PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

FY2017 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

Preschool Development Grants AUGUST 2018

Arizona
ED 524B Page 1 of 45

U.S. Department of Education 

PDG Grant Performance Report Cover Sheet 

Based on ED 524B OMB No. 1894-0003 Exp. 08/31/2020

General Information 

1. PR/Award #: S419A150009 2. Grantee Federal Information Processing Code: 15-A

3. Project Title: PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANT

4. Grantee Name: Arizona Department of Education

5. Grantee Address:1535 W. Jefferson St. BIN #15

City: Phoenix State: Arizona Zip: 85007

6. Project Director Name: Nicol Russell

Title: Deputy Associate Superintendent 

Phone #: 602.542.8706 Ext.: Fax #:

Email Address: Nicol.Russell@azed.gov

Check only one box per Program Office instructions. ✔ Annual Performance Report Final Performance Report

Reporting Period Information 

7. Reporting Period: From: 01/01/2017 To: 12/31/2017

8. Budget Expenditures (To be completed by your Business Office. See instructions.)

Budget Period Federal Grant Funds Non-Federal Funds (Match/Cost Share)

a. Previous Budget Period $20,000,000.00 $4,572,319.00 

b. Current Budget Period $20,000,000.00 $7,052,304.00 

c. Entire Project Period 

(For Final Performance Reports only)

9. Indirect Cost Information (To be completed by your Business Office. See Instructions.)

a. Are you claiming indirect costs under this grant? Yes No

b. If yes, do you have an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement approved by the Federal Government? Yes No

c. If yes, provide the following information: 

Period Covered by the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement: From: 07/01/2017 To: 06/30/2018

Approving Federal agency: ✔ ED Other Specify other:

Type of Rate: (Final Performance Reports only) Provisional ✔ Final Specify other:

d. For Restricted Rate Programs (check one) -- Are you using a restricted indirect cost rate that:

✔ Is included in your approved Indirect Cost Rate Agreement

Complies with 34 CFR 76.564(c)(2)?

Other

10. Performance Measures Status

a. Are complete data on performance measures for the current budget period included in the 

Project Status Chart?

Yes No

b. If no, when will the data be available and submitted to the Department?
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U.S. Department of Education 

PDG Annual Performance Report 

Executive Summary 

Based on ED 524B OMB No. 1894-0003 Exp. 08/31/2020

Grantee State: AZ PR/Award #: S419A150009

You are required to submit an Executive Summary of up to 3000 words with your Annual Performance 

Report. This summary should relate to your approved application and summarize the goals and 

objectives that have been achieved under your grant, what you learned, and any evaluation results. 

Describe any unanticipated outcomes or benefits from your project and any barriers that you may have 

encountered. If there have been any changes to the project from the approved application, those 

should be explained as well.

Overview of Progress 

In 2017, Arizona made accelerated progress in its efforts to expand access to high-quality preschool 

and to enhance early learning systems through participation in the Preschool Development Grant 

opportunity. We applied for and received $20 million per year through this grant. In our original grant 

application we provided details on how the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) would partner 

with its sister agency, First Things First (FTF), to improve the quality and scope of early learning in 

Arizona. In 2017, this continued partnership enabled us the opportunity to provide 2,872 slots for four 

year-olds in programs that met all elements of the structural definition of high-quality preschool 

programming in 67 high-need communities (HNCs) in Arizona. The 67 HNCs are spread across seven 

counties and were selected based on an original set of four criteria, and additional elements added 

for year 3 selection. The data points used to select HNCs were: areas identified with high rates of 

students receiving free and reduced lunch; areas where more than 25% of the students served 

identified as being English language learners (ELLs); areas predicted to be serving less than 50% of 

their capacity based on ADE's K-3 enrollment formula; and lastly, the local education agencies (LEAs) 

in the HNCs must have earned a C or better on the State's A-F school report system. 

 

Key Highlights and Accomplishments 

· The continued success of the Early Childhood Task Force on Inclusion 

In January 2016, ADE started work on the development of its Early Childhood Task Force on Inclusion. 

The purpose of the task force is to increase inclusive opportunities for children with low incidence 

disabilities, and to support teachers and administrators as they work to provide high-quality 

inclusionary environments and practices. The make-up of the task force includes representatives from 

Arizona's early childhood system: public school teachers, public school and district administrators, 

private child care teachers and administrators, Head Start teachers and administrators, United Way, 

early childhood and special education instructors from Arizona's institutes of higher education. The 

task force is utilizing the Leading by Convening model for the structure of this community of practice, 

and following implementation science as the core mechanism for moving the group from theory to 

practice. The data points that underpin the task force on inclusion are: rates on the number of 

children served in their least restrictive environment; the availability and quality of least restrictive 
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environment continuum of placement options; and the results of an inclusion survey conducted by 

ADE through Arizona's Early Childhood Workforce Registry. 

 

The inclusion survey questioned respondents in the following five areas: Attitudes and Beliefs; 

Interpretation of the Individuals with Disabilities Act; Staff expertise and training; Comprehensive 

services; and Building partnerships. The survey was sent out to public education agency staff; Head 

Start staff; and other early childhood partner organizations. The respondents were able to selfidentify their roles, and if we overlooked a role, they could add it. We received 371 responses from all 

but two of the fifteen counties in Arizona. Currently, the task force includes representation from 

Maricopa, Pima, Apache (tribe), and Navajo (tribe) counties. As a result of meetings in 2016, the task 

force accomplished three things: created a mission and vision; established a common definition of 

inclusion; and reviewed the survey data to serve as information to inform the direction of the task 

force. 

 

In 2017, the group followed a process of problem identification, goal development, and strategy 

development. Goals such helping understand how to blend funding streams, increase administrator 

knowledge about the importance of an early childhood education, and increasing teacher knowledge 

of the strategies to include children in general education settings rose to the top. As public awareness 

about the taskforce has increased, representatives have been able to share the work of the group 

with state and local partners in a variety of ways. The group is now delineating and refining the 

strategies to accomplish the important goals related to its theory of change. 

 

· The use of College Scholarships to support degree attainment 

In our original application, we said with funding from the Preschool Development Grant we would 

ambitiously invest in College Scholarships for Early Childhood Professionals, a First Things First funding 

strategy. The intent of this evidence-informed professional development strategy is to provide access 

to higher education for the early childhood workforce working directly with, or on behalf of, young 

children birth through age five. The expected results of supporting continuing education and degree 

completion is elevating and professionalizing the field, recruiting and retaining a quality early 

childhood workforce, and supporting and increasing the quality of services provided to young 

children. In 2017, Preschool Development Grant funds were used to fund 340 students pursuing 

Bachelor's degrees in early childhood or early childhood special education! The total number of credit 

hours paid for in 2016 was 3,926. 

 

Challenges and Lessons Learned 

 

In year three, an area that continued to be a challenge was in the recruitment of teachers who met 

the minimum requirement of possessing at least a Bachelor's degree. In Arizona, there is a significant 

teacher shortage. According to one source, at the start of the 2016-17 school year, there were 2,041 

teacher vacancies (http://www.abc15.com/news/state/group-arizona-teacher-shortage-reachingcrisis-levels). In addition to vacant positions, cited in this same source, a survey conducted by the 
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Arizona School Personnel Administrators Administration, found that “47% of teaching positions were 

vacant or were filled with applications that did not meet the standard teacher requirements. In 

addition, 465 teachers left their job within the first four weeks of the school year.” For ADE, this crisis 

was felt even at the preschool level. As a result, in 2017, some four year olds were served in 

classrooms with a teacher who did not meet the minimum requirement of a Bachelor's degree. Since 

we know the program met all the other elements of the definition of high-quality preschool 

programming, we allowed early learning providers to use funds to operate their programs and accept 

children. We did not count these children in our total number of new slots, but we felt this would be a 

wise investment to, in many cases, help these early learning providers establish preschool classrooms. 

These dis-counted slots, however, did impact our overall number. 

 

One of the lessons we learned in year two of implementation, as a result of our experience with less 

than qualified teachers, is that perhaps we should try a different approach to high-needs community 

eligibility for participation in the PDG opportunity. Thus, in year three, we made additions to the 

selection criteria. In years one and two of the PDG, the data points used to select HNCs were: areas 

identified with high rates of students receiving free and reduced lunch; areas where more than 25% of 

the students served identified as being English language learners (ELLs); areas predicted to be serving 

less than 50% of their capacity based on ADE's K-3 enrollment formula; and lastly, the local education 

agencies (LEAs) in the HNCs must have earned a C or better on the State's A-F school report system. 

This yielded ADE a handful of zip codes in which early learning providers may be eligible for 

participation. Thus, much of the recruitment effort for teachers was placed upon a small number of 

potential early learning providers. Factors like geographic location and ability to pay a comparable 

salary to that of the local kindergarten teacher made it difficult for these providers. This prompted the 

ADE ECE Unit to brainstorm some potential solutions. As a result, in year three, ADE used an 

enhanced list of criteria and a scoring rubric to determine high-needs communities. To establish the 

list and rubric, ADE assembled a PDG advisory group, made up of current PDG participants and the 

PDG grant administrator. The group made a recommendation that the list include the following: 

· Previous participation in PDG, and in good standing; 

· On tribal land; 

· Can recruit a teacher with a Bachelor's degree; 

· Can recruit a teacher with an ECE or ECSE teaching certificate; 

· Located in a rural or underserved area; 

· Licensed and in good standing; 

· Already enrolled in Quality First, the state's tiered quality improvement rating system 

ADE agreed with the recommendation, and added these elements to the original set of criteria used. 

The goal was to ensure year three of PDG program all children are served in slots that meet the full 

definition of high-quality preschool programming, and our data demonstrates this was an effective 

strategy. 

 

Conclusion 

In conclusion, 2017 was a year of growth and stretch for the ADE-ECE Unit as it administered the PDG. 
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The intentional work to increase the capacity of sub-grantees to operate more independent of the 

ADE-ECE Unit was successful as we look ahead to decreased role of the state agency in the 

implementation of the PDG. The lessons learned in years one and two informed the planning for year 

three, and helped us refine our processes. Our internal and external partnerships continue to be 

critical to our delivery of services to eligible early learning providers and to their provision of highquality programming to children and their families. In year three, we continued our efforts to 

contribute to and fortify Arizona's early childhood infrastructure since it remains critical to our work 

on sustainability beyond the period of this grant. At the same time, the ADE-ECE Early Childhood 

Program Specialists worked diligently to build new relationships at the local level in each HNC. Since 

Arizona is a geographically large state, with a wide expanse between HNCs, we found that having a 

regionally-assigned ECPS has given ADE's ECE Unit a real presence at the local level, and helped 

programs truly feel supported. 
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U.S. Department of Education 

PDG Annual Performance Report 

Grant Status Form 

Explanation of Progress (524B Section A) 

Based on ED 524B OMB No. 1894-0003 Exp. 08/31/2020

Section A: Performance Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data 

(narrative) 

1. Project Objective

Grantee State: AZ PR/Award #: S419A150009

1(a) GPRA Performance Measure: The number and percentage of Eligible Children served in 

High-Quality Preschool Programs funded by the grant. Describe the State's progress in meeting 

this Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) measure based on enrollment of Eligible 

Children in High-Quality Preschool Programs funded by the grant as of December 1, 2017.

In 2017, we proposed serving 3,044 children in high-quality preschool programs funded by the 

grant. The actual number of eligible children served was 2,872. This means we served 94.3% of 

our target goal. When we wrote our original application, we based our target numbers on data 

we collected for each HNC. While we had an idea of the number of eligible children in each 

HNC, we did not accurately anticipate the number of early learning providers whom would 

decline participation in the PDG program, and we underestimated the readiness level of some 

to meet the definition of high-quality preschool programs. Thus, while we made all 3,044 slots 

available, only 2,872 were filled. As a strategy to recruit more eligible early learning providers 

in HNCs, the ADE-ECE Unit tried a different approach to determine high-needs community 

eligibility for participation in the PDG opportunity in year three. 

In years one and two of the PDG, the data points used to select HNCs were: areas identified 

with high rates of students receiving free and reduced lunch; areas where more than 25% of 

the students served identified as being English language learners (ELLs); areas predicted to be 

serving less than 50% of their capacity based on ADE's K-3 enrollment formula; and lastly, the 

local education agencies (LEAs) in the HNCs must have earned a C or better on the State's A-F 

school report system. This yielded ADE a handful of zip codes in which early learning providers 

may be eligible for participation. Thus, much of the recruitment effort for teachers was placed 

upon a small number of potential early learning providers. Factors like geographic location and 

ability to pay a comparable salary to that of the local kindergarten teacher made it difficult for 

these providers. This prompted the ADE ECE Unit to brainstorm some potential solutions. 

