By Debra Pacchiano, Vice President of Translational Research and Isabel Farrar, Research Associate at Start Early

Start Early recently organized a session at the 2021 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) conference that highlighted three soon-to-be published research studies from across the field that push our understanding of whether and how The Essential 0-5 Survey framework relates to other aspects of quality and outcomes we care about in early childhood programs. Together, these studies examine how specific organizational conditions identified in the survey framework impact teacher well-being and retention and how to measure the strength of these essential conditions within programs serving infants and toddlers.

What we continue to find is that nurturing begets nurturing: when teachers, staff and families are nurtured and supported by robust organizational conditions, especially facilitative and instructional leadership and routine collaboration with peers, teachers and staff are more committed, persistent, and competent in meeting the dynamic and changing needs of children and families.

In one upcoming study, researchers Anna J. Markowitz, Daphna Bassok, and Amanda Rosensky of the University of Virginia used data from early childhood programs across Louisiana to explore associations between teachers’ perceptions of their leaders as effective instructional leaders and measures of teacher turnover intentions, observed turnover, teacher well-being and the quality of teacher-child interactions. Their initial findings strengthen the evidence that site leadership is critically important to the quality of teachers’ interactions with children, as well as to teachers’ commitment to the program and decisions to remain in their position. These authors suggest that their findings indicate that coherent leadership development is a “potentially powerful area of intervention” impacting teacher/staff retention and quality improvements in early education settings.

Another study, conducted by Allison Friedman-Krauss, Milagros Nores, Charles Whitman, and W. Steven Barnett at the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) examines how differences in teachers’ perceptions of organizational conditions vary by teacher/school/district characterizations and impact classroom quality and teachers’ well-being. This research finds a strong association between teacher perceptions of their school organizational conditions and teacher depressive symptoms, suggesting that supporting teacher well-being is particularly important in today’s pandemic context.

Pre-kindergarten (pre-K) enrollment has risen steadily in the United States in recent decades, largely driven by the mounting body of research evidence on the effectiveness of early childhood education. However, the same children, who are most at-risk for ongoing academic struggles and the most likely to benefit from high-quality early educational experiences, are least likely to have access to high-quality pre-K options, which contributes to inequitable enrollment within districts. Importantly, school districts are making choices about where to place pre-K classrooms and developing policies for how families can apply and who is enrolled. In doing so, districts are pulling policy levers that influence students’ access to pre-K; but to date very few of these policies have been rigorously examined.

A recent study by education researchers at Start Early, NORC at the University of Chicago, and UChicago Consortium on School Research explores whether and how Chicago’s pre-K system was more equitable after the district implemented a set of policies focused on access to and enrollment in school-based pre-K beginning in 2013-14. Furthermore, this research seeks to understand how access and enrollment varied depending on students’ neighborhood characteristics and how policy changes and access to full-day, school-based pre-K were related to learning outcomes in elementary school.

The findings from this study of Chicago’s efforts offer key insights for other school districts implementing similar policies nationwide.

Funders

The research described here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant #R305A180510 to NORC at the University of Chicago. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provides states with a unique opportunity to strategically lay the foundation for addressing long-standing inequities and best supporting children with disabilities and developmental delays, who have long been underrepresented in our early childhood system and have endured some of the greatest impacts of the pandemic. As states navigate the complexity that is effectively utilizing and distributing these historic funds, equity should be at the center of their process to prioritize the needs of children and families who have been disproportionately impacted.

The following guide contains strategies and considerations for using federal funds to prioritize children with disabilities and developmental delays with a focus on equity. The guide specifically addresses use of the following funds:

• Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) Part B – Section 619 ($200 Million) and IDEA Part C ($250 Million)
• Supplemental Child Care and Development Block Grant ($14.99 Billion) and Child Care Stabilization Funds ($23.98 Billion)
• Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund, aka ESSER ($122.77 Billion)
• Head Start Funds ($1 Billion)

There are several opportunities to ensure ARPA funds are implemented at the state and local level to maximize impact for our children with disabilities and their families. Now is the time to ensure families — particularly families of color — can access the early intervention and early childhood special education services they need (and may have been previously disconnected from), better support inclusive child care and preschool programs for young children with disabilities, and test out innovative service delivery models. By strategically utilizing these investments to meet the needs of children and families most affected, states can work towards building a more equitable early childhood system and addressing existing disparities that were only worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In support of the Every Child Ready Chicago initiative, Start Early began exploring the creation of a Chicago early childhood research consortium, which would bring together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, families, and community representatives across sectors in a robust, long-term research-practice partnership focused on helping Chicago achieve its vision for a strong early childhood system.

Access to relevant, actionable, and timely evidence and data that can guide the decisions of policymakers and program leaders is critical to the success of early childhood, and any other, systems-building initiatives. For an early childhood system as large and ambitious as Chicago, no one research partner or institution can provide these supports alone; a consortium of researchers and research institutions working together is key. Chicago already benefits from several research consortia, but none focus specifically on the city’s early childhood system.

Our exploratory report presents the findings of the initial inquiry phase: stakeholder interviews with 26 participants from 16 different organizations, including researchers, advocates, practitioners, leaders of community-based organizations, City of Chicago officials and staff, and other experts. The consensus that emerged was clear:

• Chicago needs an early childhood research consortium to serve as a long-term, sustainable research partnership focused exclusively on Chicago’s cross-sector, systemwide early childhood priorities.
• The research consortium should function as:
  • A neutral third-party without allegiance to, or conflicts of interest with, any City agency, office or department.
  • A trusted thought partner and capacity support for City agencies, offices and departments, as well as community and systems leaders.
  • A “hub” for researchers across institutions and disciplines.
  • An integrated complement to existing and emerging infrastructure, systems, consortia and partnerships; it should not duplicate or replace them.

