UPK Update:

A Joint Round Table with the Cambridge City Council & Cambridge School Committee

FEBRUARY

14

2023

Agenda

1. Opening/Welcome - Superintendent Greer and City Manager Yi-An Huang

2. Overview of Cambridge Preschool Program
1. Recap of the work from the last year
1. Task Force, Advisory Committee, Ad Hoc Committee
2. Recommendations
3. Scaling of existing work
2. Where we are now
• Program guide
• Capacity assessment/partnerships
3. Next steps
• Staff capacity
• Technology/application
• Communication strategy

​

• Timeline
• Winter application
• Fall 2024 - Cambridge Preschool Program Launches

​

• Cambridge Public Schools - update on work

​

• City of Cambridge - update on work

​

• Questions and discussion

Overview of Cambridge Preschool Program (formally known as UPK)

Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP) Overview

Funding would be braided with other funding supports including federal Head Start funds, state contracted slots and voucher funds, and other state preschool focused early childhood funding, as appropriate.

The universal preschool system is a mixed-delivery system, with capacity to serve the entire eligible population spread across Cambridge Public Schools, Department of Human Services Program preschools, Head Start, and community based programs.

​

​

All eligible children would be entitled to a 6 hour per day/school-year placement, with extended days and summer available depending on family need and program type (extended days would be at low or no cost to families who meet certain eligibility requirements).

Funding will be provided to community based programs based on the the number of CPP seats in each classroom.

Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP) Overview

Cambridge Preschool Program does NOT have the capacity to serve all 3 year olds at this time.

All children who are 4 years old prior to September 1 of each school year are eligible to enroll in the Cambridge Preschool Program and would be guaranteed placement at one of the aforementioned programs.

Any child who is 3 years old prior to September 1 of each school year may also apply for CPP. If the child is eligible to receive special education services OR lives in a household below a defined income threshold OR has other defined risk factors, placement in a Cambridge Preschool Program site is prioritized.

4

years

old

3

years

old

The Year in Review

Cambridge Preschool Program (CPP) Oversight and Leadership

Advisory Committee

A body of city and school leaders, CBO leaders, and content experts who have been brought together as needed to inform the work and advise on the direction as work progresses.

Task Forces

3 distinct groups of city and school colleagues who worked weekly throughout the Summer of 2022 to draft recommendations that would shape the Cambridge Preschool Program.

Ad Hoc Committee

A small group of elected officials who have met regularly with city & school leadership to hear updates on the progress of CPP and provide insight and support as the work moves forward.

3

groups

Information Gathering Preschool Across the Country

• New York City
• Philadelphia
• Washington, D.C.
• Chicago
• Boston
• Seattle
• Denver
• San Antonio

Family Survey

This survey was shared with:

• Social Media Platforms: Camberville Facebook group
• Cambridge Community boards
• Newsletters

Distributed in Winter 2002: 244 eligible parents or guardians started the survey.

103

currently have children in preschool

73

are looking at preschool options

68

recently navigated preschool (children are now in Kindergarten to grade 3)

• Interoffice correspondence amongst city/school departments
• Revised for Accessibility: Plain language

• City’s daily update email to residents

Demographics

N = 162

Race/Ethnicity

Priorities families consider when assessing preschool options

Priorities:

• Location
• Full day offered
• Cost
• Curriculum/quality
• Full year

Priorities related to quality in order of magnitude

• Teacher qualifications

• School culture and environment
• Quality
• Outdoor play prioritized
• Language programming
• Prestige/reputation
• Support for students with disabilities
• Lunch quality

Task Force Recommendations

The work of each of the three UPK task forces was to leverage their knowledge and expertise to establish a set of recommendations specific to the three major components of the universal preschool system:

Task forces consisted of members from the school department, city programs, and the broader community.

Workforce Development

Program Quality

Family Hub

Key Program Recommendations Workforce Development

Policy and funding supports that address the early childhood educator wage gap.

Educator qualifications for assistant teaches, lead teachers, and administrators that are aligned across the system.

​

​

Defined educator pathways that provide time and resources for educators to meet educator requirements.

Key Program Recommendations Program Quality

• Adoption of one of a menu of play-based and research-based curricula.
• Annual external evaluations to measure classroom/program status and growth across the system.
• An aligned assessment approach to measuring child outcomes across the system and its variety of program contexts.

• Continuous self-study and quality improvement through NAEYC Accreditation or the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System.
• Commitment to anti-bias and anti-racist practices including the adoption of a no suspension / no expulsion policy.

Key Program Recommendations Family Hub

A matching process that considers geography, demographics, program preference, program affiliation, transportation needs, length of school day needs, and eligibility for other funding sources.

