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Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)

Update and Alignment with QRIS

October 2010

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Current Approach to UPK

   Build on strengths of existing mixed system     Private center-based programs Head Start Public and private school preschools System-affiliated and independent family child care Address challenges in quality first, given research supporting the relationship of high-quality early learning environments to school success and later life outcomes  Define measurable quality standard for participating programs Support programs in reaching UPK quality standard in future years   FY07 to FY09, Assessment Planning grants: Agencies awarded funds to implement assessment systems in selected programs • Designed as one-time one-year start up funds • • Funds spent on training and professional development, tools and materials, technology, and staff compensation Approximately 100 agencies representing 400 programs benefitted from the Assessment Planning grant FY10, Assessment Grant for statewide trainings • Associated Early Care and Education provided training, technical assistance, and assessment and screening tools and materials to programs in the mixed delivery system statewide • Approximately 900 educators statewide benefitted from trainings (introductory, intermediate and advanced) on EEC’s three approved assessment systems

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UPK Funding Background

      

FY07: $4.6 million

 Pilot implementation grants for Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)

FY08: $7.1 million

 Budget provided increase of $2.5M

FY09: $10.9 million (post 9c)

 Budget initially provided an increase of $5M for UPK; reduced by $1.25M in mid-year budget reductions

FY10: $8.0 million

 Budget reduced funding by $2.9M

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All grant awards were reduced by 37% from FY09

FY11: $7.5 million

 Budget reduced funding by $500K 

All grant awards were reduced by 5.23% to compensate for the cut in funding

Grants are awarded for specific classrooms in a programs and have been renewed yearly to date (with additional new grants being awarded in FY08 and FY09). A portion of each years funds were allocated to evaluation and planning activities, as well as in FY07, FY08 and FY09 funding for Assessment Planning grants to help programs move towards UPK eligibility).

Funding is determined by the number of children and portion of subsidized children in each classroom, and operating hours and full or part-time/year status.

 Total classroom enrollment x $500 + total subsidized enrollment x $1500 = total grant award [total is then prorated based on full or part-time/year status]

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UPK Grant Program Eligibility

Criteria

EEC Licensed or License-Exempt Use one of four EEC-selected assessment tools for at least one year* Use Early Childhood Program Standards For Three and Four Year Olds and Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences Have teacher/provider with BA in each UPK classroom/setting   

Or

Have National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation or New England Association of Schools and Colleges or for family child care, National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) accreditation or a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or higher Serve or willing to serve children receiving financial assistance Provide access to full-day full-year services  

FY07 FY08, FY09, & FY10

  

Used as selection priority

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**

  *The four EEC-selected assessment tools include: Work Sampling, High Scope Child Observation Record (COR), Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum, and Ages and Stages. **NEASC included in FY08 accreditation options; CDA or “higher” included as FY09 and FY10 accreditation alternatives for family child care.

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UPK Grantee Overview

Grant Program # Program Sites # UPK Classrooms/ Homes # UPK Children

FY10 UPK Current Classroom Quality Grantees* (originally funded in FY07, FY08 or FY09 and renewed each year) 277 464 6,400 FY09 UPK Classroom Quality Grantees (originally funded in FY07, FY08 and renewed each year or new in FY09) 293 481 6,600

# Cities/ Towns Grant Award Amount

97 97 $1,260 - $126,000 (average = $17,000 per classroom) $2,000 - $200,000 (average= $27,000 per classroom) FY08 UPK Classroom Quality Grantees (originally funded in FY07 and renewed or new in FY08) 216 311 5,700 94 FY07 UPK Classroom Quality Grantees 130 192 3,000 60

*At FY10 renewal, 14 programs/providers were unable to renew funding due to reasons such as closing care, transferring classrooms to other UPK site and lapse in accreditation; during FY10 two additional program lost funding.

FY10 grants are currently being renewed into FY11, and this chart will be updated to reflect changes in numbers upon completion of renewal.

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Objectives of Current Grant Funding

UPK Pilot Classroom Quality Grant funds must be used to:

    increase staff compensation; lower staff/child ratios and/or decrease class/group size; enhance the program’s ability to interpret and use assessment data to improve program quality; purchase hardware, software, or training to fully implement the electronic             component of the curriculum and/or assessment tool currently in use; enhance developmentally appropriate practice and instructional support; provide new staff professional development opportunities and/or support staff attainment of credentials or degrees; incorporate additional comprehensive services into the program to meet the diverse learning needs of children and their social-emotional, behavioral, and/or physical health needs; support ongoing accreditation or reaccreditation activities; enhance current or provide new family engagement opportunities; enhance current or provide new transitional supports to children moving to/from other programs or to kindergarten; and/or provide or facilitate access to full-day, full-year services for working families.

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UPK Grant Expenditure Categories

            Staff compensation Comprehensive services for children Assessment supports and online licenses Assessment Trainings Professional Development Full day full year services Curricula and enrichment activities Educational materials and technological supports (limited to 15% of budget) Accreditation support Transition to kindergarten supports Family support Administrative costs (limited to 8% of total budget)

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Breakdown of Current Grantees

    EEC is in the process of renewing UPK grants into FY11.

