PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

FY2017 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

Preschool Development Grants AUGUST 2018

New York
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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 #: s419B150021 2. Grantee Federal Information Processing Code: 84.419B

3. Project Title: Preschool Development Grant- Expansion

4. Grantee Name: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

5. Grantee Address:89 Washington Ave.

City: Albany State: New York Zip: 12234

6. Project Director Name: Renee L. Rider

Title: Associate Commissioner 

Phone #: (518) 474-5807 Ext.: Fax #:(518) 473-7737

Email Address: renee.rider@nysed.gov; betsy.kenney@nysed.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 $23,626,268.00 $385,034,734.00 

b. Current Budget Period $25,000,000.00 $385,034,734.00 

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: 04/01/2017 To: 03/31/2018

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: NY PR/Award #: s419B150021

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.

Focus Areas 

New York uses not more than five percent of PDG funding to strengthen, pilot, and scale up innovative 

strategies to improve early educational services from birth through third grade. We have focused our 

resources to achieve three major objectives in implementation of the PDG grant: 

x Improve the State's capacity to support local leaders to implement High-Quality 

Preschool Programs in collaboration with their partners; 

x Build State-level support for High-Quality Preschool Programs through systemic 

linkages; and 

x Build community-level support for High-Quality Preschool programs by 

expanding existing school-community partnerships to assess and strategically 

improve early childhood program quality. 

 

The Key Highlights and Major Accomplishments section below will demonstrate the work done in 

2017 to help achieve those goals. The subsequent section, Challenges and Lessons Learned will 

discuss how we are meeting challenges identified as we strengthen our early educational services. 

 

Key Highlights and Major Accomplishments 

Blue Ribbon Committee 

The NYS Board of Regents Early Childhood Blue Ribbon Committee has been created that brings over

60 national and state experts together to develop and propose a series of policy recommendations. 

These recommendations reflect informed judgement, innovative best practices and collaborative efforts

that will result in NYS having the opportunity to implement high-quality early childhood and education

programs with highly-effective educators. The Blue Ribbon Committee's role is to provide input to the

Regents Early Childhood Workgroup to assist in advancing a policy agenda for NYS specifically in the

areas of Educational Policy, Legislative Policy, and Budget. The recommendations were presented to 

the entire NYS Board of Regents in December 2017. 

To complete this important work, the Board of Regents has identified eight priority areas for action.

Each of the following topics will be sensitive to culture, race, ethnicity, language, citizenship status, 

and socioeconomic status: 

Priority 1: Age Appropriate Standards, Curriculum and Assessment 

3⁄4provide a framework that outlines the content that children should learn, a process to determine 
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the achievement of curricular goals, what teachers do to help children achieve these goals 

 

Priority 2: Comprehensive Family & Community Engagement 

3⁄4provide a framework that guides districts, schools, programs and providers to develop and

increase the availability of high quality family and community engagement opportunities for all

families with young children in NYS 

 

Priority 3: Comprehensive and Coordinated Services That Support the Full Range of

Developmental Pathways Among All Early Childhood Service Providers 

3⁄4 target services for children birth to age 5 and school-age children and their families, with 

supports for expectant families in the areas of child care, child development, special needs, and

academic readiness, etc., that promote the provision of comprehensive services and school

readiness 

 

Priority 4: Recruitment, Preparation and Professional Development of High Quality Teachers

and Leaders Across All Programs 

3⁄4attract, educate and retain high quality early childhood teachers and administrators who know 

their curricular content, can demonstrate developmentally appropriate instructional practices, 

and know the children they teach and how they learn 

 

Priority 5: Sustained and Coordinated Funding Structure 

3⁄4 establish a unified and sustainable early childhood funding strategy that aligns state

investments to achieve desired outcomes 

 

Priority 6: Coherent and Comprehensive Early Childhood Policy 

3⁄4 recommend to the NYS Board of Regents targeted strategies and policies that promote coherent

and comprehensive early childhood education 

3⁄4

Priority 7: High Quality Instructional Programs and Services 

3⁄4recommend to the NYS Board of Regents targeted strategies and policies that support students 

with diverse learning needs 

 

Priority 8: Quality, Evaluation and Accountability 

3⁄4design and implement strategies and policies to regularly evaluate early childhood programs

consistent with program goals, using a variety of evidenced based approaches to determine the

extent to which programs and providers meet the expected standards of quality and to examine

intended outcomes 

 

The work of the Early Childhood Blue Ribbon Committee will help guide the State in ensuring that all

our youngest learners get a healthy start from birth, become ready for Kindergarten, stay on track to 

graduate from high school, and be successful in life. 

Preschool Special Education 

NYSED has convened both an internal and external workgroup to discuss current prekindergarten 

Special Class in an Integrated Setting (SCIS) options. Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017 require the 

department to recommend an alternative methodology for the current SCIS reimbursement. 

 
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The purpose of the workgroup is to develop sustainable programmatic options for inclusion that allow 

preschool students with disabilities to be educated in least restrictive environment and make the 

changes to SED's existing program requirements and 4410 funding structures to support these options. 

NYSED convened a series of work group meetings for feedback from 4410 providers and school 

districts with representation from NYS Offices. These workgroups met for a total of six days and 

provided feedback on proposed models. 

 

An internal workgroup composed of NYSED staff have met to review the information gathered at the 

external stakeholders' meetings to: 

x Identify inclusion models and standards for quality inclusive early childhood programs. 

x Determine how general education and special education funding could be better structured to 

appropriately align reimbursement. 

x Develop preschool staffing standards to identify staffing level necessary for these inclusion 

option upon which the tuition rate may be calculates. 

x Report back to the Board of Regents in March 2018. 

Below are eight key components of the NYS ESSA Plan: 

 

1. NYS values a well-rounded education for all. 

x NYS accountability system will use a variety of indicators beyond core academic 

subjects. 

2. NYS wants to reduce testing time and improve the testing experience: 

x tests in grades 3-8 English and math will be reduced to two days each in 2018 

x NYS will continue to translate math and science tests into more languages, and when 

funding becomes available, will create a language-arts test in students' native language. 

