2016 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

Arizona

Preschool Development Grants AUGUST 2017
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State: Arizona Zip: 85007

U.S. Department of Education

PDG Grant Performance Report Cover Sheet

Based on ED 524B OMB No. 1894-0003 Exp. 06/30/2017

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

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

6. Project Director Name: Nicol Russell

Title: Deputy Associate Superintendent

Phone #: 602.542.8706 Ext.: Fax #:

Email Address: Nicol.Russell@azed.gov

Reporting Period Information

7. Reporting Period: From: 01/01/2016 To: 12/01/2016

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 $4,583,088.00

b. Current Budget Period $20,000,000.00 $4,572,319.00

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: 07/01/2016 To: 06/30/2017

Approving Federal agency: ✔ ED Other Specify other:

Type of Rate: (Final Performance Reports only) Provisional ✔ Final Other 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)?

10. Performance Measures Status

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

Project Status Chart?

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

Yes No
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U.S. Department of Education

PDG Annual Performance Report

Executive Summary

Based on ED 524B OMB No. 1894-0003 Exp. 06/30/2017

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 2016, 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 2016, this continued partnership enabled us the opportunity to provide 2,307 slots for four

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

programming in 32 high-need communities (HNCs) in Arizona. In year one, we had several challenges

that were reflected on during our on-site monitoring from our program officer. As a result of that visit,

we developed a corrective action plan to address three key areas: the recruitment of teachers with

Bachelor's degrees; full-day programming; and comparable teacher salaries. We continued to work on

these areas in year two so we could increase the number of children served. As a result, we saw an

increase of 1,055 children and 5 HNCs from our first year. The 32 HNCs are spread across five counties

and were selected based on an original set of four criteria. 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 development of an 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

representativesfrom 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
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restrictive environment; the availability and quality of least restrictive 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 self-identify 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.

• The use of College Scholarshipsto 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 2016, Preschool Development

Grant funds were used to fund 203 students pursuing Bachelor's degrees in early childhood or

early childhood special education! The total number of credit hours paid for in 2016 was

3,487!

• The collaborative work with Arizona's Institutes of Higher Education

In our original application, we said we would provide technical assistance to Arizona's

institutes of higher education (IHE) who wish to re-evaluate the coursework for the early

childhood and early childhood special education certificates. In addition, we proposed

partnering with IHEs to provide professional development academies for ECE/ECSE faculty on

the components of a high-quality preschool program linking directly to Arizona's documents in

the early learning continuum and child development spanning the ages of birth to 8. In 2016,

ADE collaborated with the Head Start State Collaboration Office and First Things First (FTF) to

co-host a two-day, in-person opportunity for representatives of Arizona's institutes of higher

education. During this opportunity, early childhood representatives from the various institutes

reviewed and worked on the alignment of ECE course objectives for their respective ECE/ECSE

programs of study. There were approximately 50 participants from Arizona's various IHEs,

inclusive of public and private institutions. ADE used Preschool Development Grant funds to

provide stipends to attendees to cover the cost of travel and overnight stay.

Additionally, In October 2016, ADE hosted an informational session for IHEs to learn about

accreditation for institutes of higher education through the National Association for the

Education of Young Children (NAEYC). A representative from NAEYC's national team led the

informational sessions and provided an overview of the whole accreditation process. After

much consideration, and through collaborative conversations, it was decided ADE would use a

procurement process to make funds available to the IHEs to pursue accreditation of their early

childhood or early childhood special education degree programs.
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Challenges and Lessons Learned

In year two, 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

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 2016, 396 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 discounted slots, however, did impact our overall number.

One of the lessons we learned 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. 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 will use 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 is to ensure year three of PDG program all children are served in slots that meet the full

definition of high-quality preschool programming.
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Conclusion

In conclusion, 2016 was a year of many accomplishments for ADE's ECE Unit. We believe the work we

did to engage partners for the work prior to and during the writing of our application was well worth

the effort. The lessons learned in year one informed the planning for year two, 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 high-quality programming to children and

their families. In year two, 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, our 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. 06/30/2017

Grantee State: AZ PR/Award #: S419A150009

Section A: Performance Objectives Information and Related Performance Measures Data

(narrative)

1. Project Objective

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, 2016.

