UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

November 4, 2016

Tonya Williams

Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education 

700 Main St

Little Rock,

AR 72201-1437

Dear Ms. Williams,

On October 17, 2016, Rebecca Marek from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) the 

Department conducted a Part B Desk Monitoring of Arkansas’ implementation of its approved 

Preschool Development Grant (PDG)-Expansion Grant. This monitoring aims to continue the 

collaborative relationship that began at the grant award and development of the scope of work. It 

provides the Department with a deeper understanding of each State’s overall performance; the 

successes, challenges, and strategies for the implementation of its Preschool State Plan; and the 

fiscal management of the grant funds. It also helps us tailor technical assistance to each State’s 

specific needs.

The desk monitoring included discussions related to all projects in the approved scope of work, 

including grants management, high quality new and improvement program, early learning 

standards, comprehensive services, workforce development, and sustainability.

Enclosed is a summary report based upon this review. The report includes highlights of 

Arkansas’ implementation of PDG and a snapshot of Arkansas’ progress under each PDG key 

areas. This report will be posted on the PDG website. The report includes “next steps” to ensure 

that Arkansas implements PDG consistent with its approved application, scope of work, and 

timelines identified in its project plans.

We want to thank you and your staff for your cooperation during the Part B Desk monitoring

process, and for your tremendous efforts in providing high quality preschool opportunities

through the Preschool Development Grant. It is not necessary to provide a written response to 

this report. We hope you will continue to communicate any needs or concerns to your ED 

project officer. 

We look forward to continuing our work with you and supporting Arkansas’ technical assistance 

needs to ensure successful implementation of PDG. Thank you for your commitment to 

Arkansas’ youngest children.
Sincerely,

/s/

Libby Doggett

Deputy Assistant Secretary 

for Early Learning

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

U.S. Department of Education

Enclosure
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PDG Site Visit Report

Monitoring Information

State Lead Agency Division of Child Care and Early Childhood 

Education

State Participating Agency(s)

Grant Period January 1, 2015-December 31, 2019

Current Year of Grant January 1, 2016-December 31, 2016

PDG Monitoring Period January 1, 2015 – October 15, 2016

PDG Monitoring Activity (Desk or 

Onsite)

Part B Desk Monitoring

Monitoring Review Date(s) October 17, 2016

State Participants/Project Leads Tonya Williams, Project Officer, Tassie McCollum, 

TA Program Specialist, Mary K, Coordinating 

Director, Susan Underwood, Program Evaluator and 

Instructional Manager

U.S. Department of Education 

Project Officer(s)

Rebecca Marek, Project Officer

US Department of Education

Overview of PDG Monitoring

The Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services (the Departments) are 

committed to supporting States as they implement the expansion of new and improved high quality 

preschool for eligible children through their PDG grant. Consistent with this commitment, the 

Departments have designed a monitoring process to assess a State’s implementation of the program 

requirements and its approved Scope of Work for PDG and the State-level systems and processes 

needed to support implementation.

During the recent Part B Desk Monitoring, State implementation of PDG was reviewed across several 

key areas: Capacity Building and Increasing Slots, Subrecipient Monitoring, Birth to Third Grade 

Continuum, Budget and Sustainability and Fiscal Accountability, which represent the core priorities for 

implementation as outlined in the PDG Monitoring Tool. In each area, the Department identified key 

elements that are required under PDG and are likely to increase the access to and quality of State 

Preschool programs and lead to increased high quality opportunities for young children and their 

families. 
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Arkansas was identified for a site visit based on the following factors: 

• Arkansas is a PDG Expansion State and the Department is conducting Part B Desk Monitoring 

audits on all PDG grantees;

• To ensure Arkansas is carrying out their planned activities consistent with the timelines outlined 

in the State’s Statement of Work; and

• To hear more about PDG and its coordination with the State’s Arkansas Better Chance (ABC) 

program and its annual developmental screening to determine individual needs.

The report contains the following sections:

• Summary of Visit. This section describes, in brief, the topics covered, the lead agency and 

subrecipients visited, as well as personnel participation in any meetings or activities.

• Highlights of the State’s Implementation. This section identifies key accomplishments in the 

State’s implementation of PDG as identified during the site visit.

• Status of Implementation of PDG. This section indicates the State’s implementation progress 

based on the monitoring and information collected.

• Elements Requiring Next Steps. This section identifies any elements for which the State is not 

on target for meeting its timelines outlined in the approved scope of work and includes next steps 

that the State must take to meet the grant outcomes, as identified during the monitoring. 

• Recommendations to Strengthen Implementation. This section provides recommendations to 

support the State in continuing to meet the goals and timelines of its PDG grant, as identified 

during the monitoring.

• Additional Comment. As appropriate, this section includes any additional information related to 

the State’s implementation of PDG not included elsewhere.