3. NYS will redefine and reimagine the educator preparation experience. 

x the state will examine changes to field experiences and placement requirements for 

prospective teachers and school leaders to make sure they are ready on day one 

x working with districts and higher education, the state will create tools and other 

resources that will increase communication between preparation programs and the 

districts that employ their graduates 

4. NYS is committed to working with districts to ensure cultural responsiveness. 

x the state will help ensure that materials are in languages and formats that families 

understand and can access 

x schools will get assistance to write improvement plans that include culturally responsive 

and linguistically appropriate supports for students and parents 

5. NYS will encourage and foster the ability of districts to advance equity and access for all. 

x new reports will outline how much each school is spending per student and from what 

source 

x the state will seek a waiver so newly arrived non-English-speakers' test scores don't 

count until their third year of enrollment 

x the state will help districts equalize access to experienced, fully prepared, and effective 

educators 

6. NYS will identify schools for support and recognition based on multiple measures. 

x schools will be assigned one of four categories: comprehensive support and 

improvement, targeted support and improvement, recognition schools, or schools in 

good standing 

7. Each school identified for improvement will work with staff, families, and the community to 

craft a plan that identifies school-specific solutions for areas of need. 

x the state uses data from multiple measures to determine which schools need support 
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x educators and parents develop an improvement plan based on an examination of causes 

for identification 

x schools review multiple sources, such as achievement data and staff surveys results, to 

determine if the plan must be modified 

x the state provides additional support to any low-performing school that is struggling to 

make gains 

8. NYS will award funds to each school district to support a Professional Development Plan 

developed by educators. 

x districts will continue convening their professional development teams which include 

most educators and one or more administrators 

x the team develops, implements, and evaluates the Professional Development Plan which 

includes, among other things, mentoring for new teachers 

x NYS will award Title II funds under ESSA to support local implementation of these 

plans 

 

First 1,000 Days 

The First 1000 Days on Medicaid initiative brought together stakeholders in a series of four work group 

meetings between August and November. The work group was charged with developing a ten -point 

agenda to focus on enhancing access to services and improving outcomes for children on Medicaid in 

their first 1000 days of life. This initiative recognized that a child ́s first three years are the most crucial 

years of their development. 

 

The final ten proposals are: 

x Create a Preventive Pediatric Care Clinical Advisory Group 

x Promote Early Literacy through Local Strategies 

x Expand Centering Pregnancy 

x New York State Developmental Inventory Upon Kindergarten Entry 

x Statewide Home Visiting 

x Require Managed Care Plans to have a Kids Quality Agenda 

x Data system development for cross -sector referrals 

x Braided funding for Early Childhood Mental Health Consultations 

x Parent/Caregiver Diagnosis as Eligibility Criteria for Dyadic Therapy 

x Pilot and Evaluate Peer Family Navigators in Multiple Settings 

Early Development Inventory 

The EDI serves as a population-based measure for interpreting outcomes for groups of children and is 

completed by kindergarten teachers after several months of observation. Port Chester, Uniondale, and 

Watertown have completed collecting information on students enrolled in kindergarten for school year 

2015-2016. 

The EDI assess children's school readiness across the domains of physical health and well-being; social 

competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive development; and communication skills and 

general knowledge. Results from the EDI allow communities to mobilize and make plans to improve 

children's outcomes. 

Zoila Morelle, the Principle Investigator, presented the findings to each of the districts. She and a 

member of the NYSED team went into each community to present the findings to local representatives. 
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Below are some highlights from those presentations: 

Port Chester 

x Students in Port Chester scored highest in Physical Health & Well-being and lowest in 

Communication and General Knowledge. 

x In a comparison between the 2014 and the 2017 collection, many more children were vulnerable 

in Language & Cognitive Development and Communication & General Knowledge. 

 

Uniondale 

x The average scores for students in Uniondale were highest in the domain of Physical Health and 

Well-being and lowest in Communication and General Knowledge. 

x Uniondale has a much higher percent of children scoring as vulnerable in Social Competence, 

Language & Cognitive Development, and Communication & General Knowledge, than the 

national sample. 

Watertown 

x Students in Watertown scored highest in Language and Cognitive Development and lowest in 

Communication and General Knowledge. 

x ENL students are the most vulnerable of all. In two domains (Language & Cognitive 

Development and Communication & General Knowledge), 75% of children scored as 

“Vulnerable” and none scored as “On Track - Ready for School.” 

 

Documents 

Several documents have been developed and drafted for prekindergarten programs that support them in 

providing quality services to children: 

3⁄4 series of Developmentally Appropriate Practice Briefs has been expanded to include a seventh 

brief titled: Behavior, Creating a Positive Climate to Support Social and Emotional Learning 

Prekindergarten Through 3rd Grade: Building a Strong Foundation for the New York State Learning Standards 

3⁄4The Preschool Planning Guide, a document developed in 1998 for prekindergarten programs in 

NYS was updated and released to programs in the summer of 2017. It is now called the 

Planning for High-Quality Prekindergarten Programs: Building a Foundation for School 

Success. Additionally, a companion document was released for programs serving three-year 

old children. 

3⁄4guidance for special education services for children ages infants through school age was written 

in 2017 with release date of Spring 2018 

3⁄4guidance document on the use of play as an instructional strategy began development in the fall 

of 2017 with release date of Summer 2018 

3⁄4 summer of 2017 a work group met to update the forms used for monitoring all prekindergarten 

programs 

 

English Language Learners 
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 On April 3, 2017, the New York State Board of Regents (BOR) approved a protocol for Emergent 

Multilingual Learners developed to guide and support state-funded Prekindergarten programs in 

implementing best practices relative to the role of the home language. Staff were directed to utilize the 

Emergent Multilingual Learners (EMLLs) Language Profile for Prekindergarten Students as part of an 

EMLL Profile Process to identify when a prekindergarten student's home or primary language is other 

than English. The downloadable profile is available in 24 languages. 

 

The profile gathers information about all students in Prekindergarten, and identifies the existing 

language(s) and linguistic experiences of young students. It is part of an integral protocol that will 

assist educators in providing instructional services that best meet the needs of EMLLs. Students 

identified by the EMLL Language Profile are entitled to a combination of supports and instruction in 

their home language(s) while learning English. In addition, this protocol assists NYSED in maintaining 

accurate counts of EMLLs in Prekindergarten programs. All information gathered by this Protocol 

should be shared with Kindergarten teachers to ensure that there is an effective and successful 

transition from Prekindergarten to Kindergarten. 

