2016 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT

PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

Tennessee

Preschool Development Grants AUGUST 2017
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State: Tennessee Zip: 37243

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 #: S419B150026 2. Grantee Federal Information Processing Code: 47

3. Project Title: Preschool Development Grant - Expansion

4. Grantee Name: Tennessee Department of Education

5. Grantee Address:710 James Robertson Parkway 11th fl AJ Tower

City: Nashville

6. Project Director Name: Elizabeth Alves

Title: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Early Learning and Literacy

Phone #: (615) 837-5272 Ext.: 0 Fax #:

Email Address: elizabeth.alves@tn.gov

Reporting Period Information

7. Reporting Period: From: 01/01/2016 To: 12/31/2016

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 $17,500,000.00 $9,823,679.00

b. Current Budget Period $17,399,566.00 $12,844,329.23

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: TN PR/Award #: S419B150026

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, Tennessee's federal Preschool Development Grant-Expansion (PDG-E) funds have supported local

educational agencies in Memphis/Shelby County and Nashville/Davidson County in the expansion and

improvement of pre-K programs and services. In Nashville/Davidson County 240 new seats were added in 2016

for a total of 440 in the first two years of the grant. In Memphis/Shelby County 220 new seats were added in

2016 for a total of 880 in the first two years of the grant. These funds, combined with our 2015 experiences,

have resulted in significant progress in increasing access to high quality classrooms for income eligible children

and improving the quality of existing classrooms in each community. Over 3600 children have benefited from

these quality improvements. The grant has also allowed the state to strengthen its infrastructure to support

high quality pre-K not only in the grant supported communities but within the state pre-K programs.

State's Goals and Objectives:

• To significantly increase pre-K access for Eligible Children in high need communities of Memphis and

Nashville

• To strengthen quality through upgrading existing pre-K seats in both communities to include all

elements of high quality preschool programs, with an emphasis on providing Comprehensive

Services to existing classrooms, implementing a teacher coaching model and supporting high

quality professional development

• To strengthen alignment of the birth to third grade continuum

• To build Tennessee's pre-K infrastructure, particularly in the use of data to measure the impact of

programimprovements

• To support and expand the local communities' infrastructure for future sustainability

Although the two Subgrantees represent the two largest urban districts in the state, the grant implementation

has been unique to each community. There are some similarities, each has expanded classrooms in high need

areas, each as successfully enrolled eligible children in expansion seats and existing seats have been improved.

But each community has made the improvements in ways to meet the needs of the local teachers, children,

families and communities. The following provides an overview of each districts progress on meeting the goals

of the grant:

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools(MNPS)

During year two, the federal Preschool Development Grant-Expansion (PDG-E) continues to play an integral

role in transforming early childhood education for children and families in Davidson County. Utilizing PDG-E

funds, MNPS has expanded access to high quality preschool programs and strengthened the quality of existing

classrooms. Funds have also allowed MNPS to provide professional development to strengthen the birth

through third grade continuum.

MNPS has been afforded the opportunity to embed the constructivist approach, provide guidance for shared
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and integrated reading, create a strategy to reduce transition times, develop a plan to support pre-K teachers

and other teachers to provide engaged teaching and learning for English Learners (EL), as well as begin the

steps for creating environments that will support the social-emotional needs of its youngest learners in all

classrooms. PDG-E funding has allowed MNPS to create effective systems and establish clear expectations,

which will continue to positively impact principals, teachers, families, and students in grades pre-K through

third grade. Below is a list of some of the successes experienced during year two of the grant:

Increase Access

In the PDG-E grant, MNPS set a goal to add 440 new seats and to maintain the operation of those classrooms

through the grant period and beyond. In year two, MNPS added 240 seats to increase access to high quality

pre-K in underserved, high need areas by opening an Early Learning Center, two community sites, and three

classrooms in elementary schools. The new seats were strategically placed in in the district to accommodate

the high wait list from year one. MNPS upgraded classroom facilities and, through PDG-E funding, purchased

Creative Curriculum, furnishings, supplies and materials to support the additional 240 seats. MNPS continues to

sustain the 200 expansion seats from 2015-2016.