Summary of Visit

The PDG Part B Desk Monitoring was held October 17, 2016. Prior to the call with the State, the ED 

project officer had a conversation with four of the PDG teachers pertaining to PDG implementation and 

eligibility as well as and outreach and professional development that has been provided by the State. 

During the discussion Arkansas officials provided the Department with an abundance of pertinent grant 

materials prior to the conference call. Upon review of the documentation the Department was impressed 

that all elements of the definition of High-Quality Preschool Programs were embedded into the contracts 

with each of the five High-Need Communities implementing PDG grants.

Highlights of the State’s PDG Implementation

• 2,638 children are being served in high-quality preschool programs

• Arkansas developed a Family Engagement guide that provides foundational resources and 

supports for programs to build effective family engagement systems.

• Combining PDG funds with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation has supported a number 

of assessment projects to ensure and improve quality in preschool programs. This includes 

creating a “best-in-class” set of Early Learning and Development Standards, developing a family 

engagement framework and state infrastructure, and selecting and piloting a new Kindergarten 

Entry Assessment. 

• Development of a new Kindergarten Entry Screener, aligned to the Arkansas’ Child 

Development Early Learning Standards, will provide strength based reports for parents, teachers, 

and administrators. 

• One hundred percent of non-Federal matching funds have been obtained in first year. 
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Status of Implementation of PDG

In the Part B Desk Monitoring the Departments used a monitoring and accountability rubric to help

determine progress of the State’s implementation. The rubric includes three implementation status 

levels: 

• Level 1 – Developing: the State is in the process of developing this activity, or the activity is 

very new. The State may be facing challenges in implementation, roll-out, or communications 

with subrecipients and other stakeholders. 

• Level 2 – Implementing: the State has developed and implemented the activity, although the 

activity might still benefit from adjustments, training, or communications with subrecipients and 

other stakeholders. 

• Level 3 – Sustaining & Continuing Improvement: the activity is well-established in the State, and 

may be undergoing a process of evaluation or program improvement. Subrecipients, stakeholders 

and users have been trained and/or communications strategies have been established.

Element Status

Capacity Building and Increasing Slots

The State public awareness and recruitment 

activities are targeted towards eligible 4 years old 

children in high need communities and families 200 

percent below poverty. 

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

The State’s expansion efforts are targeted towards 

increasing the access to high quality preschool 

programs for 4 year olds.

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

The State has a plan to ensure that existing State 

Preschool slots met the twelve standards of a High 

Quality Preschool Program under the PDG funding. 

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

Subrecipient Monitoring

The State Lead Agency has a process to monitor 

grant and sub-recipients activities to ensure 

implementation of the goals and performance 

measures outlined in the approved PDG State Plan. 

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

The State is on schedule with its monitoring of 

subrecipients to ensure that all of the high quality 

standards for Preschool are met within PDG funded 

preschool classrooms.

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

The State is providing access comprehensive 

services to all children enrolled in the PDG funded 

preschool classrooms.

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

Birth to Third Grade Continuum

The State has aligned the PDG funded program 

within the Birth to Third Grade Continuum of early 

learning standards and activities that help prepare 

children for kindergarten thru third grade. 

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

The State is implementing a data collection system 

for tracking student outcomes from prekindergarten

to kindergarten entry through third grade.

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement
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The State is implementing a transition protocol to 

ensure that children transitioning from early care 

and education environments to kindergarten to third 

grade settings receive the supports necessary for a 

smooth transition.

Level 3-Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement

Budget and Sustainability

The State has policies and procedures to track the 

State and Subrecipient budget activities to ensure 

that funds are expanded according to State, Local 

and Federal procurement laws.

Level 2-Implementing

The State has in place a system to track the “use of 

funds” under the PDG grant. 

Level 2-Implementing

The State has a plan to ensure that High Quality 

State Preschool Programs will remain of high 

quality after federal funds are no longer available. 

Level 2-Implementing

Fiscal Accountability

The State has policies and procedures in place to 

ensure the grant funds are expended according to the 

federal laws outlined in the federal Super Circular 

and EDGAR.

Level 2-Implementing

The State has a system in place to ensure that its 

Subrecipients are meeting the federal laws of the 

Super Circular comply with the “supplement not 

supplant” requirements. 

Level 2-Implementing

Elements Requiring Next Steps: 

• Arkansas has recently experienced some turnover in staff and is in the process of replacing a 

position. Although the Department does not have concerns associated to the implementation of 

this grant, we recommend that the Project Officer provide careful attention to the changeover to 

new staff and the maintenance of grant files to ensure that progress of the grant is not interrupted 

and that accurate record-keeping is continued.

• As part of the grant requirement, Arkansas submitted a Scope of Work (SOW) that was reviewed 

and approved by the Department. The SOW should be updated monthly, a week prior to the 

monthly call, to consistently record timelines as they shift. Arkansas has not updated the SOW 

regularly. The project officer will continue to monitor the progress through monthly phone calls.

Recommendations to Strengthen Implementation: None

Additional Comment: None