 

Preschool Special Education 

NYSED has convened both an internal and external workgroup to discuss current prekindergarten 

Special Class in an Integrated Setting (SCIS) options. Chapter 59 of the Laws of 2017 require the 

department to recommend an alternative methodology for the current SCIS reimbursement. 

 

The purpose of the workgroup is to develop sustainable programmatic options for inclusion that allow 

preschool students with disabilities to be educated in least restrictive environment and make the 

changes to SED's existing program requirements and 4410 funding structures to support these options. 

NYSED convened a series of work group meetings for feedback from 4410 providers and school 

districts with representation from NYS Offices. These workgroups met for a total of six days and 

provided feedback on proposed models. 

 

An internal workgroup composed of NYSED staff have met to review the information gathered at the 

external stakeholders' meetings to: 

x Identify inclusion models and standards for quality inclusive early childhood programs. 

x Determine how general education and special education funding could be better structured to 

appropriately align reimbursement. 

x Develop preschool staffing standards to identify staffing level necessary for these inclusion 

option upon which the tuition rate may be calculates. 

x Report back to the Board of Regents in March 2018. 

Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) 

The ECAC believes every child in NYS should be healthy, learning and thriving in a family that is 

supported by a full complement of services and resources essential for successful development. The 

ECAC provides strategic direction and advice to NYS on early childhood issues. To develop a 

comprehensive early childhood system to support NY families, ECAC members are guided by four key 

principles: 

3⁄4Diversity: NY's plan will encompass all children and families, recognizing diversity of cultures, 

languages, abilities, and family structures. 

3⁄4Whole Health: Healthy development begins before birth and includes physical, oral, cognitive, 

and social-emotional health. 

3⁄4Parental Involvement: Parents and families play the most influential role in a child's life. The 
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term 'parent' includes all people with primary responsibility for nurturing children. 

3⁄4Public good: Families are best supported by strong public policy and services, promoting 

economic stability, self-sufficiency, and strong and resilient relationships. 

The ECAC is divided into four focus areas with specific goals as follows: 

Healthy Children: All young children are healthy and thriving and have access to comprehensive 

health care services. 

Strong Families: All families of young children are supported in their parenting and have the 

knowledge, skills, confidence, and resources they need to raise their children in healthy and nurturing 

environments. 

Early Learning: All young children will be successful in school and life 

Coordinated and Responsive Systems: Public and private sectors that serve young children and their 

families are committed to collecting and utilizing data to inform decisions, developing a sustainable 

infrastructure and a fully-trained, properly-compensated, and well-supported workforce, and 

establishing policies for accountable approaches that promote healthy children, strong families, and 

early learning. 

The ECAC met quarterly during 2017 and included the following topic areas: 

x Children and families experiencing homelessness 

x Immigration update and impact on young children and families 

x Medicaid redesign and its role in early childhood school readiness 

x Report on Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 

x Introduction and overview of The First 1,000 Days on Medicaid 

x New York Infant Mental Health Endorsement 

x Prevent Child Abuse NY and the modules on Adverse Childhood Experiences 

x Blue Ribbon Committee and First 1,000 Days ties to the ECAC Strategic Plan 

Challenges and Lessons Learned 

Common Metric 

The original grant application was written for four districts in the PDG to participate in the 

implementation of the Common Metric. Through a subcontract with CUNY, NYU designed the 

Common Metric, a system that unites the data from authentic assessment tools which should enable 

agencies and policy makers to analyze data across geographic and programmatic parameters. 

The districts have identified the tools as follows: 

x Yonkers - the Work Sampling System 

x Uniondale- the Work Sampling System 

x Port Chester-Teaching Strategies GOLD 

x Watertown- Teaching Strategies GOLD 

The primary goal of the Common Metric Project was to improve the skills that teachers have to assess 

the children in their classrooms so they can make effective decisions about curriculum design and 
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implementation, while making it possible to compare findings across these most commonly used online 

preschool authentic assessment tools. Upon receipt of initial 2017 data reports, NYSED found the 

reports not to meet their reporting needs. As a result, NYSED and CUNY decided to end the contract 

at the end of the 2017 calendar year. 

Going forward, a member of the NYSED team will work with the four districts to aggregate the 

necessary data. The staff member will analyze the reports at each checkpoint with district 

administrators, work with the districts to find areas of strengths and weaknesses that will strategically 

inform curriculum and instruction and will serve to inform the professional development of educators. 

On-going Quality Improvement 

One of the obstacles for teachers who are certified by NYSED is the requirement to register in two 

professional systems if their program is a participant in QualitystarsNY. As part of NYSED 

certification requirements, teachers are required to upload transcripts and professional development 

documents to maintain certification into the NYSED TEACH portal. If their program participates in 

QualitystarsNY they are required to upload the same information into the Aspire Registry. 

 

Currently, there is no cross-communication between the two systems. This hinders participation in 

QualitystarsNY as teachers do not have the time to maintain both accounts and as TEACH is 

mandatory for certification and QualitystarsNY participation is optional they often choose TEACH. 

NYSED and Aspire need to work together to come up with a stream lined system for entering 

documentation. 

 

 

 

 

 
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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: NY PR/Award #: s419B150021

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.

New York continues to expand preschool services across the state. Each of the grantee school districts 

continues to serve as many eligible children as possible in high-quality preschool programs. As of 

December 1, 2017, 2,371 eligible children (61,310) were served in high-quality preschool programs 

funded by the grant. This is 3.9% of all eligible children throughout the five subgrantee districts. 

 

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.

New York State Commissioner's Regulations Subpart 151-4(f) requires that children with disabilities 

be integrated into prekindergarten programs and that the environment and learning activities of the 

prekindergarten program shall be designed to promote and increase inclusion and integration of 

preschool children with disabilities. As such, each school district sub grantee is required to comply with 

Commissioner's Regulations and each prekindergarten program is required to make appropriate efforts 

to include children with disabilities in each prekindergarten program. Currently, 224 (9.4%) students 

with disabilities are served with grant funds. 

 

 

 
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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.

During the 2017-2018 school year there has been an increase in the number of children served in 3 of 

the 5 communities. There has been a decrease in Port Chester due to a decrease in the number of 

eligible children. In Yonkers, the school district is using the funding as full day slots therefore, their 

projected numbers were originally calculated as conversion slots. 