As a result, in year three, ADE used an enhanced list of criteria and a scoring rubric to 

determine HNCs. To establish the list and rubric, ADE assembled a PDG advisory group, made 

up of current PDG participants and the PDG grant administrator. The group made a 

recommendation that the list include the following elements: Previous participation in PDG, 

and in good standing; were located on tribal land; ability to recruit a teacher with a Bachelor's 
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degree; could recruit a teacher with an ECE or ECSE teaching certificate; is located in a rural or 

underserved area; is licensed and in good standing; and is already enrolled in Quality First, the 

state's tiered quality improvement rating system. ADE agreed with the recommendation, and 

added these elements to the original set of criteria used. The goal was to increase the number 

of eligible four-year olds served, and while we did not meet our target number, we did 

increase the number of children served by more than 500. 

Please describe, as required in Program Requirement (k)(2) in the Notice Inviting Applicants (NIA), 

how the State established policies and procedures that ensure that the percentage of Eligible Children 

with disabilities served by the High-Quality Preschool Programs is not less than either the percentage 

of four-year-old children served statewide through part B, section 619 of IDEA (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

seq.), or the current national average, whichever is greater. 

Note: The current national percentage of four year-old-children receiving services through part B, section 619 of 

IDEA is 6.4%. Source: 2012 IDEA Part B Child Count (www.ideadata.org). States should include detailed 

information on ALL structural elements.

In 2017, of the 2,872 children in the PDG program, 260 were children with disabilities. This represents 

9.1% of all children served. We were able to serve these many children with disabilities because we 

made a concerted effort to fully support sub-grantees to provide high-quality inclusionary settings for 

children. One of the key outcomes of the PDG in Arizona is to increase the number of children with 

identified specials needs receiving their services in their least restrictive environment settings. 

Therefore, sub-grantees were required to serve no less than 2 children with identified special needs 

for every 18 children whom may not have identified with special needs. Since we use a mixed-delivery 

system, there are exceptions for sites that may be small in size (i.e. a small family child care). In our 

original application, we indicated we would support sub-grantees with meeting this ambitious goal in 

two specific ways: the support of Quality First Inclusion Specialists and technical assistance. 

 

As participants in our Tiered Quality Rating Improvement System, Quality First, sub-grantees have the 

support of Inclusion Specialists and Mental Health Consultants. These are child development and 

special education specialists who provide consultation to facilitate the inclusion of children with 

special needs by offering assessment and technical assistance. Supports include on-site consultation 

and training to promote early screening activities, identify children who need follow-up assessment 

and make classroom modifications to meet the needs of children with special needs. In 2017, there 

were 67 HNCs with 127 sites in those HNCs. Of the 127 sites, 93 received Inclusion Coach Support 

services (73%) and 118 received Mental Health Consultation (93%). The sites that did not receive 

Inclusion Coach Support services and/or Mental Health Consultation were located in counties where 

recruitment of coaching staff has been difficult given their rural nature. In Year 4, recruitment efforts 

will continue. 

 

Additionally, sub-grantees are receiving technical assistance from an ADE-ECE Program Specialist 

assigned to their area. This technical assistance includes assistance needed with making modifications 
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to the environment to enable meaningful participation for all students, assistance with instructional 

strategies or modalities to enable meet the learning needs of students, and/or professional 

development on how to make accommodations or adaptations along a continuum to meet the needs 

of children with various types of disabilities and levels of severity. 

 

Additionally, in Year 3, the ADE-ECE Unit continued its work with the ECE Taskforce on Inclusion. To 

begin the work of understanding the state of early childhood inclusion in Arizona, ADE-ECE and the 

HSCO conducted an online, statewide survey that asked questions related to attitudes, beliefs, 

policies, and practices related to inclusion. The data was collected and analyzed, then prepared for 

review by the taskforce members at the first taskforce meeting. A call for a collaborative effort to find 

solutions to providing more inclusive settings for young children was answered by many: early 

learning providers in PDG HNCs, school district leaders from around the state, Head Start staff, as well 

as state agency representation and contractors who provide administrative support and direct 

services all committed to addressing the issue. 

 

To organize the taskforce, ADE-ECE provided training on the Leading by Convening model to establish 

the structure of the taskforce. As a result of using this model, the taskforce was able to create mutual 

goals, strategies, and theory of action after a series of meetings. A recorder takes notes during each of 

these meetings and every member receives a copy of the communiques. Over the course of the past 

year the group followed a process of problem identification, goal development, and strategy 

development. Goals such helping understand how to blend funding streams, increase administrator 

knowledge about the importance of an early childhood education, and increasing teacher knowledge 

of the strategies to include children in general education settings rose to the top. The group is now 

delineating and refining the strategies to accomplish these important goals. 
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Describe the State's progress in increasing the number and percentage of Eligible Children served in 

High-Quality Preschool Programs funded by the grant.

The most influential factors that contributed to our success in creating new state preschool program 

slots in 2017 are the investment we made to expand the state-level ECE infrastructure in Arizona and 

further recruitment efforts. The improvements to the ECE infrastructure included the continued work 

to improve data linkages, the cost to enroll additional sub-grantees (or to expand their participation), 

and support the continued enrollment of programs in Quality First. Also, funds were used in targeted 

ways to help programs meet the definition of high-quality in the following ways: start-up funds, 

Professional Scholarships, and professional development. 

 

For ECE infrastructure-building, in the area of data linkages, we continued using funds to support the 

continued integration of preschool data with K-12 data collected in the state longitudinal data system, 

AZDash. In 2017, this work included maintenance of the ECE landing page, the addition of data on 

early childhood special education exit rates, and data on English language learner re-classification 

rates. Additionally, ADE continued its partnership with Quality First to enroll new sub-grantees and to 

maintain year one participants in the tiered quality improvement rating system. Enrollment in Quality 

First in year one was critical as Quality First was identified as the tool of measurement Arizona would 

use to evaluate the implementation of each structural element of the definition of high-quality 

preschool programs by each sub-grantee in the HNCs. Additionally, enrollment in Quality First ensured 

sub-grantees would receive the essential supports to successfully improve quality. These supports 

include access to quality coaches, inclusion specialists, mental health consultants, and child care 

health consultants. In 2017, 77 of the 127 PDG sites in Quality First were funded solely with PDG funds 

and 50 were funded with braided funding from PDG and First Things First. 

 

A second targeted use of funds was the investment in College Professional Scholarships through First 

Things First. In our original application, we said with funding from the Preschool Development Grant 

we would ambitiously invest in College Scholarships for Early Childhood Professionals, a First Things 

First funding strategy. The intent of this evidence-informed professional development strategy is to 

provide access to higher education for the early childhood workforce working directly with, or on 

behalf of, young children birth through age five. The expected results of supporting continuing 

education and degree completion is elevating and professionalizing the field, recruiting and retaining 

a quality early childhood workforce, and supporting and increasing the quality of services provided to 

young children. In 2017, PDG funds were used to fund 340 students pursuing Bachelor's degrees or 

higher in early childhood or early childhood special education. The total number of credit hours paid 

for in 2017 was 3,926. The ADE ECE unit worked with FTF to recruit students on a pathway to an ECE 

or ECSE teaching certificate and to access the application for the scholarships through the Arizona 

Early Childhood Workforce and Professional Development Network. We counted this investment in 

scholarships as an activity to support the delivery of high-quality preschool programs to eligible 

children since research has shown us that quality often increases as the education level of the teacher 

increases. The expectation is that as teachers learn more about early childhood development or early 
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childhood special education, the more likely they are to implement practices that meet the definition 

of high-quality. 

 

A third targeted use of funds for a series of professional development events we hosted in 2017. The 

three large professional development events were: the Supporting the Young Learner with Special 

Education Needs Summit in February 2017; and the Early Learning Summer Institute in June 2017; the 

Kindergarten Transitions for All conference in October 2017; and the Family Engagement Conference 

in December 2017. All PDG sub-grantees had the opportunity to participate in these professional 

development events at no additional cost to the sub-grantees since the costs were covered by PDG to 

help them meet the definition of high-quality preschool programs. 

1(b) GPRA Performance Measure: The number and percentage of children served overall in the 

State Preschool Program. Please describe any increases or decreases in this GPRA measure

based on fall enrollment in the State Preschool Program for the 2017-18 school year.

The total number of children served overall in high-quality preschool programs funded by PDG is 

6,431. This is the sum of children served in years one, two, and three. The increase in number of 

eligible four year olds served represents an increase from 3% in year one to 6.5% in year three. We 

believe we were successful because we continued to leverage our partnership with our Early 

Childhood Development and Health Board, First Things First, and increased the number of participants 

in Quality First (QF). QF funds individualized improvements as identified through a Quality 

Improvement Plan (QIP) that is generated based on assessment from environmental rating scales and 

a tool to measure the quality of classroom interactions. Quality improvements include, but are not 

limited to, instructional skill, nurturing and responsive learning environments, knowledge and 

implementation of Arizona's continuum of early learning development standards for curriculumbuilding, and the use of assessments to improve learning outcomes. QF is the measurement system 

by which the sub-grantees in HNCs are measured as they move towards higher levels of quality, 

receiving a star rating on a scale from 1 to 5 stars. In 2017, 93 of the 127 PDG sites had public ratings; 

those without published ratings were in their first cycle of assessment and would not have their public 

ratings available until after their second cycle. Of those assessed sites, 16 were rated 2-Stars, 30 were 

rated 3-Stars, 38 were rated 4-Stars, and 9 were rated 5-Stars. 
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1(c) GPRA Performance Measure: The number and percentage of children in the High-Need 

Communities served by the grant that are ready for kindergarten as determined by the State's 

Kindergarten Entry Assessment or, if the State does not yet have a Kindergarten Entry Assessment, 

other valid and reliable means of determining school readiness.

 

In the Year 3 APR, grantees will provide disaggregated data on the school readiness of the children enrolled 

and served by the grant. This may include information collected about the children enrolled and received 

services by the grant during the 2016-17 preschool year. States may provide data from a sample of children 

(e.g., a sample being used for any evaluation).

In the Year 3 APR, grantees must describe their progress towards identifying the measures, methods, 

and data on the school readiness of children served by the Preschool Development Grant. In the 

narrative below provide the following information: 

 • The name of the assessment tool(s) and the Essential Domains of School Readiness 

measured; 

 • When the assessment tool(s) is/are given (e.g., in preschool and/or kindergarten); 

 • Whether the assessment is mandated by the State, and for which children; 

 • How long the State has been using the assessment tool(s); 

 • Whether the assessment tool(s) is/are implemented throughout the High-Need Community 

and/or Statewide; 

 • Whether the State provides or will provide training for local staff administering the assessment. 

If so, describe the requirements including processes to ensure continued reliability in the 

administration of the measure; 

 • If school readiness data is reported to the State, describe when and how data are reported. 

Also, please describe, if applicable: 

 • The State's definition of "school readiness;" 

 • Disaggregated information about children's school readiness on individual domains or 

subsets of the measure; 

 • School readiness data for children disaggregated by subgroup (e.g., students who are 

American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian, not Pacific Islander; Native Hawaiian/other 

Pacific Islander; Black or African American; Hispanic/Latino; White, not Hispanic; two or 

more races; with disabilities; English learners; and from any other subgroups the state 

determines appropriate; and 

 • How the State will continue to make progress in meeting this GPRA measure. 

Determining Readiness 

Arizona's Kindergarten Entry Assessment (KEA) tool was just approved for use by the Arizona State 

Board of Education in August 2017. Thus, KEA data is not yet available. However, in years one, two, 

and three of the grant, all PDG students were enrolled in Teaching Strategies GOLD --the statewide 

required ongoing progress monitoring tool for preschool. Through an extensive, collaborative process 

Arizona determined its common definition of school readiness is: “Arizona's young children will 

demonstrate school readiness through the Essential Domains of Language and Literacy development, 

Cognition and General Knowledge (including early mathematics and early scientific development), 

Approaches to Learning (curiosity, initiative, persistence, creativity, problem-solving, and confidence), 

Physical Well-Being and Motor Development and Self-Regulation of attention and emotion. 