The exploratory interviews also helped to specify a set of important strategic questions that remain unanswered. In the next phase of this work, it will be important to bring together potential partners for nuanced discussions regarding these recommendations, strategic questions and additional topics that emerge as this work progresses. We are excited to catalyze these conversations and facilitate this process for Chicago’s early childhood community.

We are excited to share our annual Start Early 2020 Year In Review report, which showcases the incredible work achieved throughout last fiscal year (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2020). The last half of the year proved to be challenging and uncertain – yet, the unyielding resilience of families and the early learning and care field during a devastating global pandemic has been inspiring.

The highlights from this past fiscal year demonstrate how our work and our longstanding goals for transformation have been accelerated by the crises that face our country. The report also showcases the innovative solutions that early learning champions developed and deployed to address the unprecedented challenges impacting families.

2020 Year in Review

As we look forward, Start Early recommits to strengthening and deepening our role as an anti-racist organization that works in true partnership with communities to ensure the voices of families are represented, heard and valued. We are grateful for the ongoing support of our partners and donors, and together, we can advance better, more equitable early learning opportunities for our youngest children.

Start Early, provides resources, technical and support services, content expertise and peer learning opportunities to early childhood advocates and practitioners and systems and government leaders. Our goal is to create conditions that enable meaningful policy reforms and system improvements at local, state and federal levels and transform practice across the nation.

That said, we are pleased to share our annual 2020 State Policy Update Report, which provides a snapshot of early childhood care and education budget and policy changes during the 2019-2020 legislative sessions. This robust report illuminates trends and connects early childhood policy and funding advances across the country.

Included in the Report:

• Legislative, budgetary and administrative changes across 29 states organized by topic, demonstrating the breadth of the work done by state early childhood leaders and advocates.

Topics Include:

• Early Care and Education
• Infant and Family Supports
• Early Intervention
• Home Visiting
• Workforce and Higher Education
• Revenue, Data and Governance

Additional Report Insights:

• Data that illustrates how state priorities shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and policy recommendations based on the lessons learned during the subsequent economic upheaval
• Stories from state advocates that give voices to policy wins and showcase the direct impact of their work

Amid the challenging and ever-changing circumstances of 2020, Start Early continued to expand its reach and rapidly responded to the changing needs of children and their families across the country. Our work would not be possible without you – our generous and dedicated donors.

I am excited to share with you Start Early’s annual Year In Review. The fiscal year 2020 edition highlights the unyielding resilience of children, families and early learning and care professionals during a devastating global pandemic. It also includes the innovative solutions and supports that early learning champions developed and deployed to address the unprecedented challenges impacting families. I am most humbled by the inspirational stories of strength from the field, especially those of parents and our youngest learners.

2020 Year in Review

I look forward to connecting with you soon and wish you and your family a wonderful and safe holiday season.

All the best,
Diana

The Challenge

In 2018, California passed a bill (AB 2960) to ensure that families have access to timely, accurate information about high-quality Early Learning and Care (ELC) programs, how to enroll their children, and benefits they may be eligible for via an eligibility screener and the development of a public online portal – referred to as the “Parent Portal” – which must be created by June 30, 2022.

The Early Learning Lab (The Lab) was brought on board to provide design recommendations for the portal that would ensure it meets the needs and desires of the parents, providers, and stakeholders who will use the site.

The Results

Through this project, The Lab delivered a set of near-term and longer-term recommendations to develop the Parent Portal as a robust platform that supports all of the stakeholders across the early learning and care sector in California.

These include specific recommendations on:

1. Integrating subsidized child care related services into existing eligibility screeners offered by the State of California
2. Increasing transparency and addressing the complexity of the waitlist process for subsidized child care slots
3. Additional data on child care programs that families would find useful when evaluating program
4. A roadmap and plan for ongoing platform improvements and enhancements for the Parent Portal to ensure it meets the evolving needs of stakeholders
5. A communications strategy to increase awareness of the Parent Portal among various stakeholders

Of the 12 million children under age 3 in the United States, nearly 25 percent live in a family with earnings below the poverty level, with little to no access to quality and affordable child care. To address this problem, Congress appropriated $500 million in 2014 to expand access to Early Head-Start programs, which included the creation of Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships (Partnerships).

In 2019, Start Early conducted interviews with a variety of state leaders regarding Partnerships programs. Interviewees included those who administer a Partnerships grant, and some who supported implementation of Partnerships in their states but did not have a Partnerships grant. As a result of these interviews, Start Early is proud to share our report on the lessons of implementation of the Partnerships across states.

Start Early initiated the Educare Chicago Follow-Up Study in 2005 to determine how well our high-quality, birth-to-five, early care and education program prepared children and their families for elementary school and beyond. This ongoing study is designed as a longitudinal, mixed methods investigation of 12 cohorts of over 300 former Educare Chicago students and their families. Our research team hopes to follow graduates’ achievements throughout their K-12 education and into adulthood.

The study findings help support our early childhood policy and advocacy work and drive continuous quality improvement at Educare Chicago, as well as at the national Educare Learning Network of schools. The study findings also contribute to the body of evidence that confirms the long-lasting, positive outcomes of a high-quality early educational experience.

The Educare Chicago Follow-Up Study continues to provide researchers, policymakers and practitioners valuable insights on how to improve the quality of early learning environments for all children, including those living in often under-resourced communities.

Funders

• W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation
• Alvin H. Baum Family Fund
• Paul M. Angell Family Foundation