An application process that is easy to navigate, is mobile accessible, translated into multiple languages, and available in paper form.

Procedures for case management for those children and families who need additional support outside of navigating the universal preschool application process.

A single point of access application that is managed by the Office of Early Childhood and supports subsequent enrollment at all universal preschool program sites including Cambridge Public Schools, DHSP preschools, and selected community based programs.

​

An application that prioritizes children receiving special education services, children with limited resources, and children with other defined risk factors.

Scaling Current Work

Workforce Development:

• Lesley University: A formal partnership has been forming, with the university hosting our 2023 annual Week of the Young Child event.
• CDA: 10 students will “graduate” this Spring from the CDA program developed in partnership with the CLC and OWD. An additional 8 students currently in ECE will also complete their CDA.
• RSTA: OEC will support the placement and payment of students in RSTA’s ECE program for Spring 2023 (as like 2022).
• Fisher College: 53 applications were received for this Spring’s college course offerings via scholarship through OEC.
• Harvard University: Worked in partnership to launch a city-wide child care workforce study that will inform our work and work in communities across the country.

Program Quality:

• CQIP: Several new community and family child care sites were added as participants in the Continuous Quality Improvement Program this year.
• Evaluation: All programs that receive funding for slots have met or exceeded the National median scores on their annual program evaluations.

Family Hub:

• Scholarship: Providing 68 scholarships at 17 community based preschools across Cambridge…the most in the program’s history.
• Head Start: Second year of funding to ensure Cambridge children enrolled in Head Start have access to full-day,

full-year programming.

Scaling Current Work

The new Office of Early Childhood website launched this Fall as a hub for child care information for families and educators!

Next Steps

Staff capacity

The Office of Early Childhood added a Marketing & Communications Specialist and UPK Project Manager positions to its team this year.

We will continue to build capacity to facilitate the implementation of the Cambridge Preschool Program through the addition of several key staff positions in FY23

and in FY24.

Technology/application

Cambridge Public Schools will facilitate the procurement and acquisition of the technology used to manage the CPP application and matching process and will

work closely with OEC to build out system requirements.

Communication strategy

OEC, CPS, and DHSP will be developing a shared communication strategy to begin informing the public about the launch of the Cambridge Preschool Program and to ensure aligned messaging as offices begin to field inquiries from the public.

Cambridge Universal Pre- K Planning Timeline

Key Benchmarks:

Launch Website

Program Guide Complete

Application for newly Aligned Pre-K System Opens

Newly Aligned

Pre-K Begins

Phase 1A: Align messaging / communications, data collection, synthesis & analysis, scale existing scholarship, quality, and workforce development work.

Phase 1B: Timeline and strategy developed for implementing district-level changes.

Phase 2: Align standards, create program

structure, document and share with key stakeholders.

Phase 3: Align multiple Pre-K application processes and lotteries into a uniform 2-step, single point entry access system.

Phase 4: Systems and processes are scaled so all programs serving UPK students are adhering to established program standards.

Where We Are Now

Program Capacity:

• Over 40 program respondents to this survey

• Representation across program types including: school, community, and family child care programs.

• 1:1 meetings with each partnership to solidify capacity and quality improvement needs during the ramp up phase.

• Our roster of CPP programs include current and new partners, non-profit and for-profit partners, single-site and multi-site organizations, and center-based, school-based, and family child care programs.
• It is estimated that the Cambridge Preschool Program will serve approximately 800 - 900 4 year-olds across all program types

(based on census data, program capacity, and current program enrollments).

​

• Approximately 25% of those slots will be housed in CPS
• Approximately 15% of those slots will be housed in DHSP Preschool Programs
• Approximately 60% of those slots will be housed in community based programs

​

Program Guide:

The recommendations, research, surveys results, and additional data will be incorporated into a comprehensive Program Guide (in progress and to be completed this Spring).

CPS Progress Update

• Review and Revise School Entry Age and School Entrance Policies
• CPS Preschool Project Manager
• Review enrollment data and information
• Identify seats and classrooms by school (4 year olds and 3 year olds)
• FY24 Budget Request (Executive Director Preschool Education)
• Assess space capacity

City Progress Update

• How many children are assigned to different program types (for example, school vs. community programs)
• The actual number of children that apply and are placed across the system
• What other funding sources are available to support the children who are enrolled (for example, Head Start, state preschool funding, etc.)
• $10M will be put into a stabilization fund in FY24 so that the impact on the budget is spread out

• Estimate of about $20M of additional funding needed as of FY25. Exact numbers will be impacted by:

Questions & Answers

​

What excites you about the progress shared with you thus far?

​

What clarifying questions do you have?

​

What would you be interested in learning more about in future conversations?