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.

New York State allocated an additional $5M in the 2017-18 school year, for the purposes of serving 

children in high-quality prekindergarten programs, which resulted in serving an anticipated additional 

957 three and four-year children in new or improved prekindergarten slots. In the 2017-2018 school 

year it is anticipated that New York will serve 119,424 children (65.80%). 
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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: 

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

measured; 

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

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

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

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

and/or Statewide; 

 x 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; 

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

Also, please describe, if applicable: 

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

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

subsets of the measure; 

 x 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 

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

(Rebecca) 

Overview of Assessment in New York State 

Currently, the state does not mandate a universal assessment tool, but allows the programs to choose a 

valid and reliable Early Childhood progress monitoring assessment. Each tool has benchmarks that 

identify what is appropriate for a 4-year old, and this is deemed school ready. The districts have 

identified their tools as followed: 

x New York City- the Work Sampling System, Teaching Strategies GOLD, COR 

Advantage (HighScope) 

x Yonkers- the Work Sampling System 

x Uniondale- the Work Sampling System 

x Port Chester- Rye- Teaching Strategies GOLD 

x Watertown- Teaching Strategies GOLD 
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The districts have been implementing their tools for at least 3 years now. Some programs have used 

them longer, as they had them already implemented before the PDG grant started. Others started a 

brand-new Pre-K program, or had not implemented an assessment system, therefore this process was 

new to them. 

 Yonkers, Uniondale, Port Chester and Watertown all received training on assessment during 

their summer institutes in the summer of 2016. NYC has on-going trainings around assessments for 

their Community Based Organizations (CBO's) partners. Quality Stars, NY State's Quality 

Improvement Rating System, has also supported the assessment work by providing opportunities to 

attend professional development around the specific assessment tools, how to implement them, and also 

how to apply assessment results into the classroom. 

Overall of Tools 

Pearson (creator of the Work Sampling System), HighScope (creator of COR Advantage) and Teaching 

Strategies (creator of the GOLD Assessment system) have created crosswalks to the NY 

Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core. Using these crosswalks as reference, a second 

crosswalk was created that allowed comparisons between the Work Sampling System, COR Advantage 

and Teaching Strategies GOLD. This helped to compare the three assessment systems and determine 

how many children were below appropriate developmental level, meeting the developmental level or 

surpassing the developmental level. 

The GOLD tool uses a numerical system, as it covers the span of infancy to third grade. Dependent on 

what is developmentally appropriate for that objective, the assessor will assign the child a number 

based on the different indicators that the number represents. Different colored rainbow bands are 

representational of age group, and if the child's number is in the colored band, they are deemed as 

developmentally on track. If the number falls below the colored band limits, this is considered below 

standards. If the number falls above the colored band limit, the child is exceeding expectations. This 

rating is based on observation of the students, along with concrete indicators and examples given in the 

online tool. In the assessment system, GOLD is able to create a report that states how many children, 

per district were below developmentally appropriate level, at the developmentally appropriate level and 

exceeding the developmentally appropriate level. The major domains in TS gold are Social Emotional, 

Physical, Language, Cognitive, Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Technology, Social Studies and 

The Arts. Within each major domain, there are 36 objectives which help specific indicators within that 

domain. 

Work Sampling uses a three-point system, where the child is rated on a “Not Yet”, “In Progress” and 

“Proficient” scale. There are also options for “Did Not Observe”, and “Not Applicable”. This tool is 

developed for children prekindergarten to third grade, and the teachers are expected to assess if the 

child is proficient based on what is developmentally accepted for their age. Teachers use observations 

and samples of the child's work that are collected during the observation period to support their rating. 

The major domains of the assessment tool are Personal and Social Development, Language and 

Literacy, Mathematical Thinking, Scientific thinking, Social Studies, The Arts, Physical Development, 

Health and Safety. Within these major domains, there are various more specific categories and 

benchmarked that are assessed. 

COR Advantage, by HighScope uses a level 0-7 system. Each level is assigned to a specific indicator 

based on a broader category. Depending on where the child falls, based on observation, the teacher 

will rate the child in one of those levels. Different levels correspond with the different age groups, 

allowing for overlap, as children develop skills at different rates. Based on the levels of each domain, 

the scores are averaged, and compared to what a typically developing child may score. This helps to see 

if the child is at, below or above grade level. The main domains are Approaches to learning, Social and 

Emotional Development, Physical Development and Health, Language, Literacy and Communication, 

Mathematics, Creative Arts, and Social Studies. 

 

Assessment Data for 2016-2017 

For the 2016-2017 school year, all five district collected assessment data during three different 

checkpoint periods (Fall, Winter, Spring). NYSED collaborated with the different districts to interpret 
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and draw down clean data, which truly reflected the population that is served by this grant. 

Comparisons were made between the different assessment systems using the same major domains 

(Personal and Social-Emotional (including cognitive), Physical, Literacy and Language, Mathematics, 

Science, The Arts). Because of the way the assessments are written, as some of the assessments 

combined the major domains, the Crosswalk was used to match each of the major domains 

respectively. 

Data was collected for children who were in a Federal Pre-K classroom all year, and had all three 

assessments completed. Therefore, the number of spots in each district may not match the amount of 

children represented in each domain as there was turnover as children may have left and joined a 

classroom during the year. Also, in certain assessment tools, one must finalize the tool in order for it to 

be complete, and therefore all of the domains are not complete. As with past history, teachers may have 

forgotten to finalize the data, or not reported on each of the specific domains, therefore reports were run 

with unfinalized and incomplete data. Also, some sites did not have their content areas for TS GOLD 

assessed during the 2016-2017 school year, therefore data for some students is missing for the Science 

and Technology, Social Studies, and The Arts. This oversight has been corrected and will be reported 

on during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school year. 