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 2016, of the 2,307 PDG children, 204 children with disabilities were served by sub-grantees. This

represents 8% 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. Exemptions (for

example, 1 child instead of 2) may be applied for 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

In 2016, we proposed serving 2,601 children in high-quality preschool programs funded by the grant.

The actual number of eligible children served was 2,307. This means we served 87% 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 2,601 slots available, only 2,307 were filled. While this

may seem like a disappointment, we are actually quite pleased with this number since it is an increase

of 1,055 children from year one! Our PDG team is working on even stronger recruitment efforts for

Year 3.
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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 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.

Additionally, sub-grantees are receiving technical assistance from an ADE Early Childhood Program

Specialist 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.

Each HNC has identified, on a graphic organizer, the local LRE continuum placement options for their

local IEP teams. Going through this process has allowed sub-grantees within an HNC to recognize the

various options for children with special needs and to recognize themselves as one of those options.

Also, sub-grantees have received technical assistance on the Child Find process from their local school

districts within the HNCs. During PDG compliance monitoring, the ADE ECPS reviewed each subgrantee's LRE continuum of placement options to ensure the requirement was being met. In instances

where the sub-grantee was struggling, a plan of action was developed and technical assistance was

provided.
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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 2016 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 from year one, 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, $378,585 was used to support the

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

AZDash. In 2016, 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.

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 2016, Preschool Development Grant funds were used to fund 203 students

pursuing Bachelor's degrees or higher in early childhood or early childhood special education! The

total number of credit hours paid for in 2016 was 3,487. 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.

Specifically, the ADE ECE unit met with representatives of the administrative home for the

scholarships, PBS, to outline an outreach plan for the PDG HNCs, delivery of information on the

scholarships, and the priority order of award of scholarships to meet the PDG expectations. 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 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 2016. The

three large professional development events were: the Kindergarten Transitions for All Summit in

February 2016; the Supporting the Young Learner with Special Education Needs Summit in April 2016,

and the Early Learning Summer Institute in June 2016. All PDG sub-grantees will had the opportunity
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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 2016-17 school year.

In 2016, the total number of children served overall in high-quality preschool programs funded by 

PDG was 3,559. This is the sum of children served in years one and two. This was an increase from 3%

to 3.6% of four year-olds in Arizona. 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 the state's tiered quality rating improvement system, Quality

First (QF). Of the programs participating in PDG, 14 sub-grantees were already participating in QF and

41 sub-grantees were newly selected to participate in QF, of which 8 sub-grantees were on the 

waiting list for a number of years. In our original application we indicated our plan to invest a

significant amount of money in Quality First since QF already partners with child care and preschool

providers to improve the quality of early learning across Arizona. 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 curriculum-building, and the use of assessments to improve

learning outcomes. QF is the measurement system by which the sub-grantees in HNCs will be

measured as they move towards higher levels of quality.

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.
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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 2 APR, grantees will provide disaggregated data on the school readiness of the children served

by the grant. This may include information collected about the children served by the grant at the end of their

2015-16 preschool year or in their 2016-17 kindergarten year. States may provide data from a sample of

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

In the Year 2 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.

Currently, Arizona does not yet have a Kindergarten Entry Assessment. However, in years one and two

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), Approachesto

Learning (curiosity, initiative, persistence, creativity, problem-solving, and confidence), Physical WellBeing and Motor Development and Self-Regulation of attention and emotion. Intentional

development of skills and knowledge in these domains establishes a critical foundation for children to

engage in and benefit from opportunities to learn.” In 2016, however, a significant amount of work

was done to continue Arizona's work to develop an appropriate tool. Arizona is part of the North

Carolina K-3 Formative Assessment Consortium to help develop a valid and reliable Kindergarten

Developmental Inventory (KDI) --Arizona's kindergarten entrance assessment.
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To determine the number and percentage of children in the HNCs ready for kindergarten, we sampled

data from fifty percent of portfolios of those children enrolled in PDG in the 2015-16 school year. In

the school year 2015-2016, there were 1,252 children in slots funded by PDG. Of those 1,252 children,

we received data on 1,007 children. When we sampled 50% of those children's portfolios (504

portfolios), we determined 438 children (87%) were ready for kindergarten. To determine 

“readiness,” we used the Teaching Strategies Gold Snapshot Report. From the report we extracted

how many children were “Meeting and 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 2016, 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.