Intentional development of skills and knowledge in these domains establishes a critical foundation for 
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children to engage in and benefit from opportunities to learn.” Prior to approval of a KEA by the State 

Board of Education, a significant amount of work was done to develop an appropriate tool. Arizona 

participated in the North Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment Consortium to help develop a valid and 

reliable Kindergarten Developmental Inventory (KDI) --Arizona's kindergarten entrance assessment. 

To determine the number and percentage of children in the HNCs ready for kindergarten, we 

extracted Teaching Strategies GOLD (TSG) data from all portfolios for those children enrolled in PDG in 

the 2016-17 school year. In the school year 2016-17, there were 2,872 children in slots funded by 

PDG. Of those enrolled children, 2,128 had TSG portfolios for ongoing progress monitoring. We 

determined 1,938 children (91.1%) were ready for kindergarten. To determine “readiness,” we used 

the Teaching Strategies Gold Snapshot Report. From the report we extracted the number of children 

who were “meeting or exceeding” age-level expectations upon the final reporting point for the school 

year. We have an alignment of the TSG objectives to our early learning standards which are the 

standards we use for a child upon exiting preschool and entering kindergarten. If the child is meeting 

or exceeding the TSG objectives in the 4-year old color band, then we can confidently say the child is 

meeting or exceeding Arizona's early learning standards. 

 

In TSG, data is collected in six areas of learning: Social Emotional; Physical; Language; Literacy; 

Cognitive; and Mathematics. The following is the number of children (of the 2,128) who were 

“meeting or exceeding” age-level expectations upon the final reporting point of the year in each area 

of learning: 

• Social Emotional: 2,050 

• Physical: 2,039 

• Language: 1,959 

• Cognitive: 2,059 

• Literacy: 2,087 

• Mathematics: 1,905 

In 2017, as an enhanced part of Arizona's participation in the North Carolina Consortium, ADE 

continued its partnership with SRI International, BUILD, and Child Trends to do three main things: 

validate, and revise as needed, the assessment to establish a reliable, valid instructionally useful 

assessment tool; help develop and implement comprehensive professional development for the 

assessment; and work to develop a long-term, individualized K-3 assessment implementation plan. 

 

Assessments and Instruments 

In 2017, sub-grantees were required to assess children's growth and development in alignment with 

the AzELS and the five essential domains of school readiness through a variety of integrated methods, 

including screenings, observational records, work samples, and documentation provided by families. 

Teaching Strategies Gold was approved as a valid and reliable assessment by Arizona's State Board of 

Education in 2010 for use in all preschool education programs, including early childhood special 
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education, and has been adopted by Arizona Head Start programs. 

Training and Test Quality 

In 2017, ADE-ECE worked with TSG staff to provide six Introduction to Teaching Strategies GOLD twoday trainings for teachers, and two Teaching Strategies GOLD for Administrators two-day trainings. In 

addition, other professional development opportunities on the elements of comprehensive 

assessment systems were made available to all PDG sub-grantees.

 

Data and Usage 

Data is collected on Teaching Strategies GOLD for 38 objectives in 10 learning areas: social-emotional, 

physical, cognitive, literacy, language, mathematics, social studies, science and technology, the arts, 

and English language acquisition. These data points align to Arizona's definition of “school readiness.” 

A key accomplishment of the PDG in year one was use of funds to support the integration of 

preschool data gathered through Teaching Strategies GOLD (TSG) into the Arizona Department of 

Education's State Longitudinal Data System, AZDash. In our original application, we said our 

participation in AZDash would enable reporting and analysis by the HNCs that can help identify 

achievement gaps, pinpoint initiatives that best promote positive outcomes, and provide data for 

longitudinal analysis. 

 

Plans for Year 4 Reporting 

We anticipate having data from the KDI available in Year 4. Since this will be a transitional year for us, 

and we will be setting a baseline, we will continue to use data collected through Teaching Strategies 

GOLD to determine children's readiness for kindergarten. This aligns with Arizona's move to recognize 

the individuality of each learner through its focused implementation of the Arizona Multi-tier System 

of Supports (MTSS). ADE is moving forward with vision and leadership provided from multiple 

divisions within the department to begin supporting MTSS. MTSS is a coherent continuum of systemwide, data-based problem solving practices supporting a rapid response to the academic and 

behavioral needs for all students; gifted, general, remedial, and special education. This 

comprehensive system of supports includes assessments (universal screening, diagnostic, progress 

monitoring, formative, and outcome), research-based instruction, and interventions. This instruction/

intervention is delivered across multiple tiers dependent on the individual student needs identified by 

student outcome data. 
ED 524B Page 14 of 45

For Preschool Development Grants - Development Grants States ONLY: 

1(d) GPRA Performance Measure: The number of States that collect and analyze data on State 

Preschool Program quality, including the structural elements of quality specified in the 

definition of High-Quality Preschool Programs.

In our original application, we indicated the use of Arizona's early learning document, the Program 

Guidelines for High-quality Early Education: Birth through Kindergarten (PGHQ) would be used to 

identify and outline the elements of high-quality, while Arizona's TQRIS system, Quality First (QF), 

would use to measure where programs are in implementing the essential standards and indicators of 

high-quality preschool programs. The PGHQ delineate quality and provide a set of indicators that 

concretely describe what a program will look like when providing comprehensive experiences that 

nurture the whole child and encourages them to engage with responsive, nurturing adults who 

promote children's optimal development when they are not with their families. These standards meet 

the definition of a “High-Quality Preschool Program,” indicated in the grant application guidelines. Key 

program structures that are evaluated by QF include: safe, enriching environments; positive 

interactions between children and adults that enhance instructional practices; highly qualified early 

childhood educators; small class sizes; and a comprehensive curriculum that incorporates ongoing, 

developmentally appropriate child assessment and is aligned with the PGHQ. 

 

To ensure each early learning provider in our identified HNCs was properly equipped with knowledge 

of the PGHQ, we made available in-person professional development on the PGHQ, as well as hosted 

and recorded a webinar on the introduction to the PGHQ document. The recorded webinar was then 

made available to all PDG participants. In 2017, we provided additional opportunities for PDG subgrantees to receive professional development on the PGHQ at two statewide conferences. 

 

Also, all sub-grantees were required to participate in ADE's Early Childhood Quality Improvement 

Practices (ECQUIP) process to ensure community collaboration on the implementation of high-quality 

preschool programming is taking place. This is also the way that the sub-grantees will link to the local 

education agency (LEA) in their HNCs. Through a program's participation in the ECQUIP process, the 

QF process will be augmented, resulting in the achievement of higher quality. 

 

The ECQUIP was developed by the Early Childhood Education unit of ADE-ECE as a means to assure 

quality, accountability, and collaboration among schools receiving early childhood funding through 

ADE. There are two parts to the ECQUIP Process: 

1. An annual self-assessment of the early childhood program, and 

2. An ECQUIP validation visit made by ECE/ADE. 

 

The ADE-ECE unit is able to collect data on each of the structural elements of quality through the 

submission of a program's Quality Enhancement Plan, which is a requirement of the ECQUIP process. 

After completing their annual self-assessments, sub-grantees submit their enhancement plans on the 

Arizona Local Education Agency Tracker (ALEAT). The ADE-ECPS is then able to review the 
ED 524B Page 15 of 45

enhancement plan online, and use as a guidance document for the on-site validation visit. During the 

on-site validation visit, the ADE-ECPS reviews the sub-grantees evidence or documentation for the 

indicators of quality and provides technical assistance as needed. The use of ALEAT to collect data is 

important as it allows for state level analysis of what is happening at the local level. This enables the 

ADE ECE unit to determine what may be areas of strength so as to scale up best practices, as well as to 

determine trending areas of challenges or barriers that may need to be addressed from the state 

level. 
ED 524B Page 16 of 45

Section A: Part B - Selection Criteria 

In this section of the APR, States will report on their progress addressing the Preschool Development Grant's 

selection criteria. The State should read the questions carefully and report in the narrative fields directly below the 

questions. Please include any data, data notes or formulas to help the readers understand the State's narrative 

responses.

1. Ensuring Quality in Preschool Programs (Selection Criteria “C” of the application) 

Describe the State's use of funds received over the grant period for State Preschool Program 

infrastructure and quality improvements, including the State's efforts to implement a system of 

monitoring and support at the State level toward activities such as those described in Section (C)(1)(ak) of the NIA. 

 

Note: States will report amounts and percentage of funds for State Preschool Program infrastructure 

and High-Quality Preschool Programs in the Competitive Preference Priority 3 Chart.

The ADE ECE compliance and validation monitoring system includes multiple ways for grant partners 

to demonstrate compliance and validate quality improvements. The monitoring protocol which 

described all of the implementation requirements, was provided to sub-granted programs at the start 

of their funding period. Additional guidance was also included in the 2017 PDG Guidance Manual as a 

support for programs to demonstrate compliance and self-validate their quality improvement efforts 

before a monitoring visit with ADE ECE. 

 

The monitoring process is a team approach in collaboration with grant partners. A strengths-based, 

comprehensive Early Childhood Quality Improvement Practices (ECQUIP) process is used to evaluate 

the implementation of the PGHQ and to support sub-grantees through technical assistance that 

addresses specific issues and concerns. The PGHQ, as indicated in our original application, delineates 

each standard area that meets the twelve elements of a high quality preschool program as outlined in 

the notice of intent to apply. Sub-grantees are required to actively participate in the ECQUIP process 

which involves the completion of a rubric for self-assessment and a compliance visit conducted by 

ADE/ECE. 

 

The ECQUIP was developed by the Early Childhood Education Section of ADE ECE as a means to assure 

quality, accountability, and collaboration among schools receiving early childhood funding through 

ADE. There are two parts to the ECQUIP Process: 

1. An annual self-assessment of the early childhood program, and 

2. An ECQUIP validation visit made by ECE/ADE 

ECQUIP is intended to be used as a self-evaluation and planning process for on-going quality 

improvements at the local level. ECQUIP provides programs with a framework for reflection and 

consideration of quality practices. The guidelines for conducting an ECQUIP process include the 

creation of an implementation plan that documents continued improvement efforts. The design of 

each program's ECQUIP self-assessment is left to the local administration. There are four standards in 

ECQUIP: 
ED 524B Page 17 of 45

• Standard 1: School and District Leadership 

• Standard 2: Curriculum, Instruction, and Professional Development 

• Standard 3: Classroom and School Assessments 

• Standard 4: School Culture, Climate, and Communication 

These four standards, and the indicators of each standard, align to the structural elements of quality 

outlined in the PDG's selection criteria. The following steps represent how a local ECQUIP process 

looks in implementation: 

 

Step 1 ~ Assemble Team. The first step in the ECQUIP process is to convene an early childhood 

education team. Each early childhood program determines locally who is to participate on the ECQUIP 

team. At the minimum, a team should consider administrative members from the local LEA (Early 

Childhood Special Education, Title I preschool representative, principal, coordinators, etc.), 

instructional members (preschool, kindergarten, first through third grade, Reading First coach and 

librarians), and community partners (Head Start, local child care provider, district community 

education, tribal partner, home visitors, Part C provider, community representative, parents, and QF 

participants). Together, the team works to design a self-assessment process that meets the needs of 

the program as a whole. 

 

Step 2 ~ Choose a Standard for Improvement. The ECQUIP team completes a self-assessment using 

the ECQUIP Standards and Rubrics document, provided by the ADE/ECE. Members identify strengths 

and needs for each standard and identify activities for improvement for each standard. Quality 

indicators are included with each standard to assist teams in identifying program needs and areas for 

improvement. The ECQUIP team should also review any QF Improvement Plans and LEA Literacy Plans 

as part of this step. 

 

Step 3 ~ Choose a Tool. Once the team has determined the standard for self-assessment, ADE/ECE 

strongly recommends the group augment the existing information related to the standard with data 

obtained from tools designed specifically for program and organizational assessment purposes. While 

not required, this can provide invaluable information for the team's quality improvement efforts. 

 

Step 4 ~ Training. Each member of the ECQUIP team and other related personnel should have the 

opportunity to receive training and information about ECQUIP, the self-assessment process, tools 

chosen, and the QF System. With funding from the grant, regional training on the ECQUIP is provided 

in each HNC in year one of the grant. 

 

Step 5 ~ Implementation of tool. Each team determines the breadth and depth of administration of 

the tools used in order to gather data useful to the team. All participating members should have a 

working knowledge of any local tools utilized, the ECQUIP rubric, the QF Improvement plans, as well 

as LEA Literacy Plans. Additionally, members should know the standards of quality as outlined in the 

PGHQ that meet, at minimum, the twelve elements of high quality preschool programming. 

