Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) Implementation: �Community Engagement and �Partnerships Webinar ��Early Education Division (EED)��February 24, 2022

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Tony Thurmond, State Superintendent of Public Instruction

Welcome and Introductions

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Why Early Learning Matters

• Brain science shows that 90% of a child’s brain growth happens by 5 years old
• Early intervention is more effective in terms of cost and health than later remediation
• Preschool Prepares Children for School and Kindergarten
• Preschool has long term Impacts on school progress, graduation, and future life outcomes
• Preschool has enduring benefits that do not fade

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Early Education is Most Effective �When it is High Quality

Programs should:

• Have well-qualified educators paid a livable wage 
• Use a developmentally-informed program with domain-specific curricula that includes intentional teaching
• Have adequate learning time for students 
• Provide scaffolded, intentional instruction embedded into playful activities
• Design environments to sustain and nourish children’s natural curiosity and passion for learning.
• Provide educators with support and foster mechanisms for ongoing program improvement.
• Ensure Preschool through Third Grade (P-3) alignment across curriculum, instruction, assessments, and professional learning

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Benefits of Implementing Inclusive Settings

• Helps reduce the need for future special education services
• Decrease long-term special education costs
• Increase student academic achievement
• Children with disabilities can make significant developmental and learning progress 
• Same-age peers without disabilities show positive development, social, and attitudinal outcomes

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Who is in the ‘room’ with us today?

California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) regions:

Northern CA: Regions 1 and 2 (orange)

Greater Sacramento: Regions 3 and 6 (blue)

Bay Area/Coastal: Regions 4 and 5 (purple)

Central Valley: Region 7 (green)

Inland Empire: Region 10 (yellow)

Southern CA: Regions 8, 9 and 11 (red)

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CCSESA: http://CCSESA.org/regions/ 

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Review of�Universal �PreKindergarten Implementation

Photo Credit: UPS Preschool; Camarillo, CA

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What is UPK?

UPK will bring together programs across early learning and K-12, relying heavily on Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) and California State Preschool Program (CSPP), as well as Head Start, community-based organizations (CBOs), and private preschool. 

Universal means that by 2025–26,�regardless of background, race, zip code, immigration status, or income level – every child– has access to a quality learning experience the year before Kindergarten.

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How Do Transitional Kindergarten (TK), �UPK, and P-3 Alignment Work Together?

• TK is an integral program in the mixed delivery system for achieving UPK. It will be the only program that must serve any four-year-old child that wants to enroll by 2025–26.
• UPK is a mixed-delivery system of UTK, CSPP, Head Start, expanded learning, private providers, and more. It provides every four-year-old child access to high quality learning the year before Kindergarten.
• P-3 Connects UPK with Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. It aligns developmentally informed best practices, UPK– 3rd grade.

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UPK Implementation Schedule: �TK and Early Admittance TK (ETK)

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UPK Implementation Schedule: �CSPP Expansion

• Request for Applications (RFA) will be released today
• $130 million in CSPP Expansion funds available to local educational agencies (LEAs) to provide both part-day and full-day CSPP
• LEAs may apply to provide direct, center-based CSPP services, subcontract services with another entity, including CBOs, or provide services through a family child care home education network (FCCHEN)
• An instructional webinar will be offered shortly following the release of the RFA

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UPK Implementation Schedule: �Supports for Planning and Implementation (P&I)

• $200 million UPK P&I Grant Allocations Will Be Updated Soon 
• $175.5 million UPK P&I Grant
• $24.5 million UPK P&I Countywide and Capacity Grant
• The Early Education Teacher Development Grant
• Did you or an LEA you know submit an eligible letter of intent (LOI) by February 2nd at 5 p.m.?
• RFA to be released shortly
• Questions? Email UPKWorkforceRFA@cde.ca.gov 

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UPK Guidance

• On February 14, the California Department of Education (CDE) uploaded guidance to our website that corresponds to the template for LEAs to implement UPK. 
• It can be found at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/ 
• The UPK Planning and Implementation Guidance Volume 1 includes information on the following:
• Guidance Introduction and General Information
• Projected Enrollment and Needs Assessment 
• Focus Area A: Vision and Coherence Program Models and Funding
• Focus Area B: Community Engagement and Partnerships Opportunities to engage the community
• Focus Area E: Facilities Requirements and Resources

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Projected Needs and Assessment

• The CDE has enrollment projections for some local education agencies (LEAs) and sent those emails directly to each LEA on Wednesday, February 23
• These figures are provided as one tool LEAs can consider when developing their TK and kindergarten enrollment projections
• More information can be found in the UPK Planning and Implementation Guidance

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Full-Day Programs That Meet Family Needs

• Statute requires LEAs to plan how all four-year-old children in their attendance area will have full-day programs the year before Kindergarten that meet family needs
• These needs can be met through a variety of programs providing rich early learning and care, including TK, CSPP, Head Start, other early learning and care programs, expanded learning, private preschool, and more
• Having different UPK models builds capacity to provide high-quality programs to support child outcomes, and allows families meaningful choice while also providing equitable opportunities

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Role of Community Agencies/Partners

Photo Credit: Thermalito Preschool; Poplar, CA

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County Office of Education Role

• County Offices of Education (COEs) are receiving funding to support countywide UPK Planning. 
• As part of this, COEs should be helping LEAs in their county with planning and supporting countywide planning and capacity building of UPK. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Helping LEAs think through which community partners to engage and how
• Convening LEAs and CBOs to support conversations around how full-day PreK opportunities can be provided to all children the year before kindergarten
• Potentially supporting county conversations around serving three-year-old children

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School Site and LEA Level Community Engagement