The updated timeline Arizona identified for the work of establishing a KDI is as follows:

• August 2016-June 2017: Full K-3 Assessment Field Test. The purpose of the field test will be to

examine the validity and reliability of the assessment, the quality of the supporting materials,

and the quality of the professional development and technology.

• February 2017: A Request for Proposals will be released to the public to select Arizona's tool.

• Fall 2017: Implementation of the use of the tool.

Assessments and Instruments

In 2016, 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

education, and has been adopted by Arizona Head Start programs.

Training and Test Quality

In 2016, ADE worked with TSG staff to provide six Introduction to Teaching Strategies GOLD two-day

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.

Plansfor Year 3 Reporting
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Based on our updated time line, we anticipate having data from the KDI available in Year 3. 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 system-wide, 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.
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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 2016, 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

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 14 of 37

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 to demonstrate

compliance and validate quality improvements. The monitoring process is a team approach in

collaboration with grant partners. A strengths-based, comprehensive 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, 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:

• 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
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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.

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 2016, the ADE ECE unit provided professional development to the HNCs 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. As a result, all PDG sub-grantees received needed training and were able to assemble their
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ECQUIP teams to start the ECQUIP process.

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 evidence-

✔ based 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;

✔ 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.
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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". Also each HNC has an Early Childhood

Program Specialist (CPS) that works with them to assist them in meeting the requirements of the

grant. The ADE 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 ECPS also works with the HNC

ECQUIP/COP 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.

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

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. College Scholarships started being awarded for the spring 2016

semester. 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 allstaff;

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
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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 Early

Childhood Program Specialists working at ADE 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.

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

2016, 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-instructionalstaff 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

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 2016, 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 disabilitiesto 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 theirservices in their least restrictive environmentsettings. 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. Exemptions (for example, 1 child instead of 2) may be

applied for small family child care. In our original application we indicated we would support subgrantees 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
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meet the needs of children with special needs.

Additionally, sub-grantees are receiving technical assistance from an ADE Early Childhood Program

Specialist 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.

Each HNC has identified, on a graphic organizer, the local LRE continuum placement options for their

local IEP teams. Going through this process has allowed sub-grantees within an HNC to recognize the

various options for children with special needs and to recognize themselves as one of those options.

Also, sub-grantees have received technical assistance on the Child Find process from their local school

districts with the HNCs.

Developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and evidence

based 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

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
ED 524B Page 20 of 37

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

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

Instructionalstaff salaries that are comparable to the salaries of local K-12 instructionalstaff;

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

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. See attachment "High Staff Qualifications and Salaries."

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.

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 dtheir 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 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 ADEECPS worked with their programs to prepare them for the monitoring by ensuring the sub-grantees

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 Servicesfor children and community partnerships that

promote families' accessto servicesthat support their children's learning and development;

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
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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).

In 2016, 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

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

a. In 2016, 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
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Program Guidelinesfor 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 Standardsthat are consistent with a high-quality preschool program

a. In 2016, all sub-grantees in each HNC received professional development on the Program

Guidelinesfor 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. Programsfor children with disabilities and English learners, including workforce development

for support of those programs

a. 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.

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

a. In 2016, 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.

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

teacher certification and/or requirements for licensure

a. 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
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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

professionaldevelopment

a. In 2016, 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.

i. The ADE ECE Kindergarten Transition Summit, February 2016. This one day

summit provided an opportunity for Early Childhood Quality Improvement

Practices (ECQUIP) Teams, including PDG and Head Start representatives, to:

1. Learn the current research regarding kindergarten transitions.

2. Hear from a local community that has been successful with implementing

a kindergarten transition process.