(Still missing NYC data) For the Personal and Social Development Domain, 921 out of 1127 (82%) of 

children, who completed a full year in the PEG grant program were proficent. For the Language and 

Literacy domain, 837 out of 1127 (74%) are proficient and meeting age level expectations. For 

Mathematical Thinking, 798 out of 1127 (71%) of children were proficient. In the domain of Scientific 

Thinking, 691 out of 1007 (69%) children were proficient. In Social Studies, 696 out of 1007 (69%) of 

children were proficient. For the Arts domain, 816 out of 1007 (81%) children were proficient. For the 

final domain of Physical development, which includes both gross and fine motor, 979 out of 1007 (955) 

children were considered proficient. Overall, a total of 820 (77%) children were proficient or meeting 

grade level in all 5 districts in the 

Continued Progress 

 In the upcoming year, SED now has access to most of the data systems, therefore is providing 

technical assistance in troubleshooting with the various assessment programs and collecting data in a 

timely manner. This will help to ensure continuity and consistency between each of the programs, as 

SED is able to see where there may be data missing, or areas of concern. This also allows the data to be 

collected in real time, and therefore identifying discrepancies before the school year has completed. 

Assessment training will continue, with hopes that these tools will be used to fidelity, also using the 

data to drive both individual and programmatic change. With the TS Gold system, teachers and 

administrators can test to fidelity, ensuring that they are using the system correctly. With continued 

support and professional development, teachers and administrators will become more familiar with the 

systems. SED OEL will continue to support these programs through more sessions on Assessment and 

also individual technical assistances if needed. 
ED 524B Page 15 of 30

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.

N/A
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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.

Investment in the Structural Elements of Quality 

New York State Next Generation Learning Standards 

NYS in response to the provisions of Every Student Succeed Act had formed work groups in 2016 to 

revise and develop appropriate learning standards that span prekindergarten students through grade 

twelve. Representatives from the NYSOEL participated in content area standard work groups for 

science, math, and English language arts. 

 

The Board of Regents adopted the newly revised English Language Arts and Mathematics Learning 

Standards on September 11, 2017. The new standards have been the result of over two years of 

collaborative work to ensure New York State has the best learning standards for our students. Over 130 

educators and parents worked together to make recommendations and revise the standards, resulting in 

a new set of revised English Language Arts and Mathematics Learning Standards (the science 

standards were adopted by the Board of Regents in December 2016). 

 

Over the course of the last few years and in collaboration with numerous arts education stakeholders 

across New York State, the NYS Education Department spearheaded the development of draft New 

York State PK-12 Learning Standards for the Arts (NYSLSA) in Dance, Music, Theatre, Visual and 

Media Arts. 

The projected timeline for standards and assessments over the coming years is: 

x September 2017: Adoption of Next Generation Learning Standards 

x Awareness Building 2017-2018 School Year: Two-day assessments measuring the current 

standards; professional development on Next Generation Learning Standards; 

x Capacity Building 2018-2019 School Year: Two-day assessments measuring the current 

standards; professional development continuing on Next Generation Learning Standards; 

x Capacity Building 2019-2020 School Year: Two-day assessments measuring the current 

standards; professional development continuing on Next Generation Learning Standards; 

x Full Implementation September 2020: Full implementation of the Next Generation Learning 

Standards; 

x Spring 2021: New grade 3-8 tests measuring Next Generation Learning Standards. 

 
ED 524B Page 17 of 30

 

High Quality Program Standards 

Four of the five participating districts continue to work with QualitystarsNY which has developed a 

set of Standards for each modality of early childhood programs (Centers, Public Schools, Family/

Home providers). The Standards were created to define best practice in early childhood settings and 

guide programs/providers in ensuring the quality of children's daily experiences and promoting 

positive child outcomes. 

There are four categories of standards Learning Environment; Family Engagement; Qualifications & 

Experience; and Leadership & Management. 

New York City has developed their own Pre-K for All Program Quality Standards in the following 

categories: Strong Family-Community Ties, Supportive Environment, Collaborative Teachers, and 

Effective School Leadership. The Pre-K for All Program Quality Standards define the New York City 

Department of Education's vision for high-quality Pre-K for All programs in NYC. 

They describe the key practices of family engagement, rigorous and developmentally appropriate 

instruction, professional collaborations, and leadership that support children in gaining the knowledge 

and skills outlined in the NYS Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core. Grounded in the 

NYCDOE's vision for school improvement across the pre-K to 12 continuum, The Framework for 

Great Schools, the Pre-K for All Quality Standards establishes a shared set of expectations for all preK programs. The Division of Early Childhood Education, pre-K program leaders and educators, and 

pre-K families use the Quality Standards to understand and advance program quality. 

 

Teacher Education 

The Early Learning work group of the ECAC has been charged with the following action items which 

help support the education, professional development and retention of quality teachers on NYS. 

x Promoting the use of the NY's Early Learning Frameworks (Core Body of Knowledge, 

Early Learning Guidelines, and the Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core) in 

all settings serving children birth to age 8 and at all levels of the system (i.e. professional 

teacher preparation, professional, development, service, delivery, et.) to ensure high quality. 

x Develop a unified competency- based professional development system for the early 

care and education workforce. 

x Establish recruitment and retention strategies to ensure NY has the early childhood 

workforce necessary to implement a high quality early learning system. 

 

Professional Development 

During the summer of 2017 four districts, Watertown, Uniondale, Port Chester, and Yonkers held a 

summer training institute for their teachers. Highlights included: 

3⁄4 Watertown: sessions on Developmentally Appropriate Practice, the Creative Curriculum Study 

Starters, Interest Driven Curriculum, Integrating Play 

3⁄4Uniondale: sessions on Preschool Special Education Practices, Science, Assessment and Gross 

Motor Activities & Practices 

3⁄4Port Chester: topics for sessions on Units of Study, Interest Driven Curriculum, DIAL 4, 

Assessment Practices 

3⁄4Yonkers: Assessment Practices, Units of Study, Reading Aloud 

New York State is a Pyramid Model Implementation State. Several of the five districts have had both 

teachers and leaders participate in training in Pyramid Sessions for prekindergarten students as follows: 
ED 524B Page 18 of 30

 

x Session 1: Promoting Children's Success: Building Relationship and Creating Supportive 

Environments: Uniondale, Watertown, Port Chester 

x Session 2: Social Emotional Teaching Strategies: Uniondale, Port Chester 

NYSAEYC has launched a three-part series titled Interest-Driven Learning Framework: A Dynamic 

Approach to Teaching and Learning for Birth to Five Programs. The series delves into Interest-Driven 

Curriculum and its alignment with common curriculum approaches. The goal of the series is to help 

the field understand how to appropriately implement the curriculum they've selected while meeting the 

developmental needs of all children in their program. Uniondale has completed Sessions 1 and 2, 

Watertown and Port Chester have completed Session 1, and the additional sessions are planned in those 

three districts. 

