Starting Points: Quality of Boston's Center and School-Based Preschool Classrooms - Presentation
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Transcript of Starting Points: Quality of Boston's Center and School-Based Preschool Classrooms - Presentation
Starting Points:Starting Points: QQuality of Bostonuality of Boston’’s Center and s Center and
SchoolSchool--Based Preschool Based Preschool ClassroomsClassrooms
Boston CPC Governing CouncilBoston CPC Governing CouncilSeptember 13, 2007September 13, 2007
Motivation for the Studies
•
Present a comprehensive picture of the quality of Boston’s ECE programs to inform strategic planning
•
To provide a baseline within Boston Public Schools for improvement efforts
•
Hired the same research team –
led by Nancy Marshall at the Wellesley Centers for Women
Overview of the Scope & Methodology
Scope of the Study
BPS:Visited 43 K1 and 85 K2 classrooms in 68 schools
Community:Visited 81 center-based PreK classrooms
BothClassrooms randomly selectedSurveyed families, teachers and principals
Areas of Assessment
Curriculum Instructional SupportsLiteracy SupportsEmotional & Social SupportsHealth & Safety
And in BPS:Professional DevelopmentTransportationAfter schoolFamily Engagement
And in Community:Comprehensive ServicesFamily Engagement
Methodology
ECERS-RCLASSSELATeacher surveyPrincipal / Director surveyFamily survey
“Boston Public Schools K1 and K2 Programs, Needs Assessment”Nancy Marshall, Joanne Roberts and Linda MillsWellesley Centers for Women September 2006
“Boston Quality Inventory”Nancy Marshall, Joanne RobertsWellesley Centers for WomenJuly 2007
There are two more studies coming from the community:Family Child Care and Infant/Toddler
Research has proven what closes the
achievement gap
RESEARCH•
NIEER
•
UPK Study by Frank Porter Graham
•
Nancy Marshall•
ECERS
•
National Longitudinal Study
Higher quality closes the achievement
gap
Do we as a city want to bring all programs to
a 5 / “Good”?
Opportunities:•
Close the achievement gap
•
Strengthen access for all
families to
high quality ECE
Challenges:•
Costly
•
Need solutions for how to raise salaries
Health & Safety
(ECERS)
Emotional & Social Support
(CLASS)
Literacy Supports (SELA)
Instructional Supports (CLASS)
Curriculum (ECERS)
Adequate Inadequate Good
Summary of Findings: BPS K1 & K2
“Closes the Achievement Gap”30%
54%
16%
5%
69% 67% 80%
27%
64%
12%2%
27% 21% 18%9%
Good Adequate Inadequate
Summary of Findings: Center-Based PreK Classrooms
“Closes the Achievement Gap”
48%
42%
10%33%
42% 45% 80% 41%
35%44%
6%
25%
11% 14%25%
Curriculum(ECERS) Instructional
Supports(CLASS)
LiteracySupports(SELA)
Emotional &Social
Supports(CLASS)
Health &Safety
(ECERS)
Recommendation: Bring all
programs up to the NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards.Community and BPS: Support NAEYC accreditation
–
In community, programs that were NAEYC accredited were less likely to be rated as inadequate, compared to programs that were not accredited.
Community: Teachers with BAs in every classroom–
Over half of community classrooms had at least one teacher with a BA or more.
–
Classrooms with a BA-level teacher were significantly more likely to meet the Good Benchmarks.
BPS: Ensure that all classrooms have a paraprofessional present for the entire day and that class sizes meet NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards–
Classrooms that met NAEYC recommendations for ratios and class size were more likely to be meet the Good benchmarks than were classrooms that did not meet NAEYC standards.
Recommendation: Provide additional professional development.
•
Literacy support
•
Instructional support
•
Social and emotional support
•
Hand-washing and health procedures
Recommendation: Improve the safety of playgrounds
•
Community programs used public playgrounds, which often lacked adequate fencing or well-maintained equipment, or required young children to walk along busy city streets to reach them.
•
BPS programs’
playgrounds often had inadequate fencing around the outdoor play space, giving children access to parking lots and busy city streets.
Recommendation: Provide all classrooms with the equipment and materials needed to provide a high quality early childhood program for all students
•
Both BPS classrooms and community programs need:–
Art materials
–
dramatic play materials–
fine motor activities
–
science materials and activities–
children’s books
Additional Recommendation: Incorporate community programs into Boston’s citywide planning for early education and care
•
Staff Diversity Reflective of Children Served
•
Full-day, Full-year Programming to Meet the Needs of Working Families
•
High Levels of Family Involvement
•
Comprehensive Services for Families
Children are in all
settings
•
We need common efforts for all programs to reach all children
•
The question is not what to do but how to do it?
BPS Example: Major Findings and Drivers
Amount of time children are spending on age appropriate tasks and specifically what those tasks are (center time, choice activity, etc.)
Classes with paraprofessional were more likely to meet the good benchmark of quality
1.
Curriculum No strong uniform curriculum for K1 and K2
Teachers are not trained in current early childhood practice
Principals need more supports to monitor quality
Areas of Findings Study Findings Interpretation/Drivers
BPS
Example (cont’d): Planned Strategic Investments
K1 Curriculum: OWL and Building Blocks
Implement an assessment system that aids teachers in their classroom practice
Create Comprehensive K2 Curriculum
1.
Curriculum K2 Curriculum aligned with K1 and 1st
Grade ($450,000 Stone Foundation Grant)
Comprehensive Assessment System in Place
Longitudinal Research Capacity
Areas of Findings Short Term Solutions Long Term Solutions
For more information and full copies of the reports:For more information and full copies of the reports:
Corey ZimmermanCorey Zimmerman 617617--695695--0700 x 2290700 x 229
[email protected]@associatedece.org www.bostonequip.orgwww.bostonequip.org
Jason SachsJason Sachs 617617--635635--97019701
[email protected]@boston.k12.ma.us