3. Design effective strategies and implementation plan with their ECQUIP

teams.

ii.Early Childhood Special Education Summit, Supporting the Young Learner with

Special Education Needs, April 2016. 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.

iii. The ADE ECE Infant Toddler Summit, May 2016. This three-day summit was

held in partnership with the Arizona Head Start Collaboration Office and the

City of Phoenix, to support teachers and caregivers of infants and toddlers in

child care, Early Head Start, and other settings. Topics included sessions on

Arizona's Infant Toddler Developmental Guidelines, effective instructional

strategies for working with infants & toddlers, including those with special

needs, infant mental health, early language and literacy supports, social and

emotional development, and the importance of building strong foundations

that lead to school-readiness.

iv. The ADE ECE Summer Conference, Connecting All the Pieces: Educating the

Young Learner, June 2016. 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
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development, assessment, language & literacy, family engagement, brain

research, early childhood special education, and much more. This conference

was designed for Pre-K and Kindergarten Teachers, Administrators,

coordinators and related support staff.

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 2016, 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 2016, to support early learning providers with this

requirement, the ADE ECE unit created a 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 recommendationsfor 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

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 parentsin decisions about their children's

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

their children's learning at home

In 2016, 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 programsthrough
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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 2016, 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 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.

11. Other activitiesthat support the delivery of high-quality preschool programs to eligible

children

In 2016, professional development was provided to all sub-grantees on how to access ADE's

Grants Management System, GME, since this system is used for all fiscal reporting. This

reporting includes expenditure reports, reimbursement requests, and completion reports.

Additionally, the ADE ECE fiscal Program Specialist recorded a webinar on the topic of

budgeting for quality. The webinar was accessible to all sub-grantees.

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 2,601 eligible children in Arizona in 2016. Of those

eligible children, 2,307 were served in new preschool slots for a percentage of 87%. The allocation per

slot we awarded was $4,600. This allocation is 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 two of the grant period we would provide funding for

2,608 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
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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 year two.
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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".

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
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(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

2016, ADE did intentional work in 2016 to foster and support seamless transitions between programs,

including to and from kindergarten.

Transitions for Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age Five

In 2016, 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

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 HNC's began to realize that they really were working as a community for children

rather than as individual agencies. In 2016, it was still a work in progress.

In 2016, 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 ADE
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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

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 2016, ADE-ECE hosted a one-day Kindergarten Transition Summit. The participants were divided

into two tracks: returning participants in a track to move on to the next level of transition planning

and new participants in a track to receive the module from year one's session to introduce them to

Kindergarten Transitions. In 2016, there were approximately 200 attendees, including the subgrantees in the PDG programs. A highlight of the Kindergarten Transition Summit was a panel of

school district superintendents who spoke about the importance of transitions, supporting teachers,

readying families, and the PDG opportunity in their communities.

Also in 2016, ADE continued its work with Arizona's institutions of higher education (IHEs), both

universities and community colleges, to increase the quality of teacher preparation for both the Early

Childhood Education teaching certificate and the Early Childhood Special Education certificate. In

August 2016, the Deputy Associate Superintendent for Early Childhood, along with a representative

from First Things First's professional development work group, hosted a two-day, in-person working

session with approximately 50 representatives from the various IHEs. The session focused on aligning

course objectives for their ECE degree programs, and generating ideas for improving the birth through

age 5 practicum experiences and student teaching placement options for students working on a birth

through age 8 certificate. This focus on the teacher preparation programs is essential to preparing 

new teachers on the definition of high-quality preschool programs that also has implications for K-3

programming.
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In addition to this work, in 2016, 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.
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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 2 Target differs from the Year 2 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 continuums 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 2016, that amount was $1,762,994. Additionally, in year two of the grant, subgrantees were required to secure local matching funds equal to 15% of their PDG allocation from ADE.

In 2016, that amount was an astonishing $2,159,325!

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
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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 strategiesto 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

• 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 2016, with funding from the grant, ADE was able to support building the capacity of home visitors

through collaborative professional development that focused on the Infant Toddler Developmental

Guidelines. In 2016, the ADE ECE unit provided professional learning on the Infant Toddler

Developmental Guidelines (ITDG) in a variety of ways:

• face-to-face sessions;
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• train-the-trainer sessions to collaborative partners; and

• in the creation of the Introduction to the Infant Toddler Developmental Guidelines webinar.

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 is the administrative home of the Arizona Head Start

Collaboration Office. 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.

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 2016 the ADE ECE Unit held the first ECSE Summit, Supporting

the Younger Learner with Special Education Needs. With funding from the grant, this joint summit was

organized to provide high-quality professional development to meet the needs of the ECE/ECSE

professional community. The goal was to share information about services for children with
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disabilities as well as those without disabilities 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. Approximately 150 attended and survey responses to the event indicated

satisfaction and requests for additional topics for the following year.

