible to apply for the FY14 UPK
Grant funding if programs fail to self-asses at level 3 in the QPM by the end of the
FY13 grant period (June 30, 2013) … Also, I want to inform you that EEC has regional
staff members that can offer technical assistance should you have any questions
about the QRIS process.”
March 11, 2013
Program Quality
Specialists
Meeting in Worcester Regional Office with EEC’s Regional Program Quality
Specialists to review list of UPK Grantees.
March 12, 2013 to
Present
Program Quality
Specialists
EEC’s Regional Program Quality Specialists have started to contact the UPK programs
that have not self-assessed Level 3 in the QRIS Program Manager to offer technical
assistance.
December 5, 2012
15
Language/Notes