 
ED 524B Page 18 of 45

Step 6 ~ Review area identified for improvement Based on the results of any formal or informal 

assessments, QF assessments and Improvement Plan, and Title I improvement plans or local literacy 

plans, the team makes decisions related to the program's needs and determines future direction of 

the improvement process. 

 

Step 7 ~ Determine Strategies for Improvement and Create Enhancement Plan. Using the information 

gathered through the ECQUIP, the team completes a Quality Enhancement Plan and submits it to 

ADE/ECE through the Arizona LEA Tracker (ALEAT) system. The intent of the Quality Enhancement 

Plan is to assist ECQUIP teams with their long range planning for continuous quality improvement. The 

Quality Enhancement plans are monitored annually by the ADE ECPS through a desk review and when 

applicable, an on-site visit. 

 

Step 8 ~ Reporting. Each LEA reports on the improvements generated through the HNC's ECQUIP 

process each year on their Quality Enhancement Plan via the ALEAT and reviewed annually by staff. 

 

In 2017, the ADE ECE unit provided professional development to the grant partners on the ECQUIP 

process to ensure all PDG participants understood the process. PDG funds were used to pay for the 

travel of the ADE ECPS to conduct ECQUIP professional development, as well as to conduct on-site 

technical assistance. Technical assistance focused on strengthening the capacity of local PDG 

programs to collaborate in conducting the ECQUIP process. As a result, all PDG sub-grantees received 

needed training and were able to assemble their ECQUIP teams to engage in the ECQUIP process. In 

addition to this comprehensive approach to monitoring to ensure implementation and support at the 

State level, the ADE-ECE Unit utilizes a fiscal monitoring process to ensure appropriate fiscal 

soundness is maintained. 

 

In Year 3, the ADE-ECE Unit conducted fiscal reviews of the implementation of PDG sub-grants by 

seven sub-grantees (ten percent of all sub-grantees). The goal of the fiscal monitoring is to support 

PDG programs as they work to be good financial stewards and to ensure compliance with Federal and 

State requirements. The ADE-ECE staff used the ADE Grants Management System, and documents 

and reports submitted by the PDG sub-grantees to conduct the reviews. The desk review included: 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's budget, current expenditures, and amendments on the ADE 

Grants Management System. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's monthly cash reimbursement requests. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's monthly budget and expenditure data. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's monthly report to the ADE-ECE staff of the sub-grantee's 

expenditures-to-date, including analysis of the percentage of funds expended vs awarded. 

• Reviewing time and effort documentation for staff working 100% on PDG grant, or staff working 

a percentage of their time on multiple grants/projects. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's semi-annual expenditure and completion reports. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's supporting documentation of payroll expenditures such as 

signed staff contracts and personnel documents, fingerprint cards, payroll journals and 
ED 524B Page 19 of 45

timesheets, time and effort documentation, and substitute teacher timesheets and contracts. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's supporting documentation of non-payroll expenditures such as 

purchase orders and requisition documents, packing slips, paid invoices, zero-balance receipts 

with itemized details, copies of checks/ warrants, and contracts with third-party service 

providers. 

• Reviewing the PDG sub-grantee's proposals and General Statement of Assurance (GSA). 

After completing the seven fiscal monitoring visits, only one finding was identified and corrected 

immediately by the sub-recipient. 

2. Expanding High-Quality Preschool Programs in Each High-Need Community (Selection 

Criteria D of application) 

 

Describe the progress the State has made during the reporting year to implement and sustain 

voluntary high quality preschool programs for eligible children in two or more High-Need Communities 

(Selection Criteria D(4) of the application) that include ALL structural elements listed below that are 

included in the definition of High-Quality Preschool Programs. States should include detailed 

information on ALL structural elements.

High staff qualifications, including a teacher with a bachelor's degree in early childhood 

education or a bachelor's degree in any field with a State-approved alternative pathway, 

which may include coursework, clinical practice, and evidence of knowledge of content and 

pedagogy relating to early childhood, and teaching assistants with appropriate credentials;

✔

✔ High-quality professional development for all staff; 

✔ A child-to-instructional staff ratio of no more than 10 to 1;

✔ A class size of no more than 20 with, at a minimum, one teacher with high staff qualifications;

✔ A Full-Day program;

Inclusion of children with disabilities to ensure access to and full participation in all 

opportunities; ✔

Developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and evidencebased curricula, and learning environments that are aligned with the State Early Learning and 

Development Standards, for at least the year prior to kindergarten entry;

✔

Individualized accommodations and supports so that all children can access and participate 

fully in learning activities; ✔

✔ Instructional staff salaries that are comparable to the salaries of local K-12 instructional staff;
ED 524B Page 20 of 45

✔ Program evaluation to ensure continuous improvement;

On-site or accessible Comprehensive Services for children and community partnerships that 

promote families access to services that support their children's learning and development; 

and

✔

✔ Evidence-based health and safety standards.
ED 524B Page 21 of 45

Please describe the progress the State has made in establishing High-Quality Preschool Programs 

that include ALL structural elements listed above that are evidence-based and nationally recognized 

as important for ensuring program quality.

All of the structural elements of high-quality listed were addressed in our informational and 

orientation meetings prior to the grant application process. Each prospective sub-grantee used a 

worksheet to determine how they could participate with or without changes. The elements are also 

listed in the "Preschool Development Grant Guidance Manual,” which is update annually to reflect 

any changes needed based on lessons learned at the end of each year. Also each HNC has an Early 

Childhood Program Specialist (ECPS) that works with them to assist them in meeting the requirements 

of the grant. The ADE-ECE ECPS works directly with the coordinator or director of the sub-grantee 

program to ensure that all of the elements of quality are being met. The ADE-ECE ECPS also works 

with the HNC ECQUIP Team to provide any technical assistance, professional development or 

resources that are needed to accomplish the tasks of the grant. Detailed below is the progress we 

have made in each area. 

 

• High staff qualifications, including a teacher with a bachelor's degree in early childhood 

education or a bachelor's degree in any field with a State-approved alternative pathway, 

which may include coursework, clinical practice, and evidence of knowledge of content and 

pedagogy relating to early childhood, and teaching assistants with appropriate credentials; 

Administration of this grant funding falls under certain statutory requirements. Specifically, any entity 

receiving the Preschool Development Grant are bound by Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-612 

which requires either a provisional or standard early childhood education certificate for those 

individuals teaching in early childhood education programs. Guidance was provided in our original 

PDG application. Those staff already with an ECE or ECSE certification or endorsement received 

weighted points on ADE's rubric for funding allocations. In Arizona, there is a significant teacher 

shortage, particularly in the early grades. Thus, not all staff met the high-quality teacher qualification 

in 2016, but we continued to work on our goal to improve the quality of programming through the 

attainment of certification by the end of the grant period. In this instance, an Education Attainment 

Plan must be submitted for ADE approval. Once submitted, the Education Attainment Plan was 

reviewed for approval. In order to obtain approval a Curriculum Check Sheet issued by an Institute of 

Higher Education must be submitted with the plan. This Education Attainment Plan must be updated 

and submitted by programs to ADE/ECE for approval annually. An example of the attainment plan was 

included in our original application. Sub-grantees must make and document every effort for 

recruitment of most highly qualified staff. During onsite compliance monitoring, conducted each year, 

evidence of staff qualifications is reviewed and validated. 

 

In our original application, we wrote we would invest in College Scholarships for Early Childhood 

Professionals with funding from the PDG, with the expected results of supporting continuing 
ED 524B Page 22 of 45

education and degree completion to elevate and professionalize the field, and to assist with recruiting 

and retaining a quality early childhood workforce, and supporting and increasing the quality of 

services provided to young children. The intent of this evidence-informed professional development 

strategy is to provide access to higher education for the early childhood workforce working directly 

with, or on behalf of, young children birth through age five who already have their AA and are ready 

to continue with their BA and ECE Certification. 

 

• High-quality professional development for all staff; 

All programs participating in PDG must have their staff enrolled in the "Arizona Early Childhood 

Workforce Registry" (Registry). The Registry is one component of the Arizona Early Childhood Career 

and Professional Development Network, which can be found at www.azearlychildhood.org.Through 

the Registry, staff are able to locate and register for accepted professional development opportunities 

made available by other early childhood professionals, training organizations, pre-service and inservice professional development providers, the Department of Education, institutes of higher 

education, etc. The administrative home of the Registry ensures that the professional development 

opportunities and facilitators meet a certain level of quality. All of the regionally-assigned ADE-ECE 

ECPS are registered facilitators on the Registry and the professional development opportunities 

provided by ADE/ECE are listed on the Registry. Additionally, ADE/ECE conducted a survey of the PDG 

HNCs to get an idea of what professional development may be needed within each HNC. 

Subsequently, each HNC wrote a professional development growth plan based on the needs of their 

staff and the community. In 2016, during compliance monitoring, the ADE ECPS reviewed membership 

identification numbers for sub-grantees' instructional staff. In 2017, ADE-ECE made four large 

conferences available at no additional cost to all PDG sub-grantees to support high-quality 

professional development on a variety of topics. 

 

• A child-to-instructional staff ratio of no more than 10 to 1; A class size of no more than 20 

with, at a minimum, one teacher with high staff qualifications;

Although Code R9-5-404 of Arizona's Child Care Licensure Regulations establishes a 1:15 teacher to 

student ratio for 4-year old children, the Program Guidelines for High Quality (PGHQ) establishes a 

higher level of quality as a 1:10 teacher-to-child ratio for 4-year old children. The PGHQ also 

recognizes that these ratios may be lowered based on the needs of children with disabilities in order 

to ensure appropriate, meaningful inclusionary practices are being implemented. In addition, the 

PGHQ establishes the group size maximum to be 20 children enrolled per group of 4-year olds. In 

2017, ADE closely monitored ratios and group sizes of programs under this grant. Sub-grantees were 

required to maintain ratio and class size during funding of PDG hours or risk losing funding. During this 

report period no violations of this child-to-instructional staff ratio were observed or reported. 

 

• A Full-Day program; 

Sub-grantees operating under this funding are required to enroll children for a minimum number of 
ED 524B Page 23 of 45

hours per day, a minimum number of days per week and for a minimum number of program days per 

year. Program services must be provided for 9 to 10 months and outlined in the sub-grantees 

proposal. The school year should align with the K-3 calendar. In 2017, children were enrolled in full 

day or part day of service based on the following definitions and requirements: 

· A full day of service for children is defined as a minimum of 4 days a week, 6 hours per day for a total 

of at least 24 hours per week. 

· A part day of service for children may be offered to extend programs such as Head Start from 

funding half day slots to full day slots. 

 

• Inclusion of children with disabilities to ensure access to and full participation in all 

opportunities; 

One of the outcomes of the PDG is to increase the number of children with identified specials needs 

receiving their services in their least restrictive environment settings. Therefore, sub-grantees are 

required to serve no less than 2 children with identified special needs for every 18 children whom 

may not have identified with special needs. In our original application, we indicated we would support 

sub-grantees with meeting this ambitious goal in two specific ways: the support of Quality First 

Inclusion Specialists and technical assistance. 

As participants in our Tiered Quality Rating Improvement System, Quality First, sub-grantees have the 

support of Inclusion Specialists. These are child development and special education specialists who 

provide consultation to facilitate the inclusion of children with special needs by offering assessment 

and technical assistance. Supports include onsite consultation and training to promote early screening 

activities, identify children who need follow-up assessment and make classroom modifications to 

meet the needs of children with special needs. 

 

Additionally, sub-grantees are receiving technical assistance from an ADE-ECE ECPS assigned to their 

area. This technical assistance includes assistance needed with making modifications to the 

environment to enable meaningful participation for all students, assistance with instructional 

strategies or modalities to enable meet the learning needs of students, and/or professional 

development on how to make accommodations or adaptations along a continuum to meet the needs 

of children with various types of disabilities and levels of severity. 