Professional development is provided to educators in the districts throughout the year on curriculum. 

For example, when rolling out a new study in Watertown on pets, the district brought all teachers from 

partnering community-based organizations together to came together to plan, reflect, and evaluate 

materials they would use for the study. During each roll out of a new unit district staff in Watertown 

provide a session that includes prizes and activities relevant to the topic. Each of these sessions 

provides teachers with the tools and knowledge in how to effectively utilize developmentally 

appropriate curriculum in their classrooms. 

 

Simlaryly, in Uniondale, teachers receive professional development in how to roll out a unit of study 

like the format in Watertown. Additionally, teachers are able to meet as part of professional 

development communities throughout the month. During these sessions they can discuss topics 

relevant to prekindergarten. 

 

Yonkers has a calendar of on-going professional development that is provided throughout the year. 

Topics included setting up the environment, the use of assessment in planning, units of study, and 

open-ended art. Yonkers utilizes the Second Step curriculum as the districts social and emotional 

curriculum and offers ongoing support to teachers in curriculum implementation. 

 

Port Chester school district partners with the Head Start in the community. Through this partnership, 

staff can receive training in comprehensive services, health and safety items, and curriculum and 

assessment practices. 

 

In New York City, as part of the historic Pre-K for All Initiative, every Pre-K for All classrooms 

continued to participate in an instructional track for professional learning. Instructional tracks support 

sites in meeting the Pre-K for All Program Quality Standards (PQS) and in advancing student learning 

based on the Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core (PKFCC). These tracks are as follows: 

 

NYC Pre-K Explore: 

Focus: Provide leaders and teachers with strategies to increase children's critical thinking and 

problem solving skills through a comprehensive interdisciplinary learning experience. 

 

Overview: Leaders and teachers will learn how to teach concept development and problem 

solving as well as how to support students in developing inquiry, language, and higher order 

thinking skills through strategies such as open-ended questioning, reflection, vocabulary 

development and purposeful play. Participating programs will use the evidence-based Building 

Blocks math curriculum with the research-based Pre-K for All Interdisciplinary Units of Study. 

These curricula are designed to work together and are aligned to the PKFCC and the three 
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DOE-approved Authentic Assessment Systems. 

 

Participating pre-K programs will receive with materials needed to implement Building Blocks 

in their classrooms, as well as professional learning sessions and onsite coaching provided by 

experts in the field to support the integration and implementation of Building Blocks and the 

Pre-K for All Interdisciplinary Units of Study. 

 

NYC Pre-K Thrive 

Focus: Provide leaders and teachers with evidence-based practices to strengthen family 

engagement and promote social, emotional and behavioral regulation skills among children. 

 

Overview: Leaders and teachers will learn concrete strategies to promote safe, predictable and 

nurturing environments at school and at home. To foster a sense of community among 

participants, teachers and leaders will stay in the same “learning pods” for each professional 

learning session. 

 

Participating pre-K programs will receive innovative tools and resources for use in the 

classroom and at home to support the use of evidence-based practices in daily interactions with 

children and families. A subset of pre-K programs in NYC Pre-K Thrive will also receive onsite coaching, tools and resources to implement ParentCorps, an evidencebased program for 

families and pre-K students. ParentCorps includes a 14-week parenting program facilitated by a 

mental health professional during school and after-school hours. 

 

NYC Pre-K Thrive is part of ThriveNYC, a citywide, mayoral initiative to support the mental 

health of all New Yorkers, including pre-K children. Professional learning and implementation 

of ParentCorps is supported by the Center for Early Childhood Health and Development at the 

NYU School of Medicine 

 

NYC Pre-K Create 

Focus: Provide leaders and teachers with strategies to incorporate the visual arts, dance, theater, 

and music into instruction to provide opportunities for children to explore new concepts, 

express themselves, and make connections across learning domains. 

 

Overview: Leaders and teachers will learn to incorporate the visual arts, dance, theater, and 

music into their instruction to promote student learning in multiple PKFCC domains and Arts 

Blueprint strands. Sessions will include the delivery of content from experts in the field and 

practical, experiential application of content, opportunities for peer exchange, and time to 

consider how to integrate the content into their programs. 

 

Participating pre-K programs will receive a toolkit of resources that will also be used in the 

actual workshop training. Age appropriate and PKFCC-aligned picture books, pedagogical 

resources, and art-specific resources such as musical instruments, visual arts supplies, simple 

costume pieces, and CDs for movement activities are included. 

 

NYC Pre-K Inspire 

Focus: Provide leaders and teachers with strategies that incorporate rigorous and 
ED 524B Page 20 of 30

developmentally appropriate instruction and family engagement practices aligned to the 

Program Quality Standards (PQS) and support children in gaining the knowledge and skills 

outlined in the New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core (PKFCC). 

 

Overview: Leaders and teachers will learn practical strategies to continually deepen and 

improve their practice in multiple content areas, such as assessment, classroom management, 

critical thinking, and language development. Sessions will include a variety of content that 

addresses key early childhood instructional and family engagement practices aligned to the 

PQS. 

 

There are opportunities for districts to use their grant funds to send participants to professional 

conferences such as the annual New York State Association for the Education of Young Children 

Conference and the Long Island Pre-K Initiative. 

 

Engaging Parents in Educational Decisions 

Each of the Districts have provided opportunities for families in making educational decisions. 

 

Yonkers 

x School Wellness Committee meetings are held in individual schools throughout the year. 

x The focus is on supporting the health and wellness in each school community. 

x PTA meetings are held monthly to engage families in school activities and events 

x Create school readiness committees comprised of parents and educators 

x Safety Committee Meetings held to review the school's Safety Plan and to review all health and 

safety procedures. 

 

New York City 

x The DECE created the Pre-K for All Commitment to Families document to provide an overview 

of the services families can expect from every Pre-K for All program, and to describe the 

partnership between families and pre-K programs. 

x The DECE provides a Pre-K Directory for families with detailed information on all Pre-K for 

All programs. The directory is available online and in print in English and nine other languages. 