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 2016, Arizona used 69% 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 208 slots that were braided

with Head Start funding, and 52 braided with Part B funds to create high-quality, full-day

opportunities for 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 2015. PDG

participating sub-grantees were family providers, Head Start classrooms, district preschool 

classrooms, private child care providers, and even faith-based providers.

Arizona's plan, based on our corrective action plan, is to continue increasing the number of new state

preschool program slots that meet the definition of high-quality preschool programs. Our goal is to

increase the total slots in year 3 to 3,043. By year four, with the addition of another 434 slots to highquality programs, the total number of new slots will increase to 3,478 by the end of the 4 year grant.

ADE will continually work with the HNCs to identify new early learning providers as the current HNCs

near capacity and have diminished waiting lists.
ED 524B Page 35 of 37

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, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

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 three main categories of the budget that were unspent or unobligated were the contractual line

item, indirect costs line item, and the funds to be distributed to sub-grantees line item.

• Contractual:

o Professional Development: $300,941 is unobligated. We plan to spend all of these funds by

the end of the 2017 calendar year. We have scheduled three conferences: Early Childhood

Education Summer Conference: “Framing the work: Achieving Excellence in Early

Childhood Education” --June21-23, 2017. Fall conferences; family engagement (December

8-9), and the Kindergarten Transition conference (October 11, 2017). All the PDG subgrantees may pay for the cost of these conferences with these professional development

funds.

o Institutions of Higher Ed: $176,914 is unobligated. Currently, the work of the institutions of

Higher Ed is to work on the accreditation from the National Association for the Education

of Young Child (NAEYC). This accreditation will help the institutes prepare highly qualified

early childhood professionals with specialized degrees. The work has begun; on February

21st we hosted a webinar for the IHE's in which we addressed all the requirements and

expectations to achieve this accreditation. The next deadline is March 30th , when we will

receive signed letters of intent from all the committed applicants. The Institutions of

Higher Ed will then have until December 2018 to achieve the NAEYC accreditation.

• Indirect Costs: $41,254.60 is unobligated. The Arizona Department of Education operates on a

different fiscal year than the grant operating year. Indirect costs will be fully charged by the

end of the fiscal year.

• Funds to be distributed to sub-grantees: $1,007,580.72 is unobligated. While the PDG team

worked diligently with the early learning providers in our identified HNCS to recruit eligible

children, and teachers with bachelor's degree, 219 slots in classrooms that met the full

definition of high-quality preschool programs were unfilled. In year three, the PDG opportunity

will be open statewide in an effort to be able to provide direct services to more children.

2. Please describe any substantive changes that you anticipate to the State's Preschool Development

Grant budget in the upcoming fiscal year (January 1, 2017 through December 31, 2017).

None.
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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

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.

Due to the generosity of Arizona's philanthropic community, Arizona has been identified as a BUILD

state. In 2016, BUILD Arizona re-branded itself as the Arizona Early Childhood Alliance (AzECA). It is

comprised of both public and private sector leaders who have come together to make early childhood

a priority. Representatives from government agencies, business, K-12 schools, child care, and higher

education have come together to strategize specific goals for moving forward an early childhood

education agenda. AzECA's goals are focused on communicating the importance of the early

childhood investment, improved access to quality early learning experiences across a wide spectrum,

improved professional development, increased preventative health initiatives with a focus on school

readiness, and creating sustainable systems that support Arizona's children in early grade success.

This group is convened to look at the ECE system as a whole with focused attention on issues of

access and equity. The Deputy Associate Superintendent for Early Childhood Education, who oversees

the PDG at ADE, is a member of the AzECA leadership team, ensuring a voice representing the

interests of PDG is at the table.

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

Early Childhood Education, 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
ED 524B Page 37 of 37

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

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.

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, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

1,007,580.72 was unobligated and carried over for next Fiscal Year. 219 slots were unfilled due to the deficit of

highly-qualified teachers, and teachers who met the minimum requirement of a Bachelor's degree. Programs

that had a challenge finding and recruiting highly-qualified teachers with Bachelor's degrees could not ensure

enough instructional staff members for the number of students they anticipated serving.
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