 

• Developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and evidencebased curricula, and learning environments that are aligned with the State Early Learning and 

Development Standards, for at least the year prior to kindergarten entry; 

As part of the PDG, sub-grantees have received technical assistance on program practices that include 

developmentally appropriate practices, curriculum, and environment. At the initial PDG orientation 

meetings, representatives from each sub-grantee were given copies of the documents used by ADEECE including: Program Guidelines for High Quality Early Education: Birth through Kindergarten 

(PGHQ), Arizona's Infant and Toddler Developmental Guidelines (I/TDG), Arizona Early Learning 
ED 524B Page 24 of 45

Standards (AzELS), the Early Childhood Quality Improvement Practices (ECQUIP), and the Preschool 

Development Grant Guidance Manual (PDGGM). The PGHQ outlines what a quality program should 

look like, specifically Guideline 3.0 Program Practices: Curriculum, Environment, and Child 

Assessment, outlines what a program should be doing to provide high quality programming for 

children. The PGHQ addresses the twelve elements of high quality preschool program so receipt of 

the PGHQ indicates receipt of the twelve elements of high quality preschool program. As the grant 

progresses, directors and coordinators will be provided professional development regarding the 

PGHQ, with an emphasis on the twelve elements of high quality preschool programming The 

Introduction to the Program Guidelines professional development module has been recorded as a 

webinar so that those that have not already attended an introduction to the document can easily 

access the module. 

 

Additionally, each sub-grantee is enrolled in Quality First. As a program in Quality First, each subgrantee has a coach that is also providing technical assistance in preparation for the Early Childhood 

Environmental Rating Scale-Revised and Classroom Assessment Scoring System assessments. These 

tools are used as quality measurement instruments. In addition to a Quality First coach, each subgrantee has access to other professional supports through the TQRIS system such as inclusion 

coaches, mental health consultants, and health consultants. The ADE ECPS are also available to offer 

technical assistance and professional development to the director and staff in each program. 

 

• Individualized accommodations and supports so that all children can access and participate 

fully in learning activities; 

All sub-grantees were required to enroll their students on Teaching Strategies GOLD. This valid and 

reliable instrument is used to conduct on-going progress monitoring to continuously assess children's 

growth and development. The data collected from the tool guides teacher's lesson planning and 

grouping to meet the needs of each child in the classroom. In addition, this aligns with Arizona's use 

of the Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS) approach to individualizing instruction and support for 

each student. MTSS requires those adults working with children to analyze various forms of data to 

provide support and intervention for all children as needed. This data may be as reported by parents 

or students, anecdotal, observational, formative, or summative. 

 

• Instructional staff salaries that are comparable to the salaries of local K-12 instructional staff; 

During each PDG informational and orientation meetings, participants were informed of this 

requirement of the grant. Local school districts were asked to share the salary scale for their 

kindergarten teachers. In addition, it was included in the PDG Guidance Manual: “As Arizona works to 

create a specialized workforce that has a Teaching Certificate through the ADE, it is expected that 

those professionals be paid a wage comparable to the Kindergarten teacher with the same 

certification requirements. Improved expertise and compensatory pay in preschool classrooms will 

result in improved retention rates of highly effective teachers and continuity of care for young 

children enrolled in early care and education programs. Additionally, in ECE classrooms where 
ED 524B Page 25 of 45

instructional support staff play such a critical role engaging students, it is necessary to improve their 

educational attainment level; thus requiring commensurate levels of pay. It is expected that the 

preschool instructional aids salary mirror that of a K-12 instructional support staff.” When programs 

filled out their grant applications through our Grants Management System, they had to list salaries of 

staff. The ADE ECPS reviewed the grants to make sure that programs were following the 

compensation requirement. 

 

To ensure the salaries of the PDG instructional staff matched that of the K-12 instructional staff, the 

ADE ECPS reviewed the average salaries of the kindergarten teachers in the HNCS (as provided on the 

district websites) and compared them to the salaries of the PDG instructional staff. During on-site 

compliance monitoring, this data was validated. A chief factor that is considered when reviewing the 

salaries is the level of education of the instructor. Once the PDG instructional staff member's 

education mirrors that of the district's kindergarten teacher, their salaries must be comparable. In 

2017, during compliance monitoring for each PDG sub-grantee, salaries of the PDG teacher(s) was 

reviewed and validated. 

 

• Program evaluation to ensure continuous improvement; 

Each sub-grantee was required to enroll in Quality First. Through Quality First. Each sub-grantee that 

had not received a star rating prior to PDG participation was assessed using ECERS-R and CLASS. At 

this time, all sub-grantees have enrolled in Quality First and received their visits from coaches. They 

were notified of their expected dates for the ECERS-R and CLASS assessments soon after their initial 

visits. Please note that a program must have receive their ECERS-R assessment and score (indicating 

they had passed and could move on to the next phase) before they continued on to CLASS 

assessment. 

 

In addition, the ADE-ECE ECPS conducted the ADE Early Childhood Quality Improvement Practices 

(ECQUIP) monitoring. During this reporting period, programs received professional development on 

the ECQUIP process and received a webinar on the PDG-specific indicators for monitoring. The ADEECE ECPS worked with their programs to prepare them for the monitoring by ensuring the subgrantees had the monitoring protocol in advance, as well as the scheduled date and time of the 

monitoring visit. The monitoring tool for the PDG-specific indicators included all of the requirements 

for the grant that the sub-grantees are responsible for. All sub-grantees were monitored for 

compliance. Any areas of non-compliance initiated an action plan and a follow up visit. 

 

• On-site or accessible Comprehensive Services for children and community partnerships that 

promote families access to services that support their children's learning and development; 

and 

In Arizona, a student's placement in her/his least restrictive environment, child find, and family 

engagement are required comprehensive services. The ADE-ECPS work closely with each sub-grantee 

to provide technical assistance in completing the requested tasks. All sub-grantees have received 
ED 524B Page 26 of 45

professional development on least restrictive environments and child find. The local school district in 

each HNC has assisted programs with these services. All sub-grantees received a "Child Find Analysis" 

template to be used to evaluate their child find system. Sub-grantees are required to upload this 

document to the ADE Arizona Local Education Agency Tracker (ALEAT) system. By uploading to the 

ALEAT system, the ADE-ECPS was able to review the analysis and provide additional technical 

assistance and professional development as needed. 

 

For other comprehensive services, each HNC is required to look at the needs of their local families and 

communities to determine what they need to provide. They are highly encouraged to be a part of the 

local First Things First Regional Partnerships Councils to obtain additional resources. In 2016, during 

on-site monitoring visits, the ADE-ECPS reviewed sub-grantees' documentation of the comprehensive 

services they offer in their HNCs. 

 

• Evidence-based health and safety standards. 

Sub-grantees were required to enroll and participate in the Arizona Department of Health Services 

Empower Program. By enrolling in Empower, the sub-grantees pledged to adopt the ten standards 

that encourage active play, practice sun safety, support healthy eating, promote good oral health 

habits, prevent exposure to second-and third-hand smoke, and provide staff three hours of 

professional development on Empower topics. To demonstrate participation, sub-grantees wrote 

policies for each of the ten standards as a statement of their intent or commitment to each standard. 

The benefits of being an Empower program include; reduced licensing fees, state-issued Empower 

facility designation, an Empower Pack of ready-to-use resources, and an Empower Guidebook. The 

Empower Guidebook provides information on each of the standards and sample policies for centers to 

use or to adapt. A link to the guidebook was included in our original application. In 2016, the ADEECPS reviewed each sub-grantee's standards during on-site monitoring visits and provided technical 

assistance as needed in writing the policies for the Empower standards. 

 

In addition, each program is required to be licensed and be in good standing with licensing. The 

licensing standards are based on safety. Sub-grantees are required to use the Program Guidelines for 

High Quality, specifically Program Guidelines 2.4 (Daily schedules and routines effectively ensure 

children's health and safety throughout each program day.), 6.1 (The program will assess and meet 

children's general health status and developmental needs.), 6.2 (The parent education portion of the 

program includes a component on children's health, nutrition, and well-being by supporting families 

with information.), 6.3 (A variety of nutritious, appealing and high quality meals and snacks are 

provided each day). 

 

n 2017, sub-grantees in each HNC continued their work on the grant scope of work. In the scope of 

work, the expectations of the work for the HNCs was delineated and HNCs were held accountable for 

the completion of targeted objectives, projects, and activities. Each HNC developed their own local 

community of practice (COP) and the ADE ECE Unit convened a state level COP. For the state level 
ED 524B Page 27 of 45

COP, each HNC identified at least one member to represent the HNC at state level COP meetings. The 

intent and purpose of the state level COP was to serve as an opportunity for HNC members to 

regularly network and work collaboratively with one another on issues that may be common to the 

group. Through this group, consistent work on implementing high-quality preschool programs for 

eligible children was able to be accomplished in each of the HNCs. Each component below was 

addressed: 

1. Early Learning and Development Standards 

In 2017, all sub-grantees in each HNC were able to request professional development on any of the 

documents in Arizona's continuum of early learning documents: Infant Toddler Developmental 

Guidelines, the Arizona Early Learning Standards, and the Program Guidelines for High-Quality 

Education: Birth through Kindergarten. Additionally, sub-grantees could elect to receive professional 

development on any of the other topics offered in the catalogue of professional development offered 

by the ADE ECE unit. 

 

2. Program Standards that are consistent with a high-quality preschool program 

In 2017, all sub-grantees in each HNC received professional development on the Program Guidelines 

for High-Quality: Birth through Kindergarten, either face-to-face or through a webinar. The webinar 

was recorded so it could be easily accessed in the future by sub-grantees. 

 

3. Programs for children with disabilities and English learners, including workforce development for 

support of those programs 

An important aspect of ensuring smooth transitions for children and families receiving services under 

Part C to services under Part B is the opportunity for professionals in both agencies (AzEIP and ADE), 

as well as members of other agencies in Arizona's ECE system, to meet annually at an early childhood 

special education (ECSE) conference. In February 2017, with funding from the grant, this joint summit 

was organized to bring in national and local presenters to provide high-quality professional 

development that meets the needs of the ECE/ECSE professional community. Topics addressed at this 

summit included transitions to and from the various ECE programs, family support and engagement in 

all levels of decision-making on behalf of young children, strategies for early literacy with infants and 

toddlers, infant mental health, and school-readiness. All PDG sub-grantees in each HNC had the 

opportunity to attend this summit at no additional cost. 

 

4. Methods to determine the availability of high-quality preschool programs, including private and 

faith-based providers and Head Start programs 

In 2017, all sub-grantees in each HNC were required to participate in their local education agency's 

Early Childhood Quality Improvement Practices (ECQUIP) process. The first step of the ECQUIP process 

is for the LEA to assemble a team and that team should include representatives of their community 

partners including private child care providers, faith-based providers, and Head Start programs. 

Through this collaborative process sub-grantees were able to meet with their local partners to 

determine the availability of high-quality preschool programs, or to determine what steps would need 

to be taken to make those programs available to more eligible children. 
ED 524B Page 28 of 45

 

5. Preschool teacher education and inclusion of early childhood education and development in 

teacher certification and/or requirements for licensure 

Administration of this grant funding falls under certain statutory requirements. Specifically, any entity 

receiving the Preschool Development Grant are bound by Arizona Administrative Code R7-2-612 

which requires either a provisional or standard early childhood education certificate for those 

individuals teaching in early childhood education programs. Guidance was provided in our original 

PDG application. Those staff already with an ECE or ECSE certification or endorsement received 

weighted points on ADE's rubric for funding allocations. In Arizona, there is a significant teacher 

shortage, particularly in the early grades. Thus, not all staff met the high-quality teacher qualification 

in 2016, but we continued to work on our goal to improve the quality of programming through the 

attainment of certification by the end of the grant period. In this instance, an Education Attainment 

Plan must be submitted for ADE approval. Once submitted, the Education Attainment Plan was 

reviewed for approval. In order to obtain approval, a Curriculum Check Sheet issued by an Institute of 

Higher Education had to be submitted with the plan. This Education Attainment Plan is updated and 

submitted by programs to ADE/ECE for approval annually. An example of the attainment plan was 

included in our original application. Sub-grantees must make and document every effort for 

recruitment of most highly qualified staff. 

 

6. Improvements to teacher and administrator early education training programs and professional 

development 

In 2017, all sub-grantees in each HNC received professional development on the Child Find process, 

local referral procedures, and federal mandates. Additionally, all teachers and administrators in the 

HNCs had the opportunity to attend any or all of the following large professional development 

sessions. Each program in each HNC were allowed to send 2 attendees at no additional cost to their 

programs. Since the large professional development opportunities were made available to the larger 

ECE community, non-PDG participants were charged a fee to attend. 

• The Early Childhood Special Education Summit, Supporting the Young Learner with Special 

Education Needs, February 2017. This two-day summit provided an opportunity for ADE and its 

partners to support capacity-building efforts for teachers, administrators, and others to 

appropriately support children with and without disabilities. The goal was to share information 

about services for children with disabilities as well as those suspected of having a disability in 

early childhood. Session topics included early identification, early intervention, Part C to Part 

B transition, instructional strategies, inclusive practices, disability specific information and 

resources, literacy and language development, and school-readiness. 