In addition, hard copies are available at Family Welcome Centers, schools and Libraries. 

x DECE requires that programs maintain communications with families throughout the school 

year to develop families' capacity to enrich children's academic, social, emotional and 

behavioral skills that are foundational to learning. 

 

Port Chester 

x Create school readiness opportunities with parents and educators 

x Participation on Policy Council through the partnership with Head Start 

 

Uniondale 

x Parent and Teachers discuss students' academic and social development 

x Conduct parent training to support and foster school participation, child's academic 

development and performance and parental skills development. 

x Assists in planning monthly family workshops, such as “Promoting Healthy Social/Emotional 

Development in Preschoolers,” “Learning Challenges and Cues- fostering positive behavior”, 
ED 524B Page 21 of 30

“Parents, Children, Play and Literacy,” and “Parent Leadership-You Got the Power.” 

 

Watertown 

x Parent Teacher Conferences to discuss child progress 

x Gathering of local stakeholders to discuss more effective ways to transition children to 

Kindergarten. 

x Parents are encouraged to take their child to the transition session held at their l 

 

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 22 of 30

✔ 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 23 of 30

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.

During 2016, Section 3602-e of NYS Education Law was amended to require that all school districts 

receiving any State and/or federal prekindergarten grant must adopt approved quality indicators within 

two years, including, but not limited to, valid and reliable measures of environmental quality, the 

quality of teacher-student interactions, and student outcomes. 

 

The State's approved quality indicators are set forth in a document titled NYS Pre-K Self-Assessment 

and Quality Improvement Action Plan. These high-quality program indicators address the following 

categories: 

x Classroom Environment (3 standards) 

x Teaching Staff Qualifications (4 standards) 

x Curriculum Planning and Implementation (5 standards) 

x Child Screening and Assessment (5 standards) 

x Professional Development (6 standards) 

x Family Engagement and Supports (4 standards) 

x Transitions to Kindergarten (7 standards) 

 

Every two years, districts receiving one or more of the above listed Pre-K grants must complete and 

submit to the State Education Department (SED) the NYS Pre-K Program Self-Assessment and Quality 

Improvement Action Plan. One Self-Assessment and Quality Improvement Action Plan must be 

submitted for the district's entire Pre-K program. If a district has Pre-K classrooms at more than one 

site it is the district's responsibility to assess the overall status of its Pre-K program. 

 

In addition, districts receiving multiple prekindergarten grants must think about their program and the 

self-assessment and quality improvement plan process across funding streams. Within the selfassessment and/or action plan, districts with multiple grants may need to reflect or describe different 

processes for different components of their Pre-K programs. For example, a district with UPK and 3PK 

may have different practices or be at different levels of implementation for its three-year-old program 

component and the four-year-old program component. Both components should be described in the 

self-assessment. In its action plan, the district should specify whether an action step applies to the entire 

program or to a specific component. 

 

Conducting the NYS Pre-K Program Quality Self-Assessment 

The purposes of the NYS Pre-K Program Quality Self-Assessment and Quality Improvement Action 

Plan are: 

 

1. To assess status of Pre-K program by looking at standards in seven areas of program quality; 2. To 

identify areas of strength and areas needing improvement; and 

3. To establish priorities for program implementation and improvement. 

 

It was recommended that districts use a team approach when conducting the self-assessment. The 

number and type of team members will vary by district, dependent on the size and design of the 
ED 524B Page 24 of 30

district's Pre-K program. Possible participants include, but are not limited to: 

• District and community-based organization (CBO) administrators 

• Pre-K teachers - district and CBO 

• Kindergarten teachers 

• Family/parent workers; social workers 

• Parents 

• Other community stakeholders 

 

When using the NYS Pre-K Self-Assessment and Quality Improvement Action Plan, districts rated the 

status of implementation of the standard for prekindergarten services offered directly by the district 

and/or its collaborating CBOs. The level of implementation of each standard for the overall program 

were as follows: - “Not Implemented,” “In Progress,” or “Implemented.” In the Description of 

Implementation Status column districts described what currently was in place to meet the standard. 

After action plans are submitted to NYSED, they will be reviewed by an OEL reviewer and are either 

approved or returned for more information from the district. 

 

On-site Monitoring Process 

E ach prekindergarten program is monitored using the same process. A visit is scheduled with the 

program and introductory materials including a checklist of documents to prepare for the visit are sent 

to the district to gather and have ready for the monitoring process (these documents include class 

rosters, teacher certification records, health and safety documents, fiscal documents). 

 

During the on-site visit, the NYSED representative uses the NYS Prekindergarten Program Compliance 

Checklist to ensure facility quality, appropriate staffing patterns, indicators of physical well-being and 

health, evidence of program oversight and fiscal management. Additionally, a sample of classrooms 

are observed to ensure quality environments, appropriate curriculum practices, and teacher-child 

interactions using the NYS Prekindergarten Observation Tool. 

 

 

 

Selection Criteria (D)(4) from NIA 

Describe the number and percent of Eligible Children served and the cost per slot.

2,371 eligible children were served in this program year, which is 62.86% of overall eligible students. 

The cost for a high-quality prekindergarten program for this grant is $10,000 per child per school year. 

This amount considers the cost of a certified teacher, a paraprofessional, a curriculum that is aligned 

with NYS prekindergarten standards, and administrative costs. 

 
ED 524B Page 25 of 30

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.

 Overview 

NYSED continues to provide extensive technical assistance and monitoring of each sub-grantee. Each 

sub-grantee has participated in the annual leadership meetings and sub-grantee calls. In an effort to 

improve program quality, members of the OEL team visited each program during the 2016 school year 

to provide technical assistance. Each sub-grantee also received a monitoring visit. During these visits 

members of the NYSED OEL team reviews the program using the NYS Quality Assurance Protocol 

(QAP). The results from the QAP visit are reviewed to determine individual technical assistance visits 

during the summer institute. In addition NYSED continues to collaborate with QUALITYstarsNY to 

provide additional support to each sub-grantee. 

