DEPARTMENT: Pre-K 4 SA
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Kathy Bruck, CEO
SUBJECT:
Independent Evaluation
SUMMARY:
Staff briefing on efforts by Edvance to obtain kindergarten readiness data for the Pre-K 4 SA independent evaluation [Kathy Bruck, Pre-K 4 SA CEO]
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
In 2013 the City of San Antonio released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a Program Assessment Consultant to conduct a longitudinal study to determine the effectiveness of Pre-K 4 SA. The Board approved a contract with Edvance Research, Inc. in partnership with the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at Rutgers University for five years with one, three-year renewal option for a potential total contract length of eight years for a total of $857,737 for the initial five year period.
On December 3, 2013 the Board approved the Edvance year 1 work plan for the independent evaluation. Edvance provided a mid-year report on March 4, 2014, a study overview on April 1, 2014, a monthly update on May 6, 2014 which included a summary of major activities for the alignment study and program evaluation, as well as a study schedule, budget, and upcoming studies.
On August 5, 2014, the Board approved for Edvance to submit a federal grant proposal in relation to their work with Pre-K 4 SA and with the purpose of determining the effectiveness of Pre-K 4 SA intervention among four-year-old education development and augmenting the current study of Pre-K 4 SA.
On September 9, 2014, Edvance provided the year 1 evaluation report for Pre-K 4 SA. This included a demographic profile of the children served in Pre-K during program year 1; family engagement, event updates, and results; a report of overall teacher-reported classroom practices and teacher-child interaction quality in classrooms; and the results from the GOLD assessment administered to children by Pre-K 4 SA teachers during the year. Interpretations and limitations were included.
On October 7, 2014 Board meeting, Edvance provided the Board with the year 2 work plan which was approved on November 4, 2014. On December 2, 2014 the Board approved to amend the current contract with Edvance to include Pre-K 4 SA Research Review Board documentation and processes to provide the program with a systematic process for receiving and processing research requests to protect confidentiality of children. The amendment included an increase of classroom observations to gather additional information for the fidelity of implementation evaluation and descriptive information about classrooms. The final amendment included professional development activities to provide more information about the Pre-K 4 SA professional development efforts externally and internally and track the successes throughout San Antonio. These amendments amounted to a total of $76,004.
ISSUE:
Currently, Edvance is in the process of trying to obtain data regarding kindergarten performance of Pre-K 4 SA students with participating independent school districts. Up until this point, Edvance has attempted several routes to obtain the information including:
· Meeting and request from partnering independent school districts
· Inquiries and requests to Texas Education Agency (TEA) and Education Resource Centers (ERC) concerning data availability and data request requirements
· Confirmation of data availability and indication of Public Information Request (PIR) as first step for more detail on data request requirements/costs
Edvance has met with Pre-K 4 SA and City staff to determine the option that is in the best interest of the program and the independent evaluation. They have continued to work towards obtaining the necessary data from TEA.