Improve Existing Classrooms

MNPS has used PDG-E funds to improve over 2300 seats by providing evidenced-based, developmentally

appropriate professional development, coaching support for all district classrooms, and comprehensive

services for eligible children and families across the district. The following describes improvement activities in

year two:

Professional Development:

PDG-E funds have allowed MNPS to strengthen the quality of Pre-K classrooms across the district by

providing over 380 hours of district led professional development for over 450 teachers, educational

assistants, coaches, and administrators to support best practice in curriculum implementation,

instructional strategies, formative and summative assessments, and classroom environment aligned

to the constructivist approach. MNPS continued to embed Creative Curriculum and GOLD

assessment district wide and through a contract with Teaching Strategies, professional development

continued to be provided to principals, coaches, teachers and educational assistants to implement

Creative Curriculum with fidelity. Other topics include Pyramid Model, Active Learning Transitions,

Integrating & Elevating Math Instruction, and Responsive Planning. Multiple modes and times of

delivery of professional development were used such as Lunch & Learn, Super Saturdays, Mighty

Minutes, and After Hours.

Coaching and Leadership Development

All coaches and Multi-Classroom Leaders (MCL) utilized reflective coaching techniques and action

planning with all pre-k teachers. Teachers have monthly goals based on observations (such as ECERS,

CLASS, or TPOT), and coaches meet with teachers to monitor progress. Monthly meetings are held for

pre-K coaches and MCLs, and emphasis is placed on coaching, instruction, social-emotional

development, and literacy strategies.

Comprehensive Services

MNPS started to implement its comprehensive service plan fully in year two. Services and supports for pre-k

students and families include:

Catholic Charities provides services to MNPS pre-K families who have the most critical needs through

Family Advocates. Services include support with homelessness, behavioral issues, mental health, housing

needs, legal needs, transportation, and educational needs. Family Advocates also support pre-k children

with chronic absenteeism.

Well Child prioritized vision and hearing screenings for students who are located in schools who are

receiving PDG-E funding.

Conexion Americas offers Parents as Partners, a training offered to help parents claim their role as their
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child's first and most important teacher, and provided a Family Engagement Coach to support EL

families. The Family Engagement Coach facilitated workshops to strengthen teacher capacity to engage

with families effectively and create successful academic partnerships.

Family Involvement Specialists(FIS) offered workshops, consultation, and training for both families and

teaching staff at schools across the district with over 2200 participants. FIS disseminated `Take-Home

Bags' which provide activities from Creative Curriculum for families, along with supplies/books for the

activities with ideas and resources to support learning at home. FIS developed 35 new pre-K community

partnerships to improve school, student, and family outcomes by connecting families, schools and the

community.

K-Readiness Newsletter (in English, Arabic and Spanish) was distributed monthly to all MNPS pre-K

students and their families, and to community partners. The newsletter provided a guide for families to

support their child's academic success, and also increased awareness of resources in the community.

Teachers Involving Parents (TIP) Professional Development program helped pre-K teachers and

educational assistants increase their skill set and self-efficacy in partnering with families through

innovative and effective family engagement efforts.

MNPS pre-K Facebook and Twitter platforms were launched in year two with platforms to provide

additional communication and engagement between MNPS, families and educators.

Strengthen Birth to Third Grade Continuum

Over 400 pre-K through fourth grade teachers participated in professional development and peer workshops

created to address the unique challenges, barriers, and opportunities experienced by teachers in the district

related to family engagement.

Through a contract with Staff Development Educators, MNPS hosted an early learning conference for pre-K

through second grade teachers that focused on research-based practices in June 2016, where teachers from

across the state participated.