School Site level

• Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Meetings
• English Learner Advisory Committee (ELAC)
• School Site Council (SSC)

LEA Level

• Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) 
• Community Advisory Committee (CAC) 
• Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) Input Sessions
• Tribal Community Input Sessions

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Community-Level Community Engagement

Community-Level partners for Early Education planning include, but are not limited to:

• Resource and Referral Agencies (R&Rs)
• Local Child Care and Development Planning Councils (LPCs)
• First 5 County Commissions 
• Quality Counts California (QCC)
• Family Empowerment Centers (FECs)
• Head Start Policy Council

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Child Care Resource and Referral (R&Rs) Programs ��

• R&Rs are mandated by both federal and state laws (Child Care and Development Block Grant [CCDBG] and Welfare & Institution Code [WIC])
• There are 69 locally-based R&Rs throughout the state of California and one (1) Child Care Resource and Referral Network
• Major responsibilities include:
• Providing families with child care information based on their needs, along with other support services
• Recruit, train, and support child care providers
• Collect data from parents and child care providers

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Local Planning Councils (LPCs)

LPCs are required by WIC and their major responsibilities are: 

• Provide a forum for the identification of local priorities for child care and the development of policies to meet the needs identified within those priorities
• By May 30 of each year, submit to the California Department of Social Services and the State Department of Education the local priorities 
• Conduct a needs assessment of child care needs in the county no less frequently than once every five years

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COEs Already Play Key Roles Around Early Learning

• Out of 58 County Offices of Education, currently: 
• 41 provide TK
• 38 have CSPP contracts  
• 50 operate the Local Planning Councils
• 15 operate Resource and Referral Agencies
• 30+ are the lead for Quality Counts California consortia

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Leveraging Programs Providing Direct Services to Children

Photo Credit: Kidango Decoto Center; Union City, CA

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Select State Funded Early Learning and Care Programs

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Head Start Programs

• A federally administered program that provides grants directly to organizations in local communities 
• Services are provided in a variety of settings
• Provides comprehensive services such as developmental and health screenings that are included in the Performance Standards. 

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CSPP Eligibility Criteria (Current Law)

Three and four-year old children—as well as TK and kindergarten-age children are eligible for part- and full-day CSPP if the child's family is: 

1. A cash aid recipient
2. Income eligible (income below 85% of state median income)
3. Homeless
4. One whose children receive child protective services or identified or at risk 
5. Lives within and attends a CSPP program within the attendance boundaries of a school where 80 percent or more of pupils are eligible for free- or reduced-price meals

For Part-Day CSPP only: 

1. Children from families with incomes slightly above the income threshold
2. Children with exceptional needs with income above eligibility threshold

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Expanded Learning and Care

• Expanded Learning includes before-school, after-school, summer, or intersession learning programs that focus on developing the academic, social, emotional, and physical needs and interests of pupils through hands-on, engaging learning experiences. 
• Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) provides funding for after-school and summer school enrichment programs for TK through sixth grade. A full day is defined as in-person before- or after-school expanded learning opportunities that, when added to daily instructional minutes, are no fewer than nine hours of combined instructional time.
• After-School Education and Safety (ASES) 
• 21st Century Community Learning Centers
• Head Start, CSPP, and Early Learning and Care providers described above also contribute to this fabric of extended learning and care.

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Models for Layering Programs to Meet Family Needs

Photo Credit: Lighthouse for Children CDC, Fresno CA

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Funding Sources to Support UPK Implementation

• TK
• CSPP Expansion Funding and Existing CSPP Contracts
• Expanded Learning
• Every Students Succeeds Act (ESSA) funds
• Community Schools
• Universal Meals Program
• Subsidized Child Care Funding

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Part-Day and Full-Day TK

• Part-Day 
• A minimum of three hours, and no more than four hours, of instruction per day, including recess and excluding lunch, for a total of 36,000 instructional minutes total over a school year 
• Provides ability to stack classes with two sessions per day to serve more children 
• Full-Day 
• More than four hours a day if they are operating as part of an early primary program
• Supportive of working families
• Maximizes student learning opportunities

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Choosing Models of Service Delivery

• CSPP
• Additional funding
• Income-based qualifications
• CSPP requirements such as Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) and Desired Results Developmental Profile (DRDP)
• Head Start 
• Additional funding
• Very low-income communities 
• Additional Head Start Performance Standards (requirements) such as Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) assessment

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Facilities

• California Preschool, Transitional, Kindergarten, and Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant Program
• School districts and county offices of education may apply
• School districts can also apply for the facility funding on behalf of charter schools who operate on district property
• Funding may be used to construct or modify existing facilities 
• Applicants may apply for grant funds in advance of having a CSPP contract in place, indicating in the application for grant funding as a "future contractor."

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Live Questions and Answers (Q&A)

Photo Credit: Patricia Angulo's Family Child Care; Thousand Palms, CA

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Upcoming Webinars

• March 4 from 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Early Education Division will host their monthly webinar with an updated Governor's Budget summary and specific CSPP focus in certain areas 
• March 8 at 3:00 p.m. or March 10 at 3:00 p.m. Coffee with Patty: Using the DRDP with Specialized Populations  
• We are planning to hold more webinars; the dates are yet to be determined:
• P-3 Webinar: Supporting Children with Disabilities in Inclusive P-3 Settings
• UPK Webinar Tentatively on Facilities, Services, and Operations

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In what area(s) might �you need more information or assistance?

Photo Credit: Debra Manrique Family Child Care; Oxnard, CA

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Closing and Next Steps

Inbox for questions and comments: UPK@cde.ca.gov 

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We will post this webinar: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/em/ 

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We look forward to more opportunities to discuss

the implementation of UPK! 

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Thank you!

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