Designing Pre-K to Meet Great Expectations:Some Considerations in Governance and Delivery for States

Rachel Schumacher

Senior Policy Analyst

Center for Law and Social Policy

1015 15th Street NW, Suite 400

Washington, DC 20005

202-906-8005/rschumacher@clasp.org

Governors’ Forum on Quality Preschool

Disney World Swan Hotel – Orlando, Florida

December 16, 2003

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Workshop Overview Designing and delivering pre-kindergarten: why the

policy details matter What do we know about state approaches?

– State-level governance– Flow of funds to local providers– Trends in state governance and delivery

How are states building out from pre-k to the community?– The role of program standards– Findings from CLASP report

Background on Georgia and North Carolina pre-k from state experts

State expert panel on key considerations for states Group discussion

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Why Policy Details Matter Design of the program can impact:

– Public support for the initiative– Extent of support from key constituencies– Whether the pre-k program truly offers quality

early learning environments for children– Ability to attract working families to enroll their

children– The strength of the state’s pre-existing early

education and child care provider community, and (most importantly)

– School readiness of children.

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State-Level Governance Models Program decision-making usually

resides in:– State departments of education or public

instruction– Independent agency reporting to governor

or governor’s office– State department of health and human

services, or– Interagency governing board or body

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Program Flow Models Funding flows from state-level to:

– Schools only– Schools who may deliver all services and/or

contract with community providers (e.g. Head Start, private child care centers, private family child care homes)

– Schools who are required to deliver some services in community-based settings

– Schools, Head Start, child care, etc.– Community collaborative decision-making bodies

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Pre-k Governance & Delivery Trends More pre-kindergarten delivered in diverse

settings, including schools, child care, and Head Start

The same early education program standards applied across auspices, tied to higher funding, monitoring, and technical assistance

Some are combining pre-kindergarten programs with community councils/advisories to increase local planning and coordination

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Trends Example: States with Pre-K in Diverse Settings Some states deliver a large proportion of pre-

k in private settings– Georgia – 57% of providers are private settings– New Jersey – 62% of children in child care

settings– New York – 64% in private settings

Others are moving to encourage more community-based delivery now as they seek to expand pre-k to more children– Illinois– Oklahoma– Wisconsin

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Percentage of 3 and 4-year-olds Cared for Outside the Home

69

82

0

20

40

60

80

100

3-year-olds 4-year-olds

Age

Percentage

Source: Digest of Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics 2002-130, National Household Education Survey (1999). Provided by Trust for Early Education.

Why Look to the Community? The Majority of Preschoolers are Already in Some Type of Care

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Learning Outcomes

Program Standards

Licensing Regulations

Building Out from Pre-k: The Role of Program Standards

Together licensing and program standards help provide an environment that supports early learning standards/outcomes.

Program standards establish the preferred conditions of the early learning environment and teacher qualifications.

Licensing provides a basic foundation for health and safety of children.

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CLASP Expectations Findings Studied Georgia, New Jersey, and New York. Compared standards for child care programs that

were part of pre-k to those for basic licensing on:– Staff:child ratios;– Minimum teacher qualifications;– Requirement to have a curriculum; and– Comprehensive health and family services for

families that need them.

In each of these areas, child care programs participating in pre-k are required to exceed basic state licensing requirements.

Participating child care programs can do this only if they receive additional funding, technical assistance, and monitoring.

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Conclusion

States have many options in program design More states are looking to partner with private

providers to expand access to early learning and keep program options for working parents

Important to design pre-k in a way that enhances current state resources and systems

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Some Data Resources on Pre-Kindergarten Children’s Defense Fund, Seeds of Success: State Prekindergarten

Initiatives (1998-1999) CLASP, State Initiatives to Promote Early Learning: Next Steps in

Coordinating Subsidized Child Care, Head Start, and State Prekindergarten; Meeting Great Expectations: Integrating Early Education Program Standards in Child Care

Education Commission for the States, Prekindergarten database, http://www.ecs.org/clearinghouse/27/24/2724.htm

Education Week, Building Block for Success: State Efforts in Early Childhood Education, January 2002 edition

Foundation for Child Development Working Paper Series, including case studies of pre-k implementation in Georgia and New York, http://www.ffcd.org/secondary/publications_workingpapers.htm

National Institute for Early Education Research, www.nieer.org Trust for Early Education, www.trustforearlyed.org