FY 2007

Early Childhood Educator

Professional Development (ECEPD) Funded Projects

ABSTRACT: Georgetown University

DC ECEPD Project

37^th^ and O Streets NW

Washington, DC 20057

202-687-1389 (office); 202-784-3129 (fax)

Georgetown University, the University of the District of Columbia, the
DC Department of Human Services Early Child Care and Education
Administration, the DC Public Schools and DC Charter Schools, and the
CityBridge Foundation propose to establish a substantial and
comprehensive DC ECEPD program with shared leadership, responsive
coordination and evidenced-based professional development for (1) public
school and Charter School pre-K programs; (2) private licensed centers,
including faith-based; and (3) Head Start programs. The DC ECEPD Project
addresses the required absolute priority, invitational priorities, and
competitive preference priority for scientifically based evaluation
methods.

Our proposed intensive, theory-guided professional development (PD)
plans and services are informed by a survey of PD needs, an inventory of
early childhood programs new learning and licensing standards, and
recent results from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that demonstrate
the efficiency of intensive PD programs to promote language and
literacy. The project will conduct RCT with crossover for controls to
receive the same PD treatment in Phase 2. From a universe of 205
programs in the three (3) highest-poverty wards in DC, we will randomly
select 96 sites for the RCT and study 1536 children. PD treatment
includes -- 1) intensive summer institutes; 2) year long job embedded
coaching to implement evidenced-based curricula; 3) web-based
information and problem-solving support; 4) monthly PD exchange
sessions; and 5) ongoing information collection and data analysis with
feedback to help sites assess teacher and child progress. Child Trends
will conduct an independent outcomes evaluation study. A separate PD and
curriculum implementation study also will be conducted.

### ABSTRACT: Zero to Three

### National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families

Project CLICK (**[C]{.underline}**radling **[L]{.underline}**iteracy in
**[C]{.underline}**hildren in **[K]{.underline}**entucky)

2000 M St. NW, Suite 200 (National Headquarters)\
Washington, DC 20036

202-638-1144 (office); 202- 638-0851(fax)

Zero to Three (ZTT), Save the Children, and the Eastern Kentucky Child
Care Coalition (EKCCC) are teaming together to implement Project CLICK
which will bring high quality early language and literacy professional
development activities to 160 early childhood educators in Eastern
Kentucky. Using the curriculum entitled Cradling Literacy: Building
Teachers' Skills to Nurture Early Language and Literacy from Birth to
Five, the partnership will provide intensive evidenced-based early
language and literacy training to educators in seven high-need counties
in Eastern Kentucky. Training will occur over a 24-month period, and
will be supplemented with six (6) hours of onsite mentoring each month
in the educators' classrooms. Educators will receive stipends and
children's books as incentives for participation. The Frank Porter
Graham Child Development Institute of the University of North Carolina
will conduct an experimental randomized evaluation of the effectiveness
of the project.

### ABSTRACT: South Carolina Department of Education

#### Bridges to Early Learning

The Rutledge Building

1429 Senate Street, Room 1005

Columbia, South Carolina

803-734-8477 (office); 803-734-8343 (fax)

The South Carolina Department of Education, South Carolina First Steps,
South Carolina Head Start, the South Carolina Department of Social
Services, the University of South Carolina, South Carolina State
University, and eight impoverished communities have partnered to create
the *Bridges to Early Learning Plan* for professional development for
early childhood educators. The project will serve 132 professionals,
ultimately impacting 1,260 children in extremely impoverished areas.

The target districts included in the *Bridges to Early Learning Plan*
are among the most impoverished in an impoverished state. With an
average free and reduced-price lunch eligibility of 90%, these districts
serve the most needy children. Children in these areas are the most
likely to be unprepared to succeed in school, fail first grade, and be
average by the third grade.

*Bridges to Early Learning* will increase the school readiness of young
children in high poverty areas by improving the teaching performance of
the early childhood educators (ECEs) through high quality sustainable
professional development in both public and private settings. The model
includes collaboration among agencies and educational institutions,
coaching, study groups, and college level (and graduate level) course
work in our state. All professional development will target school
readiness, including a child's social and emotional development, early
language and literacy development, oral language, age-appropriate social
and emotional behavior, numeracy, administration and use of
age-appropriate assessments.

This project represents the first true collaboration among the entities
involved in early childhood education, from pres-services to in-service,
from public to private environments. *Bridges to Early Learning* is an
extremely important initiative for early education in South Carolina,
and we fully expect its outcomes for the quality of early childhood
educators and their students to be equally significant.

### ABSTRACT: Georgia Head Start Association

#### PEACH Partnership (**[P]{.underline}**romoting **[E]{.underline}**ducation for **[A]{.underline}**dults and **[Ch]{.underline}**ildren)

385 Centennial Olympic Park Drive

Atlanta, Georgia 30313

404-525-3451 (office); 404-684-0860

#### The Georgia Head Start Association, Quality Assist, Inc. and the University of North Carolina-Charlotte have formed the ***[P]{.underline}**romoting **[E]{.underline}**ducation for **[A]{.underline}**dults and **[Ch]{.underline}**ildren (PEACH)* Partnership to enhance the school readiness of children living in the metropolitan Atlanta communities with high concentrations of poverty. Over the next three years, the *PEACH Partnership* will work with 13 childcare, faith-based and Head Start centers located in school districts where an average 85% of the children are eligible for Free or Reduced Price Lunches.

#### The *PEACH Partnership* will implement a rigorous evaluation design in which the participating centers will be randomly assigned by an independent evaluator to control condition or treatment condition. Within the treatment condition, an intensive and ongoing professional development program will support 36 teachers. They will -- 1) implement *Opening the World of Learning* (OWL), a curriculum scientifically based in reading research and designed for use with preschool children; 2) increase their knowledge of effective instructional strategies based on scientific research; 3) incorporate child assessment as an integral strategy for individualized curriculum planning; 4) create literacy and numeracy rich classroom environments; and 5) participate in rigorous evaluation activities to assess the fidelity of implementation and project effectiveness. The *PEACH* teachers will be supported by classroom-based mentor-coaching and a comprehensive, ongoing professional development program that includes center-based study groups, monthly seminars, intensive institutes and model classroom visits.

Over three years, the *PEACH Partnership* will increase the knowledge
and ability of teachers in low income areas to improve the early
language, literacy and numeracy skills that will prepare 900 low income
children for school success.

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