Pre-K Workshop:
Community Engagement &
Building Effective Partnerships
NSBA Annual Conference
April 11, 2010
Tom Krebs, Kansas Association of School Boards
Patte Barth, Director, Center for Public Education, NSBA
Chrisanne Gayl, Education Consultant
Agenda
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Project Overview
Community Engagement in Kansas
Importance of Collaboration
Group Exercise: Challenges in Collaborating
Partnership Models and Tips for Success
National Update
Thinking P-12:
Engaging school boards in support of pre-k
• A multi-year partnership between NSBA’s Center for
Public Education and state school board associations
with funding from the Pew Charitable Trusts.
– Increase awareness of the benefits of pre-k
– Add the school board voice to the discussion
• Have had many opportunities to talk with school
board members about the importance of pre-k.
Goals
• Making pre-kindergarten a public priority
– Increasing awareness of the short- and long-term
benefits of pre-k
• Adding the school board voice to the pre-k
discussion
– Collaborating with other early
education advocates
– Taking a leadership role –
school boards as value-added
Making it happen.
• School board members generally embrace the
message of pre-k, but support for the idea does not
necessarily translate into programs at the local level.
• School leaders need to know HOW to provide quality
early learning opportunities for children in their
districts.
• Planning for Pre-Kindergarten: A Toolkit for School
Boards available at: centerforpubliceducation.org
To download
for free or
order from
NSBA
bookstore:
www.nsba.org or
www.centerforpubliceducation.org
Toolkit includes…
• Reasons for engaging
the community
• Key Stakeholder
Groups to include
• Sample pre-k
messages to use
Perspectives from Kansas
Diversity in Early Education System
• One-third of all state-funded pre-k children
enrolled in non-public school settings, such as
child care centers, Head Start programs and
faith-based providers.
• Collaborations with community-based
programs enable school administrators to
expand access to and increase the quality of
programs, no matter where they are housed.
Benefits of Collaboration
• Builds upon existing infrastructure
• Maximizes resources (facilities, staff, etc.)
• Enhances quality & services
• Aligns expectations across Settings
Building Partnerships
Possible ISD Role:
• Provide financial
support
• Provide Certified
Teacher
• Share training and
professional
development
• Give resources/
materials/supplies/
equipment
Possible Partner Role:
• Provide space
• Provide “wrap around
care”
• Advertise to
community
• Allow access to
children’s
developmental
screenings
• Share resources
Examples of Collaboration
In Tulsa, Oklahoma, enrolling children in a
collaborative program between the school
system and Head Start allows administrators
to leverage multiple funding streams to
expand from a half day to a full day. This
partnership allows schools to offer both a prek curriculum and comprehensive services for
low-income children.
Excerpts from Beyond the School Yard: Pre-K Collaborations
with Community-Based Providers
Examples of Collaboration
A school in Massachusetts places pre-k
children who need full day special education
services in community- based settings. The
principal and her partners meet regularly to
plan professional development for all pre-k
teachers – in schools and in the community.
Private providers in the collaboration have
access to the district’s early intervention
specialists and pre-k teachers to observe
classrooms and provide coaching as needed.
Examples of Collaboration
In a Tennessee school district, collaborating
with Head Start provides access to a number
of supports outside of the classroom
experience. A “family partner” works with the
schools to connect families to other
supportive services as needed. Head Start also
provides health screenings and dental care
directly to all children in the collaboration
What gets in the way of
collaboration?
• Issues related to supervision of staff
• Unclear goals, objectives or mission
– Partner’s goals have changed
– Original goals met but no new goals established
– Unclear or vague mission statement
• Missed opportunities to communicate
• Missed growth opportunities
– Professional development
– Failure to identify all eligible children
• Failure to Sustain Collaboration Efforts and
Energy
Collaboration in Action!
Working in groups of 8 – 10:
1. Discuss current or potential challenges to
collaboration in your district
2. Discuss solutions and compromises to
support Pre-K collaboration
Discussion
Models for Success
• Not “one-size-fits-all” - come in many different
forms
• Must meet the dynamic needs of the school
district as well as the partner agency
• Can be structured in different
ways.
Stacked or Flip Flop Model
Describes two programs offered
sequentially in order to piece together a
full day of early care and education.
Concurrent Model
The “concurrent” model is used when more
than one program is offered simultaneously
and each program provides different services
to a group of children in order to enhance and
expand services.
Wraparound Model
The “wraparound”
integrated model involves
more than one program
working together to
provide both core and
either before or after
school services, or both.