• The ADE ECE Summer Conference, June 2017. This three-day conference was held in partnership 

with the Arizona Head Start Collaboration Office to provide information related to meeting the 

varying educational needs of young learners and approaching the work with a holistic view of 

those students. The intent is to support the work of administrators and teachers of young 

children in their preschool and kindergarten years. The sessions were on topics such as social 

emotional development, assessment, language & literacy, family engagement, brain research, 
ED 524B Page 29 of 45

early childhood special education, and much more. This conference was designed for Pre-K 

and Kindergarten Teachers, Administrators, coordinators and related support staff. 

• The ADE ECE Kindergarten Transition Summit, October 2017. This one-day summit provided an 

opportunity for Early Childhood Quality Improvement Practices (ECQUIP) Teams, including 

PDG and Head Start representatives, to: 

o Learn the current research regarding kindergarten transitions. 

o Hear from a local community that has been successful with implementing a 

kindergarten transition process. 

o Design effective strategies and implementation plan with their ECQUIP teams. 

• The ADE-ECE Family Engagement Conference, December 2017. This two-day summit provided an 

opportunity for PDG sub-grantees and other ECE practitioners to develop strategies to 

strengthen family engagement in early learning settings (birth to 3rd grade). Our goal was to 

support programs and families in forming strong partnerships that will improve outcomes for 

Arizona's children. 

Sessions were offered to both practitioners and families with a focus on the image of families 

as their child's first and most important caregiver, utilizing a strengths-based approach to 

working with families, building relationships, and engaging fathers. 

7. Use of a statewide longitudinal data system to link preschool and elementary and 

secondary school data 

All sub-grantees in each HNC are required to use Teaching Strategies GOLD (TSG) as their 

ongoing progress monitoring tool. This aligns with the statewide use of TSG for preschool 

programs serving children with special needs. Three times a year the data is transmitted to the 

ADE ECE unit as a compliance indicator. The data collected in TSG is monitored for quality 

assessment measures using a rubric by an ADE ECPS. In 2017, this data was linked to the ADE 

state longitudinal data system for K-12, AZDash, and was used to inform local decision-making, 

and to support the use of data to make state-level decisions. 

 

8. A comprehensive early learning assessment system 

 

All sub-grantees in each HNC are required to develop and implement a comprehensive early 

learning assessment system. In 2017, to support early learning providers with this 

requirement, the ADE-ECE Unit continued using the guidance document, The Assessment 

Continuum Guide for Pre-K through Third Grade in Arizona. Additionally, training modules for 

the appropriate use of assessment in early childhood, as well as recommendations for the use 

of data collected through effective assessment practices, have been developed. 

 

According to the position statement from the National Association for the Education of Young 
ED 524B Page 30 of 45

Children (NAEYC), assessment is, “the process of gathering information about children from 

several forms of evidence, then organizing and interpreting that information” and “the basic 

process of finding out what the child knows and can do in relation to their optimum 

development. With that knowledge, an appropriate plan for effective instructional strategies 

to help them develop and learn can be identified, monitoring their progress along the way.” As 

educators, our goal should always be to help students make progress toward achieving their 

“optimum development.” Using data gathered through the assessment process; 

administrators, teachers, and students should make decisions that support the best interests 

of students. Arizona's guidance document was developed to promote best practices for this 

kind of beneficial assessment process in an early childhood setting. The recommendations are 

for components of a comprehensive assessment system that utilizes a robust continuum of 

tools and resources. The recommendations rely on researched and/or evidence-based 

practices that meet rigorous professional standards that have been shown to positively affect 

outcomes for all children and families within our communities. This document is intended as a 

resource for all administrators and teachers who use screening measures, environmental 

assessments, teacher-child interaction assessments, formative assessments, and Kindergarten 

entry assessments (KEA). 

 

9. Building preschool programs' capacity to engage parents in decisions about their children's 

education and development, help families build protective factors, and help parents support 

their children's learning at home 

 

In 2017, the ADE-ECE Unit distributed the family engagement self-assessment tool to be used 

by all sub-grantees in each HNC to determine their current capacity to engage parents in 

decisions about their children's education and development, help build protective factors, and 

help parents support their children's learning at home. The family engagement selfassessment tool includes indicators from the National Association for the Education of Young 

Children (NAEYC), as well as indicators from the ADE's ECQUIP rubric. 

 

10. Building state- and community-level support for high-quality preschool programs through 

systemic linkages to other early learning programs and resources to support families, such as 

child health, mental health, family support, nutrition, child welfare, and adult education and 

training sectors 

 

In 2017, all sub-grantees in each HNC received technical assistance from an ADE ECPS to enroll in the 

Empower Program and to write their statements of intent or commitment to each of the ten 

standards within the Empower Program. In 2012, the ADE and other key state agencies signed a 

memorandum of understanding, recognizing that the Empower program would serve as our statewide 

established goals for child wellness. Nearly 90% of licensed child care providers in Arizona participate 

in Empower, a department of health services program that partially subsidizes child care licensing fees 

for programs that actively encourage young children to make healthy choices about nutrition and 
ED 524B Page 31 of 45

physical activity. Arizona was recently recognized as one of only three states utilizing high impact 

obesity prevention regulations in child care. Early learning providers that participate in the Empower 

program pledge to adopt ten standards that encourage active play, practice sun safety, support 

healthy eating, promote good oral health habits, prevent exposure to second-and third-hand smoke, 

and provide staff with three hours of professional development on Empower topics. Sub-grantees 

were required to write a policy for each of the ten standards as a statement of intent or commitment 

to implement these evidence-based health and safety standards. The benefits of being an Empower 

program include reduced licensing fees, a state-issued Empower facility designation, an Empower 

pack of ready-to-use resources, and an Empower Guidebook which provides information on each of 

the standards and sample policies for centers to use or to adapt. 

 

Selection Criteria (D)(4) from NIA 

Describe the number and percent of Eligible Children served and the cost per slot.

In Table 1a, we are reporting that there were 3,044 eligible children in Arizona in 2017. Of those 

eligible children, 2,872 were served in new preschool slots for a percentage of 94%. The allocation per 

slot we awarded was $4,600. This allocation was to cover the expenses of providing a high-quality 

preschool program: teacher salaries, instructional assistant salaries, supplies, etc. This actual number 

of eligible children served is different from the target number we set in our original application. In the 

original application, we indicated that in year three of the grant period we would provide funding for 

3,041 slots in the identified HNCs. However, once we received the grant funding in year one and 

started to work with the HNCs, it became apparent that some early learning programs were not yet 

ready to start serving children in their HNCs in a capacity that meets the full definition of high-quality 

preschool programs. Specifically, not all teachers in PDG classrooms met the minimum requirement of 

a Bachelor's degree and some programs were not yet ready to provide full-time programming to 

students. In an effort to build good will in these communities and to help ready these programs to 

meet the definition of high-quality programs in years two, three, and four, we submitted an 

amendment request to use of some infrastructure-building funds to provide for funding of half-time 

slots in these few HNCs for year one. Our request was granted in year one, and while it was great to 

get us started, this has had a ripple effect on our number for years two and three. 
ED 524B Page 32 of 45

3. Collaborating with Each Subgrantee and Ensuring Strong Partnerships (Selection Criteria E 

of the application) 

Describe the extent to which the State has collaborated with each Subgrantee to ensure that each 

Subgrantee is effectively implementing High-Quality Preschool Programs (Selection Criteria E 

(1-9) of the application) and how the State ensures strong partnerships between each Subgrantee 

and LEAs or other Early Learning Providers, as appropriate.

As a requirement for an HNC to be eligible to participate in the PDG program, within each HNC, the 

local school district within the defined zip code areas had to agree to participate. The rationale we 

used is since these preschool children within the HNC will eventually be in the local school district, an 

agreement from the school district to participate and collaboratively work with the sub-grantees was 

necessary to ensure continuity of the quality children and families could expect when they leave 

preschool and enter K-12. 

 

Once the HNCs were identified and the sub-grantees within each zip code area were awarded, an ADE 

ECPS was assigned to the HNC. As outlined in the original grant application and the "Preschool 

Development Grant Guidance Manual", the ECPS would assist the sub-grantees within the HNC to 

support quality improvement efforts and facilitate collaborative relationships. The ECPS would work 

in conjunction with the Quality First coaches once they were assigned to each sub-grantee. 

 

The mechanism used to ensure collaborative partnerships within each HNC is the Early Childhood 

Quality Improvement Practices (ECQUIP). As described in the original grant application, ECQUIP is 

intended to be used as a self-evaluation and planning process for on-going quality improvements. 

The guidelines for conducting ECQUIP include building a team and creating an implementation plan. 

ADE/ECE has used this system for approximately ten years with updates and revisions as needed each 

year. This tool is also used for monitoring programs. Since the PDG has additional requirements, a 

grant-specific monitoring tool was designed to address those requirements. The ADE ECPS were 

trained on the use of the monitoring tool with sub-grantees in November 2015 and the HNCs will 

received their training on the use of the tool in January 2016. The ADE-ECPS reviewed the tool with 

their programs and then determined monitoring dates. 

 

The monitoring process begins with a desk review. First, the ADE ECPS reads through and checks the 

budget and program details of the grant application. If there are questions, the ADE ECPS either calls 

the program or returns the grant application to the program for explanation or changes. Once the 

ADE ECPS approves the grant, it moves to an ADE ECE director for approval. The director reads the 

history and reviews the same items as the ADE ECPS. The director either approves the grant or 

disapproves with an explanation for changes or explanation that may still be needed. If disapproved, 

the grant goes back to the sub-grantee for changes and they resubmit to start the process over again. 

One of the items that is addressed in this part of the grant is the budget and. specifically, the 

requirement to "minimize local administrative costs". 

 
ED 524B Page 33 of 45

The Preschool Development Grant Guidance Manual outlines the process for providing proper 

justification for administrative costs. There are three options listed: federally approved indirect cost 

rate, submit an indirect cost proposal, and direct charge for up to 5%. This is noted in the grant 

application and reviewed. 

 

Each local HNC decided if they needed to have a sub-committee of their ECQUIP teams to address the 

requirements of the PDG Scope of Work (SOW), or if they could do it within the regular ECQUIP 

meetings. For those that used a sub-committee, they developed local communities of practice 

(COPs). Each HNC team then elected one person to attend (in person or via webinar) a state-level 

COP meeting. The state-level COP was introduced to PDG participants through a professional 

development presentation entitled, "Leading by Convening." The State Level COP created the 

following tools to be used by each HNC: Family Engagement Self-Assessment, Family Engagement 

Plan, LRE Continuum, and Child Find Analysis. After each meeting, a "communique" is sent to all PDG 

participants to keep them aware of what is happening at the state level. In year two, we enhanced 

what is offered at the state-level COP by inviting PDG administrators to make presentations on their 

best practices to the larger group. One administrator provided an hour-long presentation on best 

practices for layering funding, including PDG funding, in the early childhood program at the school 

district level. 

 

When a program was awarded PDG funding, they agreed to participate in Arizona's TQRIS system, 

Quality First (QF). Through QF, each sub-grantee either continued to work with a coach (if they were 

in QF prior to the grant) or if they were new to QF they were assigned a coach The QF coach for each 

sub-grantee has a task of working with the director to prepare programs for the assessments of 

quality used by the state: ECERS-R, CLASS, and the Quality First Points Scale (a local tool to measure 

administrative indicators). 

4. Alignment Within a Birth Through Third Grade Continuum (Section F of the application) 

Describe progress the State has made for alignment within a birth through third grade continuum in 

activities for birth through age five programs ((F)(1)(a-b) in the NIA) and kindergarten through third 

grade ((F)(2)(a-d) in the NIA).

True to Arizona's commitment to an early childhood mixed-delivery system, each HNC in Arizona may 

have the following programs receiving PDG funds: school district programs, Head Start, child care, 

faith based programs, home providers, and charters. The preschool children that receive services will 

eventually be a part of the district so it was imperative that the district be a willing participant. In 

2017, the ADE-ECE Unit did intentional work to foster and support seamless transitions between 

programs, including to and from kindergarten. 

