Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)
Program Overview
May 2010
0
FY11 UPK Planning and Discussions

The Board is in the process of reviewing UPK to determine
how to further develop the program.

Discussion of the role of UPK within the context of current
initiatives (i.e. QRIS)

Attention is being given to how to increase high quality
programming for preschoolers beyond the currently
designated pilot group of UPK grantees
• QRIS as a means to help transition UPK from a Pilot to a
statewide system where all eligible programs have the
opportunity to participate
• Expand UPK through alignment with QRIS

Options for FY11 include:
1. Reallocate 25% of UPK grant funds and any new FY11 UPK
dollars to support QRIS Program Quality Improvement
Grants
2. Seek federal approval to provide continued care to
preschoolers with federal funds if their families lose eligibility
3. Maintain current (FY10) grant structure
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1
Collecting waitlist, access, and continuity of care data on
preschool children
Current Approach to UPK

Build on strengths of existing mixed system
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Address challenges in quality first, given research supporting the
relationship of high-quality early learning environments to school
success and later life outcomes

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Define measurable quality standard for participating programs
Support programs in reaching UPK quality standard in future
years
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2
Private center-based programs
Head Start
Public and private school preschools
System-affiliated and independent family child care
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 will provide training, technical
assistance, and assessment and screening tools and materials to
programs in the mixed delivery system statewide
• Approximately 450 educators statewide will benefit from trainings
(introductory, intermediate and advanced) on EEC’s three approved
assessment systems
UPK Funding Background
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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
 All grant awards were reduced by 37% from FY09

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.

3
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]
UPK Grant Program Eligibility
Criteria
FY07
FY08,
FY09,
& FY10
EEC Licensed or License-Exempt


Use one of four EEC-selected assessment tools for at least one
year*

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Use Early Childhood Program Standards For Three and Four
Year Olds and Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences


Or
Used as
selection
priority
Have teacher/provider with BA in each UPK classroom/setting
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
4
 **
Serve or willing to serve children receiving financial assistance


Provide access to full-day full-year services


*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.
UPK Grantee Overview
Grant Program
FY10 UPK Current
Classroom Quality
Grantees*
(originally funded in
FY07, FY08 or FY09 and
renewed each year)
FY09 UPK Classroom
Quality Grantees
(originally funded in
FY07, FY08 and renewed
each year or new in FY09)
FY08 UPK Classroom
Quality Grantees
(originally funded in FY07
and renewed or new in
FY08)
FY07 UPK Classroom
Quality Grantees
5
#
Program
Sites
277
# UPK
Classrooms/
Homes
464
# UPK
Children
6,400
# Cities/
Towns
97
Grant Award
Amount
$1,260 $126,000
(average =
$17,000 per
classroom)
$2,000 $200,000
293
481
6,600
97
216
311
5,700
94
130
192
3,000
60
(average=
$27,000 per
classroom)
*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 programs lost funding.
UPK Classroom Quality Grants
Map of Current Sites
97 cities and towns
6
Breakdown of Current Grantees

Current grants are awarded to 277 UPK programs, with 464
classrooms/homes, across all settings (originally funded in
FY07, FY08 or FY09) including:

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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)

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7
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.
92 programs (33%) have preschool classrooms at their UPK site
that are not yet UPK funded
250 total classrooms in current sites are not UPK funded
Objectives of Current Grant Funding
UPK Pilot Classroom Quality Grant funds must be
used to:
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8
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.
UPK Grant Expenditure Categories
9

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)
Aggregate Report of FY10 Grantee Spending
FY10 UPK Percent of Funds Allocated by Budget Category and Program Type*
TOTAL - All Program Types
Center-based
FCC System FCC Independent Public/Private Schools
Staff Compensation
$
3,434,591.67
53.4%
55.1%
40.1%
30.1%
45.4%
Comprehensive Services for Children
$
697,312.25
10.9%
11.7%
6.7%
0.0%
4.0%
Professional Development
$
474,335.85
7.4%
6.8%
11.3%
15.0%
11.5%
Administrative Costs
$
364,243.75
5.7%
5.9%
5.3%
5.3%
2.7%
Educational Materials and Technological Supports
$
317,964.16
4.9%
4.9%
4.2%
10.5%
5.5%
Curricula and Enrichment Activities
$
309,466.51
4.8%
4.1%
9.4%
17.0%
8.9%
Family Support
$
273,494.75
4.3%
3.7%
10.6%
6.8%
5.0%
Accreditation Support
$
156,150.25
2.4%
1.8%
9.5%
4.0%
4.7%
Assessment Supports and Online Licenses
$
147,329.06
2.3%
2.3%
2.0%
4.0%
3.0%
Transition to Kindergarten
$
108,982.25
1.7%
1.8%
0.5%
3.2%
1.4%
Full Day Full Year Services
$
73,476.00
1.1%
1.0%
0.0%
0.0%
4.1%
Assessment Trainings
$
68,927.50
1.1%
0.9%
0.4%
3.9%
3.9%
Total FY10 UPK Classroom Quality Grant funding
$
6,426,274.00
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
*Program type percentages represent the portion of funds that each program type as a whole allocated for a particular budget category (i.e. center-based
programs allocated 55.1% of the total center-based program funding to staff compensation).
Note: Cells highlighted in green indicate the top three budget categories each program type allocated funds for. Blue indicates the budget categories that
the least amount of funds were allocated for.
10
UPK Evaluation Overview
•
Beginning in FY08, a portion of UPK funds has been
set aside for evaluation activities.
•
FY08 evaluation focused on program implementation
and how grantees used their grant funding to
improve the quality of their programs.
•
FY09 evaluation focused on:
•
•
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FY10 evaluation activities include:
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11
Examining current level of quality in sample of early childhood
settings (UPK and non-UPK) that serving at-risk children in the
Commonwealth
Getting feedback about future statewide assessment of
preschool child outcomes and school readiness from various
stakeholder groups and the public
Funding NIEER to generate a report laying out potential
strategies for evaluation of programs serving 3 and 4 year old
children
Funding Public Consulting Group (PCG) to conduct a Waitlist
Analysis, Program Access & Continuity of Services Study with
regard to preschool children on EEC’s waitlist and in the broader
universe of families statewide
Board Subcommittee Feedback

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 full implementation 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.

12
Consider alignment with QRIS given its system-level structure
to support program quality.
Recommendation for Board Vote
13

Renew current UPK grants level-funded for FY11.

To begin alignment with QRIS and the development of an early
education data system refine FY11 UPK grant requirements to
include:
 A portion of program grant funds must be used to support
upward movement on the QRIS;
 Participation in the QRIS when available (projected January);
 Agreement to an on-site ECERS/FCCERS review by EEC staff;
 Agreement to provide staff information (i.e. compensation
and education level) through EEC’s Registry or other means;
 Agreement to provide child-level data with parent consent to
allow children to be assigned SASIDs.

Use FY11 as a planning year, with additional changes to be made in
FY12.