Subcontracting Model
One program subcontracts with another to
provide services to children. The design of
the subcontracting model determines how
much integration occurs among the
programs. Subcontracting can involve one
agency designating another as a surrogate
agency to provide services. In this model,
there may be little to no joint planning or
involvement regarding service delivery.
Tips for Success
• Visit community-based programs.
• Survey the landscape to determine need and
capacity.
• Create a vehicle to engage stakeholders.
• Invest in personnel.
Memorandum of Understanding
• Written articulation of
an agreement between
parties
• Outlines roles and
responsibilities
• Identifies shared goals,
resources and/or
services
The MOU Process
• Encourages brainstorming
• Helps partners anticipate
issues/conflicts BEFORE
they become problems
• Changes the language
from “my children” and
“your children” to “our
children”
Key components
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Program Description
Shared Mission Statement
Teacher/Instructional Model or Method
Teaching Schedule and Calendar
Curriculum
Professional Development
Children’s Progress Monitoring/Assessment
Key Components, cont.
• Physical Environment
• Communication with Parents and Parent
Involvement
• Student Support and Supplementary Services
• Management of the Collaboration
When is the best time to write an
MOU?
Are YOU Ready to Take the
Model Challenge?
Children are dually enrolled in Head Start
and school pre-k and receive the benefits of
both systems. The teacher and assistant are
school district employees and are trained by
the local Head Start grantee. Head Start
provides all the materials for the classrooms
and designs each room to meet Head Start
performance standards. Children receive
comprehensive services have access to
family service workers.
CONCURRENT MODEL
Partners agreed that the schools would not
undertake new efforts to provide
wraparound services since they already exist
in the community. Instead, the collaboration
leverages the school system’s transportation
resources to bring children, before or after
the half day of school-based pre-k, to
community-based programs.
WRAP-AROUND MODEL
National Perspective
March 2010
US Dept of Education
Blueprint for ESEA
• College & career ready students: higher standards,
better assessments, well-rounded education
• Effective teachers & principals: equitable
distribution, strengthened preparation & recruitment
• Opportunity for all students: rigorous & fair
accountability, rewards for progress & success
US Dept of Ed
Blueprint for ESEA con’t
• Raise the bar & reward excellence: ‘race to the top’
incentives, public school choice
• Promote innovation & continuous improvement: i3
funds, flexible funding streams, support for student
success (eg., extra time)
Early learning featured in two critical priorities
• Building Capacity for Support at Every Level
• Fostering Innovation & Excellence:
– INVESTING IN INNOVATION (i3)
Building Capacity for Support
at Every Level
• As we ask more of each level of the system,
we will also build state and district capacity
to support schools, school leaders, teachers,
and students.
• The proposal will allow states and districts to
reserve funds to carry out such activities as
(iv) coordinating with early learning
programs to improve school readiness;
Investing in Innovation (i3)
• Applicants will be required to propose projects
that develop or expand innovations in critical
areas of education reform (emphasis added).
The Secretary may also give preference to
applicants that propose to develop or expand
innovations around specific pressing needs, such
as improving the teaching and learning of STEM
subjects, improving early learning outcomes,
addressing the learning needs of English Learners
and students with disabilities, and serving schools
in rural areas.
NSBA Recommendations
Create a new grant program, supported by a separate funding stream,
to help states and communities develop, expand, coordinate and
enhance the quality and availability of voluntary preschool
programs and increase the overall federal investment in education.
Encourage integration of developmentally appropriate, evidencebased innovations and instruction from birth to grade 12, especially
in key areas such as early literacy and math, and provide adequate
funding for implementation.
Incorporate collaboration and inclusive decision making at the federal,
state and local level between K-12, early education providers and a
broad range of community stakeholders to facilitate transitions
from pre-K to Kindergarten, improve school readiness, and
contribute to student success.
Status of other federal initiatives
• Early learning challenge grants: omitted from Reconciliation
bill
• LEARN (Literacy Education for All, Results for the Nation) Act:
comprehensive literacy, birth through grade 12. Currently
pending. Department has budgeted $250 million for state
literacy leadership teams called for in LEARN.
Early childhood funds
in the President’s FY2011 Budget
• Will provide when I get numbers from
Katherine S
Tapping Title I
• “Tapping Title I: What Every School
Administrator Should know about Title I, PreK and School Reform” provides basic
information about using Title I resources to
support quality pre-k programs.
Pre-K Newsletter
THANK YOU
Tom Krebs, Kansas Association of School Boards,
tkrebs@kasb.org
Patte Barth, Center for Public Education, NSBA
pbarth@nsba.org
Chrisanne Gayl, Education Consultant,
chrisanne@implementprek.com