 

Transitions for Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age Five 

In 2017, all of the sub-grantees in an HNC were required to participate in the HNC's ECQUIP process or 

in the local COP. This allowed for aligned processes to develop and discussions to occur between all 
ED 524B Page 34 of 45

participating programs that work with children birth to grade 3 within that community. Each ECQUIP 

team or local COP established a set of processes for enrolling children most-in-need; maintaining a 

community wait list; and recruitment. This was a struggle in year one as many of the programs saw 

themselves as vying for children before other programs got them. In 2016, however, there was less 

talk of “competition.” Programs were suggested to use program requirements as one way to 

determine best fit. For example, the threshold for income in Head Start and PDG are different. 

Children whose families exceeded the income criteria for Head Start could be in a PDG program, or if 

there were a large number of three year olds needing space, they could go to a Head Start program or 

a child care program with an age 3 classroom and leave the 4 year olds to attend a PDG program. 

Through this process HNCs began to realize that they really were working as a community for children 

rather than as individual agencies. 

 

In 2017, we also continued to work with programs to ensure they were not supplanting slots or 

services. We have made it very clear that participation in PDG is to create new slots. It was made 

explicit that they could not use PDG funds to save money or to re-allocate money somewhere else. 

This was reviewed through the grant process and through technical assistance provided by the ADEECE ECPS. 

 

Transitions for Programs Serving Children from Kindergarten to Grade 3 

Each district in the state is required to have an ECQUIP (Early Childhood Quality Improvement 

Practices) Team. The team is made up of instructional staff from preschool and grades K -3, parents, 

administrators and community partners. ECQUIP was designed to assure quality, accountability, and 

collaboration among schools receiving early childhood funding through ADE. Through this process 

each district completes a self-assessment annually and receives an ECQUIP validation visit from ADE/

ECE. The activities completed by an ECQUIP team bring the various grade levels together to look at 

how they are working to improve outcomes for children grades preschool through 3rd grade. 

 

In Arizona, the assessment tool used for preschool is Teaching Strategies GOLD. Teachers use the data 

collected to plan for individual children and lesson planning. Programs can use it to plan for teacher 

professional development and materials needed in the classroom. All teachers and administrators are 

trained on the use of the tool. When ADE conducts its compliance monitoring, the quality of the 

information included in children's portfolios is evaluated based on a "Child Observation and Portfolio 

Rubric.” Technical assistance is offered where needed. In addition to child assessment to ensure 

children are well-prepared for kindergarten, all sub-grantees participate in QF. Through the 

assessments conducted in QF, the quality of the classroom and teacher-child interactions is assessed. 

Professional development and technical assistance is offered to sub-grantees through our ECPS and 

the coaches at QF. 

 

One of the plans that each HNC needs to complete is a written Kindergarten Transition Plan. Arizona 

uses a Kindergarten Transition Plan template designed by the ADE ECE unit and is based on the book, 

Successful Kindergarten Transition by Marcia Kraft-Sayre and Robert Pianta. Each ADE ECPS has 
ED 524B Page 35 of 45

worked with their HNCs to provide technical assistance around the Kindergarten Transition Plan. The 

Arizona plan addresses the following connections: child to school, family to school, school to school 

and community to school. Each HNC develops activities around the connections that a child needs to 

be successful in Kindergarten. In 2017, to support improved transition processes, ADE-ECE hosted a 

one-day Kindergarten Transition Summit. There were approximately 200 attendees, including the subgrantees in the PDG programs. 

 

In addition to this work, in 2017, ADE continued its work to prepare teachers and administrators for 

the implementation of Arizona's Kindergarten Developmental Inventory (KDI) and K-3 Formative 

Assessment. As a collaborative effort between the Arizona Department of Education and Alesi Group, 

supported by the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Foundation, The Kindergarten Project aimed to research 

and identify evidence-based kindergarten practices that support the whole child and increase the 

likelihood of academic and lifelong success. The Kindergarten Experience, an extension of The 

Kindergarten Project, is a series of dynamic professional development trainings, workshops and 

opportunities that offer a comprehensive lens for evidence-based practices that support the whole 

child in kindergarten. These identified practices are the foundation for the effective and successful 

implementation of the Kindergarten Developmental Inventory. In 2016, the Alesi Group provided 

professional development opportunities around the state on the following topics: Bringing Math to 

Life; English Language Arts; The Significance of Social and Emotional Development; and The 

Organization of Time and Space. Information about the Kindergarten Experience, like the training 

schedule as well as a virtual tour of the model kindergarten classroom the Alesi Group has designed, 

can be found at www.thekindergartenexperience.com. 
ED 524B Page 36 of 45

Section A: Part C - Competitive Preference Priorities

Competitive Preference Priority 1: Contributing Matching Funds (if included in the State's 

approved application). 

Describe the progress the State has made on its credible plan for obtaining and using non-Federal 

matching funds to support the implementation of its ambitious and achievable plan during the grant 

period. For progress not made in this area, please describe the State's strategies to ensure that 

measurable progress will be made by the end of the grant period. Please describe any changes made 

to the data reported in Table 7(a); explain if your Year 3 Target differs from the Year 3 Actual.

Arizona's plan to improve the quality of the early learning experiences for its preschool aged children 

and the necessity of building strong preschool through grade 3 continuum is much larger than this 

grant. Throughout Arizona at both a state level and local level investments are being made on behalf 

of young children. It is recognized in Arizona that a strong foundation in early childhood, from birth 

through grade 3, is the key for the future of Arizona. 

 

Arizona does not have a universal model of preschool funding, but through the First Things First 

tobacco tax, local FTF regional partnerships councils (RPCs) may choose to fund preschool 

scholarships based on the prioritized needs of their communities. Overall, FTF RPCs make significant 

investments in early childhood education and health throughout the state. According to FTF's Annual 

Report for fiscal year 2016, 65% percent of 918 participating early learning providers met or exceeded 

quality standards. When combined with providers who continue to work diligently on enhancing the 

quality of their child care and preschool programs, Quality First has ensured that more than 51,069 

children throughout the state have access to a higher standard of early education. First Things First 

promotes early learning by: completing more than 31,000 screenings to detect developmental or 

sensory issues that can become learning problems later on; working with almost 1,000 child care and 

preschool providers statewide to enhance the quality of early learning programs for more than 50,000 

young children; funding scholarships that helped more than 16,600 children access early learning in 

the past year; working with relatives and friends who provide child care to increase their knowledge 

of brain development and how young children learn; and helping early educators expand their skills 

working with infants, toddlers and preschoolers. FTF funds are dependent on tobacco tax revenue 

which is fluid and an acknowledged declining revenue source. Already, some FTF dollars are used to 

match other federal grants within the state, like the Child Care and Development Funds. For the 

purposes of the grant, FTF funding provided a match in the form of professional development 

infrastructure. In 2017, that amount was $4,517,149. Additionally, in year two of the grant, subgrantees were required to secure local matching funds equal to 20% of their PDG allocation from ADE. 

In 2017, that amount was an astonishing $1,885,155. 
ED 524B Page 37 of 45

Competitive Preference Priority 2: Supporting the Continuum of Early Learning and 

Development (if included in the State's approved application). 

Describe progress made in creating a more seamless progression of supports and interventions from 

birth through third grade, such as high-quality infant and toddler care, home visitation, full-day 

kindergarten, and before and after care services for, at a minimum, a defined cohort of eligible children 

and their families within each high need community served by each Subgrantee. For progress not 

made in these areas, please describe the State's strategies to ensure that measurable progress will be 

made by the end of the grant period.

Arizona recognizes that continuous and consistent high-quality learning experiences are critical to 

children's success. This continuity is possible only when there is a continuum of comprehensive highquality supports and services offered to children and families. High-quality preschool programs are 

only one part of such a comprehensive ECE system. To help create smooth transitions for children and 

families from their first environment to these high-quality preschool programs, Arizona's ambitious 

but achievable plan as outlined in its original grant application addresses the creation of a more 

seamless progression of supports and interventions from birth through third grade by supporting 

three key program areas: home visitation, Early Head Start/ Head Start, and early intervention. 

 

Area 1: Home Visitation. In September 2011, AZDHS was awarded $36 million in grant funding from 

the federal MIECHV program. This initiative has allowed for Arizona to develop a systematic approach 

for planning, funding, and collaborating efforts to provide accessible, high-quality home visiting 

services to children and families in vulnerable communities. Home visitation programs provide 

participating families of infants and toddlers with information and education on parenting, child 

development and health topics while assisting with connections to other resources or programs as 

needed. Home visitors deliver one-on-one coaching and interaction with parents or caregivers in the 

home that tailor to the needs of individual families. 

 

Implementation of the MIECHV grant is guided by an Interagency Leadership Team (IALT). Its 

members include ADE, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS), AZDHS, which includes including 

the Bureau of Women and Children's Health (BWCH) and the Division of Behavioral Health Services 

(DBHS), Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), which is the State's Medicaid 

agency, Arizona Early Intervention Program (AzEIP), and FTF, as well as consultants and evaluators for 

the MIECHV Program. The Deputy Associate Superintendent for Early Childhood Education is on the 

IALT, to ensure the interests of PDG are addressed, as well as to update the home visitors on the 

community achievements of the HNC's. The group meets quarterly to dialogue about the efforts to 

build the home visiting system in a comprehensive way, including, but not limited to: communication 

and marketing strategies to increase awareness of the home visiting program, professional 

development and technical assistance for home visitors, a continuous quality improvement process, 

and a state and community level program evaluation and management of data collection. 

According to HRSA Home Visiting statistics, in fiscal year 2015 (which includes part of 2016), as a 

response to federal funding, home visitors in Arizona: 

· made 30,167 home visits to 4,394 parents and children in 2,261 families; 

· enrolled 1,963 new parents and children to the program; and 
ED 524B Page 38 of 45

· served families living in communities in 8 counties across the state, or 53% of Arizona counties, of 

which 3 counties, or 38%, are rural. 

In addition, the Home Visiting Program in Arizona: 

· implemented a data-management system and completed the integration of Home Visiting Programs; 

· provided home visiting services to over 2000 families that would not have otherwise received 

services; and 

· provided professional development statewide to home visitors of all programs, regardless of 

funding, on various topics to increase the knowledge and skill of home visitors, increase staff 

retention, and improve outcomes for families (https://mchb.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/mchb/

MaternalChildHealthInitiatives/HomeVisiting/pdf/az.pdf) 

In 2017, with funding from the grant, ADE-ECE was able to support building the capacity of home 

visitors through collaborative professional development that focused on the Infant Toddler 

Developmental Guidelines. In 2017, the ADE-ECE Unit provided professional learning on the Infant 

Toddler Developmental Guidelines (ITDG) in a variety of ways: 

· face-to-face sessions; 

· train-the-trainer sessions to collaborative partners; and 

· the continued use on our online Learning Management System to host a recorded webinar on the 

Introduction to the Infant Toddler Developmental Guidelines. 

Combined, the learning opportunities have provided professional development on the ITDG to over 

600 professionals (inclusive of local education agencies, Head Start, and private child care). Those 

professionals work with approximately 5,000 children. In addition, these professional development 

sessions included home visitors, to provide them with an in-depth examination of the ITDG, which 

addresses each developmental domain for infants and toddlers, as well as guidance on how to use the 

ITDG in their work with helping to strengthen and stabilize families. 

 

Area 2: Early Head Start/Head Start. ADE-ECE is the administrative home of the Arizona Head Start 

Collaboration Office (HSC0). In our ambitious but achievable plan, we indicated the HSCO would 

continue to build a streamlined, organized system of support for HNCs through facilitation of 

sustained, collaborative relationships among Early Head Start and Head Start programs, LEAs, private 

child care providers, MIECHV home visitors, Part C providers, and other key stakeholders. With 

funding from the grant, ADE was able to support building the capacity of infant and toddler teachers 

and instructional aides through targeted professional development that focused on the ITDG. 

Additionally, in 2017 ADE-ECE collaborated with the HSCO to develop more professional development 

focused on supporting practitioners of infants and toddlers. Arizona was selected to participate in a 

peer learning group to receive technical assistance from a national TA provider and the HSCO hosted 

each of the 4 webinars for Arizona's team. The peer learning group culminated in an in-person 

meeting in Seattle, attended by the ADE-ECE Deputy Associate Superintendent/HSCO director and a 

representative from Arizona's Child Care Administration. As a result of this work, Arizona's team 

(comprised of organizations who have a large stake in the professional development network) has 

developed a 4-module series of professional development on strong language experiences for infants 

and toddlers, Smart Talk: Let's Talk with Babies. The modules are based on the curriculum, Talk With 
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Me, Baby, and Arizona's document, The Continuum of Effective Literacy Practices. The 4-part series is 

presented as follows: An Introduction; Brain Development Research; Language Nutrition; and 

Language Transactions. Each partner organization has agreed to train a cadre of trainers to be able to 

deliver this professional development series across the ECE system. The roll out of the modules 

started with presentations at an Infant Toddler Summit hosted by the City of Phoenix Head Start in 

May 2017, and has been made available on ADE-ECE's menu of professional development since. 