 

1. Establish roles and responsibilities of the State and Sub-grantee toward implementing the 

State's plan; 

CUNY/SED: 

In collaboration with New York State Education (SED), CUNY's New York Early Childhood 

Professional Development Institute (PDI) has hired a staff person who is dedicated to the following: 

1. Manage any and all subcontracts pursuant to the grant funds; 

2. Coordinate communication and efforts with the Early Childhood Advisory Council, PDI, and SED; 

 3. Assist in the development, organization, and implementation of the project orientations for each 

sub-grantee community; 

4. In collaboration with SED, provide assistance to the school district sub-grantees; 

 

NYU: 

In working with New York University's Child and Family Policy Center the “New York State UPK 

Expansion: Authentic Assessment Professional Development Project” is designed to provide 

professional development support related to the Authentic Assessment to educators at the sub-grantee 

districts. The project aims to increase overall fidelity of authentic assessment implementation at the 

participating sites. 

2. Increasing organizational capacity; 

Each sub-grantee is slotted to build capacity throughout the life of the grant. NYS has increased 

capacity this year by adding additional funds to high-needs districts for three and four year-olds by 

adding an additional $5 million dollars through an RFP process that increased prekindergarten slots in 

NYS by an additional 13 three year old seats and 968 four year old seats . 

3. Ensuring that each Sub grantee minimizes local administrative costs; 

 

Upon submission of district budgets, NYSED ensure that districts are minimizing local costs. 

For example, if a district has multiple state funding streams for state administered prekindergarten, then 
ED 524B Page 26 of 30

the salary of an administrator is cost-allocated across grants. 

 

4. Monitoring early learning providers; 

See section 2 for a thorough review of the monitoring process 

5. Coordination of plans related to assessment, data sharing, instructional tools, family 

engagement, cross-sector and comprehensive services efforts, professional development, and 

workforce and leadership development; 

From January 1 - December 30, 2017, New York University was responsible for the following: 

Professional Development: 

Encompasses the professional development and continued support measures related to authentic 

assessment for educators in Uniondale, Yonkers, Port Chester-Rye, and Watertown. 

3⁄4Align basic implementation plan, improve fidelity, and communicate with families using preexisting materials. 

3⁄4Participants received continued coaching sessions via phone organized around three checkpoint 

dates. 

3⁄4The Authentic Assessment Hotline was available for a minimum of 20 hours per week, was 

advertised for, and utilized by educators for questions pertaining to using the assessment tools. 

3⁄4Four Summer Institutes took place during the summer which included break-out group work to 

energize educators and to communicate the importance of the authentic assessment as part of 

teaching and learning. 

3⁄4Participants attending a one, full-day on-site session which focused on the schools' chosen 

authentic assessment tool to reinforce strategies for collecting observations/documentation, 

writing anecdotes, scoring anecdotes, finalizing checklists, interpreting reports, and navigating 

the on-line tool. 

 

Data Quality Check: 

3⁄4 guided affiliated programs and schools on how to transfer de-identified data to NYU. 

3⁄4 cleaned the data for statistical analysis for data quality. 

3⁄4 was to produce a meaningful report that can be shared with the affiliated programs and schools 

to gain insight into the quality of the data produced. 

 

6. Coordination and delivery of High-Quality Preschool programs with state funded programs; 

 

New York state has a substantial investment in High Quality Prekindergarten programs. Currently 

three of the five sub-grantees coordinate with other state funded prekindergarten programs. In addition, 

two sub grantees coordinate services with Head Start funds. 

 

7. Integration of High-Quality Preschool Programs; 

 
ED 524B Page 27 of 30

Four of the five programs participate in QualitystarsNY which allows them the opportunity to selfreflect and utilize resources to ensure they are meeting the highest quality standards for prekindergarten 

programs. New York City has its own set of quality program standards (see Section A: Part B:1) 

 

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).

Early Learning Standards Task Force 

The Department convened the New York State Early Learning Standards Task Force to discuss 

concerns around the P-2 grades, including standards, program decisions, social emotional needs, and 

how the content areas/domains work together in the early grades. The Task Force, which includes 

classroom teachers from Prekindergarten-Grade 2, parents, school administrators, and professors, 

continues to meet and is now working on recommendations to develop resources and guidance to 

implement the new standards, including resources on standards, professional development for teachers, 

and instructional practice. 

The Early Learning Standards Task Force recommended the following areas for additional guidance or 

resources to be developed over the coming months: 

xStandards, Curriculum, and Assessment 

xInstructional Practice (including Developmentally Appropriate Practice) 

xSystems and P-12 School Support 

xParent Resources 

xProfessional Development and Teacher Training 

xChild Development 

The work of the Task Force is not complete and the group will meet and work together in the coming 

months to recommend resources for educators. 

 

P-3 Leadership Meeting 

During May of 2016 NYSED held a leadership meeting with federal grantees and other targeted districts 

participated in a pilot P-3 initiative. The purpose of the meeting was: 

• To establish a cohort of school districts across New York State who have developed and 

implemented a plan to support the P-3 continuum in their district. 

• Use lessons learned from the cohort districts to refine the process for future districts to engage 

in a P-3 continuum project in their district. 

 

Utilizing the Alignment Framework P-3 developed by Kauerz and Coffman districts brought team to 

participate in a two-day presentation and workshop conference where they developed goals and action 

items specific to their district needs. NYSED continues to provide technical assistance and has gone onsite with districts to continue to meet with their P-3 team. 
ED 524B Page 28 of 30

 
ED 524B Page 29 of 30

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.

N/A

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.

N/A

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.

N/A
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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.

The actual number of children served has decreased due to serving students in full day slots; in previous years 

there were conversion slots in some districts. All appropriate funds for FY 2017 funds have been obligated and 

final payments are in process. NYSED is working to re-allocate slots that are not being filled in some subgrantee school districts to another sub-grantee. NYSED is also considering partnering with an additional school 

district in the 2018-2019 school year. 

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).

There are no anticipated changes at this time. 

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.

New York State remains committed to implementing truly universal prekindergarten. Recent enacted 

budgets have resulted in total preschool appropriation of over $822 million. New York State has 

committed funds in anticipation of the end of this grant. The federal program will be absorbed into the 

State's preschool program infrastructure. 

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 actual number of children served in a few districts was less that anticipated for 2017. Yonkers City School 

District changed its funded slots from conversion slots to full day slots which resulted in the change in overall 

numbers. All funds from FY 2017 have been obligated and final payments are in process.