DEPARTMENT: Pre-K 4 SA
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Kathy Bruck, CEO
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: City Wide
SUBJECT:
Independent Evaluator Grant
SUMMARY:
This item includes a staff briefing and Board consideration to ratify a grant submitted by independent evaluator Edvance and the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) to supplement and augment the study of Pre-K 4 SA.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Edvance requested to apply for a CFDA #84.305A Education Research Grant regarding Early Learning Programs and Policies - Efficacy and Replication. The focus of the grant is in regards to Edvance and NIEER research of Pre-K with a specific purpose of understanding the impact of Pre-K 4 SA upon student outcomes through the use of a regression discontinuity design study and randomized controlled trial.
ISSUE:
Receipt of this grant would allow Edvance and NIEER to complete a rigorous impact evaluation of the Pre-K 4 SA program, as well as assess longitudinal effects of the program and receive more complete information through the implementation fidelity efforts. Pre-K 4 SA requests Board consideration to ratify Edvance and NIEER’s resubmission of the grant proposal.
ALTERNATIVES:
Should Edvance not receive support for moving forward with the grant resubmission, the study of Pre-K 4 SA would not include a randomized control trail with primary outcome data collection, thereby lacking confidence in the results of the immediate impact of Pre-K 4 SA and no primary data collection for outcomes in literacy, language, mathematics, social emotional, and self-regulation, for children in both the treatment and control groups.
Limitations for not receiving IES funding include:
1. The current evaluation lacks the resources to conduct primary outcome data collection; and the proposed IES study would allow for primary data collection and take advantage of the current lottery system.
2. The current evaluation does not support a thorough investigation of fidelity of implementation. The proposed IES study would allow for fidelity observations in each Pre-K 4 SA classroom across all Education Centers (therefore Pre-K 4 SA would only need to fund 20% of CLASS observations, as is currently funded in Year 3, 4, and 5).
3. The current evaluation does not include an investigation on how competitive city pre-K grant awardees conduct practice or use funds for improvement. The proposed IES study would allow Edvance and NIEER to conduct fidelity observations with Pre-K 4 SA grant awardees to 1) provide Pre-K 4 SA with information on quality of instruction in grant awardee classrooms as well as the extent to which awardees are using Pre-K 4 SA components and 2) add to the understanding of the counterfactual condition for control children attending pre-K with awardees.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Potential funding resulting from this federal grant is up to $3.3 million over a 5-year period. The grant is 100% federally funded and there are no direct costs to Pre-K 4 SA. Funding would be directly channeled from the federal government to Edvance and subcontractor (NIEER) for research on Pre-K 4 SA.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Board ratify the grant resubmission by Edvance and NIEER.