 

Area 3: Early Intervention. Arizona recognizes the importance of providing high-quality transition 

experiences to children and their families receiving early intervention services under Part C the IDEA 

as they move to preschool services under Part B, section 619 of the IDEA. The components of a highquality transition plan include extensive family engagement, collaboration between early intervention 

providers and preschool programs, and intentional planning. Currently, there is an Intergovernmental 

Agreement (IGA) between the DES-AzEIP and the ADE that helps to clarify the transition requirements 

for children transitioning from Part C to Part B. Arizona's ambitious but achievable plan includes 

providing funding for improving the Part C and Part B partnership in two key ways: targeted, 

collaborative professional development and an annual conference to be held each year of the grant 

funding period. 

 

In working to ensure smooth transitions for Arizona's children, ADE joined DES-AzEIP to establish a 

state team to take part in technical assistance provided by the Early Childhood Personnel Center 

(ECPC). The mission of ECPC is to “facilitate the development, implementation and evaluation of 

integrated and comprehensive systems of personnel development (CSPD) for the early childhood 

workforce serving infants and young children with disabilities eligible for Part C and Part B(619) 

programs under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)” (www.ecpcta.org) . The 

technical assistance provided, along with the review of evidence-based practices, has guided Arizona 

to focus on coordinating a professional development system centered on the social-emotional domain 

of learning. To date, this collaborative work group has established vision and mission: 

· Vision: To develop and sustain a cross-sector professional development system that supports a high 

quality workforce serving young children and their families. 

 

· Mission: Provide a coordinated system of customized and applicable professional development to 

support the use of effective inclusive practices that enhance child outcomes and family engagement. 

An important aspect of ensuring smooth transitions for children and families receiving services under 

Part C to services under Part B is the opportunity for professionals in both agencies (AzEIP and ADE), 

as well as members of other agencies in Arizona's ECE system, to meet annually at an early childhood 

special education (ECSE) conference. In February 2017, with funding from the grant, a joint ECSE 

summit was organized to bring in national and local presenters to provide high-quality professional 

development that meets the needs of the ECE/ECSE professional community. Topics addressed at this 

summit included transitions to and from the various ECE programs, family support and engagement in 

all levels of decision-making on behalf of young children, strategies for early literacy with infants and 

toddlers, infant mental health, and school-readiness. All PDG sub-grantees in each HNC had the 
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opportunity to attend this summit at no additional cost. The goal was to share information about 

services for children with disabilities as well as those without disabilities in early childhood. 

Approximately 200 people attended and survey responses to the event indicated satisfaction and 

requests for additional topics for the following year. 

 

Additionally, in 2017, ADE-ECE collaborated with the Arizona Early Intervention Program(AzEIP) to 

complete a joint application to receive targeted technical assistance from the Early Childhood 

Personnel Center (ECPC). In its joint application, Arizona's state agencies asked for technical 

assistance in developing an aligned, coordinated professional development infrastructure to support 

trainings for early learning professionals in the area of social and emotional development, particularly 

for those who work with children with special needs. Arizona was selected to receive technical 

assistance from ECPC. In 2017, the ADE-ECE's Deputy Associate Superintendent/HSCO director 

participated in an intensive, 3-day professional development and technical assistance meeting at the 

University of Connecticut with the AzEIP team. As a result of attending this opportunity together, and 

including the Arizona State Literacy Director, the ECPC project's plan has grown to include more work 

the ADE-ECE is doing to create targeted professional development on the Pyramid Model as a strategy 

for connecting its strategies to content areas. The first series of professional development modules 

aims to support teachers in all settings in the mixed delivery system: child care, home providers, 

district schools, EHS, HS, and faith-based with social emotional development knowledge as it relates 

to language and literacy. 

Competitive Preference Priority 3: Creating New High Quality State Preschool Slots (if included 

in the State's approved application). 

Describe progress made in using at least 50% of the State's federal grant award to create new State 

Preschool Program slots that will increase the overall number of new slots in State Preschool 

Programs that meet the definition of High-Quality Preschool Programs. For progress not made in this 

area, please describe the State's strategies to ensure that measurable progress will be made by the 

end of the grant period.

In 2017, Arizona used 76.8% of the funding it received to create new state preschool program slots 

that meet the definition of high-quality preschool programs. Since Arizona does not have a state 

preschool program, we do not have data for "improved slots." However, we had 276 slots that were 

braided with Head Start funding, and 76 braided with Part B funds to create high-quality, full-day 

opportunities for all students. 

 

Additionally, inherent in the early childhood system is the principle that families have the right to 

choose how they access a high-quality through a mixed delivery system. This principle allows for 

family choice of public school programs as well as private, for profit, non-profit or faith based options. 

Utilizing a mixed delivery system, where all programs meet at minimum the twelve elements of high 

quality preschool program, we were able to offer an array of choices for families in 2017. PDG 

participating sub-grantees were family providers, Head Start classrooms, district preschool 

classrooms, private child care providers, and faith-based providers. 
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Section B: Budget Information

Budget and Sustainability (Section G in the application) 

1. Please provide a brief explanation of any discrepancies between the State's approved budget and 

its total expenditures for the reporting year. Explain carry-over funds that have not been expended or 

obligated from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

We have unobligated funds due to the period of the grant beginning January 1 through December 31; 

the Arizona Department of Education operated on a different fiscal year. 

The two main categories of the budget that were unspent or unobligated were the contractual line 

item, and the funds to be distributed to sub grantees line item. 

• Contractual: 

o Professional Development: $244,944.25 is unobligated. The Early childhood unit is 

planning to spend these funds by the end of the 2018 calendar year. Early Childhood 

Summit-June 20-22, 2018. Fall conferences; Social Emotional Conference on 

September 18-20 and Family Engagement on December 6-8. For all our PDG sub 

grantees, the cost of these conferences will be paid with these professional 

development funds. 

o Data linkages: $ 226,036 is unobligated. These funds will be carryover and used in 

conjunction with the amount budgeted for year 4 ($172,800) to maintain the 

infrastructure. 

• Funds to be distributed to sub-grantees: $524,852 is unobligated and it will be used to generate 

additional slots in our high needs communities. 

2. Please describe any substantive changes that you anticipate to the State's Preschool Development 

Grant budget in the upcoming fiscal year (January 1, 2018 through December 31, 2018).

None.

3. Describe the State's progress on its plan for sustainability at the end of the grant period to ensure 

that the number and percentage of Eligible Children with access to High-Quality Preschool Programs 

in the State will be maintained or expanded, including to additional High-Need Communities.

To ensure the number and percentage of eligible children with access to high-quality preschool 

programs in the state will be maintained or expanded beyond the end of the PDG grant period, efforts 

around sustainability have been embedded into many of the activities outlined in the scope of work. 

Sustainability is also a driving force for the building and maintenance of on-going relationships with 

other early childhood education professionals and organizations in our state. Part of the work of the 

Deputy Associate Superintendent for Early Childhood Education, who oversees the PDG at ADE, is to 
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provide guidance and information to statewide partners working to make ECE a priority in Arizona. 

Thus, we are ensuring sustainability, statewide coordination with partners on ECE systems-building 

work, and coordination with institutes of higher education. 

 

Arizona received significant support for the grant application at the time it was written. This 

demonstration of support will help build the early childhood infrastructure in specific, targeted ways 

as well as allow for increased access to high-quality preschool programs in the HNCs. Our goal 

continues to be to take advantage of the grant opportunity now, and with advocacy work through 

relationships, partnerships, and collaborations, build support for future years when Arizona is ready 

to consider additional funding for preschool expansion. 

 

The Early Childhood Development and Health Board, which is Arizona's State Advisory Committee, 

continues to be the leading advocate for quality early learning systems. The state board is made up of 

9 members chosen to represent the state's diversity. The AZDES, AZDHS and the Superintendent of 

Public Instruction, or their chosen designees, serve as non-voting ex officio members. The appointees 

include men and women, Democrats, Republicans, and an Independent from six counties. Each 

member brings experience in early education, K-12 education, health care, juvenile justice, higher 

education, philanthropy, business and Tribal government. The Deputy Associate Superintendent for 

ADE-ECE, who oversees the PDG at ADE, is on the Board. All members have been confirmed by the 

Senate. 

 

The 28 FTF Regional Councils meet the diverse needs of Arizona communities. Not only do they make 

decisions about which early childhood strategies will be funded but they work within their 

communities to ensure that what children in their community get what they need to arrive at school 

healthy and ready to succeed. FTF Regional Councils actively advocate for both statewide local 

attention to ECE issues. 

 

Children's Action Alliance has been a voice for children for over 25 years. Children's Action Alliance 

(CAA) is an independent voice for Arizona children at the state capitol and in the community. CAA 

works to improve children's health, education, and security through information and action. Through 

research, publications, media campaigns, and advocacy, CAA seeks to influence policies and decisions 

affecting the lives of Arizona children and their families on issues related to health, child abuse and 

neglect, early care and education, budget and taxes, juvenile justice, children and immigration, and 

working families. CAA works toward a future in which all children have health insurance, no child is 

raised in poverty and hunger, every child enters school ready to learn and succeed, no child endures 

the ravages of abuse and neglect, every child has a place to call home, and struggling teens have the 

support they need to become responsible adults. CAA is a strong partner in helping to increase 

funding and improving both access and quality of preschool slots. 

 

Expect More Arizona is a partnership organization that believes all Arizona children deserve a worldclass education, which gives them the opportunity to succeed in life. To ensure a strong economic 
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future for Arizona and a higher quality of life for everyone, we have to make education a top priority 

in our state. The partners understand that a world-class education system is one in which every 

Arizona child, regardless of background, income, or zip code, is able to: 

 

• Access high-quality early learning that prepares him/her for Kindergarten, 

• Read proficiently by the 3rd grade, 

• Graduate from high school ready for college or career, and 

• Attain a college degree and/or certificate or industry credential. 

These organizations are key partners in Arizona being able to sustain the gains made through the 

work of PDG. Arizona has many champions for a sustainable early childhood system that ensures that 

children who may benefit from a preschool experience can find not only affordable and accessible 

slots, but high-quality in the program their family has chosen for them. 

 

Since the inception of the PDG Grant, the ADE-ECE Unit has placed a high emphasis on sustainability 

of funding and in continuity of quality services by embedding it into the scope of work. Through the 

establishment of the PDG Community of Practice (COP), and using the Leading by Convening model, 

we have ensured programs have a framework and established strategies for ensuring sustainability of 

both quality programming and sustainability of funding. This has enabled programs to build and 

maintain relationships with other early childhood professionals and stakeholders from around the 

state. Through these COP meetings we have brought in early childhood education partners to discuss 

other funding and supplemental funding sources available to programs. The Department of Economic 

Security (DES) shared with programs how to become a DES childcare provider and how their program 

could apply to receive DES child care subsidy to help in providing a high quality early childhood 

education to those children most in need. In addition, representatives for the Child and Adult Care 

Food Program (CACFP) shared with programs the use of CACFP has a supplemental funding source for 

programs. Furthermore, a representative from Quality First (QF) spoke with programs to speak with 

about continuing to provide a high quality early childhood education and being eligible for QF 

scholarships in funded regions. 

 

Each of these potential funding strategies/streams was shared with programs so that they could begin 

to look at options for braiding and layering funding to continue to support preschool programming 

beyond the fourth year of the PDG grant. To enhance the conversation among programs in regards to 

sustainability of funding and continuity of quality services, we shared with programs the Cost of 

Quality Tool Calculator. This tool allows ALL programs to better understand and engage in intentional 

conversations about the cost associated with providing high quality early care and education. 

4. Please provide a brief explanation of any discrepancies, if any, between the Subrecipients' 

approved budgets and their total expenditures for the reporting year. Explain carry-over funds that 

have not been expended or obligated from January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017.

The ADE-ECE Unit used most of the carryover from previous years to award 200 additional slots, 

exceeding our target for year 3 of 3,043 slots. However, we still have unobligated funds in the amount 
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of $524,852 that we will use in year 4 to award additional slots.