Current grants (FY10) are awarded to 277 UPK programs, with 464 classrooms/homes, across all settings (originally funded in FY07, FY08 or FY09) including:  138 center-based programs;     • Approximately 45% are Head Start 114 system-affiliated family child care providers; 6 independent family child care providers; 18 public school programs; and 1 private school program.

6,400 children in UPK classrooms; ~80% of whom receive EEC subsidies, Head Start, private scholarship, or are free/reduced lunch qualifying in public schools 185 out of the 277 UPK programs are fully funded (all preschool classrooms in the program are designated as UPK)   92 programs (33%) have preschool classrooms at their UPK site that are yet UPK funded 250 total classrooms in current sites are not UPK funded

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Board Feedback During FY11 Planning

 The further development of UPK, including refinement to the structure, purpose, funding mechanism and alignment with QRIS is a priority of the Board and should be discussed in detail during FY11, with FY12 as a transition year for the program.

 Support for renewing current UPK grants level-funded in FY11.

• • Opportunity for Board to provide direction on the development of UPK and Opportunity for EEC to prepare UPK grantees for possible changes to the program.

 It is important to acknowledge the value of moving UPK statewide and away from the Pilot model.

 Consider alignment with QRIS given its system-level structure to support program quality.

 To move towards creating universal access for preschool children, it is important to tie funding to the child and not the parent.

 Support EEC seeking a CCDF federal waiver

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New in FY11

 Below is a summary of the major additions to the UPK grant for FY11, as approved by the EEC Board:   Begin alignment of UPK with QRIS and the development of an early childhood data system, which requires: • • • Participation in QRIS (anticipated January 2011); Programs shall use a portion of UPK funding to support progress on QRIS; An agreement to allow EEC staff to conduct on-site ECERS/FCCERS reviews; • • An agreement to provide staff information, including compensation and education level, through EEC’s registry or other designated mechanism; and An agreement to provide child level data, with parent consent, allowing children to be assigned a State Assigned Student Identification (SASID) number.

Recognition that FY2011 is a planning year for the purpose of restructuring UPK in FY2012 and beyond.

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Where We Are Now

 

EEC is in the process of renewing FY10 UPK grants into FY11.

 In FY11 the UPK line item received a cut of $500,000 – funded at $7.5M in FY11 as opposed to $8.0M in FY10  • All UPK grant eligibility amounts have been reduced by 5.23% from FY10 As of current (renewal process not yet complete) ~20 FY10 UPK programs will not be renewing their grant into FY10 due to: • • • Program closing, Program no longer interested in receiving grant, and/or Program no longer meeting UPK eligibility criteria (i.e. NAEYC accreditation revoked or not renewed).

EEC’s Board is in the process of refining UPK for FY12 and beyond.

 Board has agreed that they are committed to aligning quality initiatives and QRIS will define and measure program quality  Board will be discussing UPK alignment at its November meeting, and then in December within the context of an “access” discussion • How to increase high quality programming for preschoolers beyond the currently designated pilot group of UPK grantees • Using waitlist, access, and continuity of care data on preschool children to help inform policy related to universal preschool

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How UPK Compares to QRIS

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UPK is based on six basic eligibility criteria:

   Licensed or license-exempt, Provides access to full-day full-year services, Serve or willing to serve children receiving financial assistance,    NAEYC accredited for center-based and public school programs, and NAFCC accredited or a CDA or higher for family child care, Uses the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences, Uses one of the EEC approved assessment systems.

UPK funds allow programs to maintain and enhance quality criteria as they choose, without defined measurable criteria to assess and improve quality.

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QRIS offers a comprehensive way to assess, improve and communicate quality to the field.

  Quality criteria is organized into standards and exceeds the scope of UPK eligibility criteria. A few examples are:  Curriculum and Learning: Assessment subcategory requires programs implement

developmental screening

within 45 days of children’s program entry, whereas only formative assessment is explicitly required by UPK, and  Workforce standards require that directors are not only trained in the Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences, but also child development and Strengthening Families protective factors.

QRIS requires measurement of quality through environmental ratings by an outside evaluator (ECERS, FCCERS, etc.)

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Current Supports to Enhance Program Quality Based on UPK Expectations

EEC has been working to support program quality with UPK expectations as a guide. As the QRIS continues to develop, it will coordinate supports into a comprehensive source for programs.

 Assessment Grant   In FY10, EEC funded Associated Early Care and Education to train and purchase materials for programs implementing formative child assessment and screening into their program.

Trainings addressed varying levels of use – introductory, intermediate and advanced.

  Kindergarten Entry Enrichment Program (KEEP)  The KEEP program provides additional funds (through a daily add-on rate of $17.22 per child) to programs for enrolling preschool children into 5 to 12 weeks a high quality program to prepare them for kindergarten. Program components include:     engagement of families, support for dual language learners and children with special needs, implementation of formative assessment and developmental screening, as well as engagement of the public school system/early education and care providers for the purpose of supporting smooth transitions for preschool children entering kindergarten.

Preschool Child Care and Education (PSCCE) Quality Add-on Initiative  Based on the same components as KEEP, the PSCCE Quality Add-on Initiative provides the daily add-on rate from October, 2010 to August, 2011 and is available to preschool children ages 2.9 to kindergarten eligible.