MNPS offered Pre-K through fourth grade coaches the opportunity to attend a vertical collaborative coaches'

meeting two times during the 2016-2017 school year which focused on coaching strategies, developmentally

appropriate practice, and reinforcement of the district's literacy initiatives.

MNPS updated the content of the iTrails website, a resource to assist families with preparing for

Kindergarten. The website supports educators, homeschooled families, children not attending Pre-K,

daycares and community sites in providing resources and information on getting ready for Kindergarten.

Shelby County Consortium (SCC)

The Shelby County Consortium, established for the PDG-E grant, is made up of four districts: Shelby County

Schools serving the city of Memphis, Bartlett City Schools and Millington Municipal Schools, serving suburbs of

Memphis, and the Achievement School District (ASD), created to improve the bottom performing schools in the

state. During year two of this grant each district continued to strengthen the quality of their individual 

programs through professional development and use of data-based decision making. Using Peabody Research

Institute (PRI) Year One Grant Evaluation Report, and district and state observations such as CLASS and ECERS,

the Consortium encouraged teachers and staff to increase the use of positive classroom management

techniques, and to restructure the classroom daily schedule to increase center time and outdoor play and

decrease transitions and whole group teacher directed learning. While each district has independently made

changes to improve quality as a whole, the Consortium worked together to determine expansion sites based on

areas of need in the community, collaborate on professional development for teachers and staff, and most

importantly, work together with local advocacy groups to develop a sustainability plan for Shelby County, not

only for the PDG-E expansion and improvement sites but for the entire the community. Below is a list of some

of the successes experienced during year two:
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Increase Access

In the PDG-E grant the SCC's goal was to add 1000 new seats and maintain the operation of those classrooms

during the grant and beyond. In year two, SCC added 220 seats to increase access to high quality pre-K in

underserved, high need areas, with the opening of five classrooms at ASD sites and six classrooms in Shelby

County Schools. SCC continues to sustain the facilities for the 660 seats from 2015-2016. Of note, the challenge

for the Consortium is to find locations in high need communities for new classrooms, as public school buildings

tend to be at capacity. For this reason, in year two SCC did not open all the planned classrooms (opened 11 of

the 13 specified in the grant application). Therefore planning and initial placement for the additional two

classrooms, plus the four classrooms planned for year three, is already underway. The targeted 1000 new seats

will be open by the start of year three.

Improve Existing Classrooms

The SCS has used PDG-E funds to improve over 1300 seats by providing evidenced-based professional

development, coaching support for teachers, and comprehensive services for eligible children and families

across the district. The following describes activities implemented in year two:

Professional Development

All SCC professional development activities are used to ensure that teachers, teaching assistants, coaches,

advisors and administrators acquire the skills that are needed to support the development of children in

early childhood classrooms. Consortium districts have provided training in collaboration with state

consultants on topics such as Child Development, TN ELDS, Pyramid Model, ECERS and ELLCO,

Developmentally Appropriate Practices, Technology in Early Childhood, Literacy/Language development,

and Student Growth Portfolio Model.

One Consortium district organized PLCs with 619 teachers and general education teachers around

collaborating and planning for use of inclusive practices to include children with IEPs in general education

pre-K classrooms when allowable in their IEP.

In Shelby County Schools, teacher assistants that do not hold a Child Development Associate (CDA) degree

or beyond are enrolled in a CDA course through Southwest TN Community College. The cohort meets

monthly for 12 months with a certified CDA college professor.

Several of the districts have coaches, advisors or monitors that support quality practices in classrooms to

improve overall instruction for allstudents. They provide observation feedback, and support for academic

and behavior challenges in the classroom.

Comprehensive Services

SCC recognizes the importance of providing comprehensive services in early childhood and the impact

they have on removing barriers that impact learning. The model the Consortium follows is the national

Head Start comprehensive services framework in order to better serve children and meet their health,

dental, and mental health needs. The components of the comprehensive services include:

Family Service Advocates and Family Service Workers work with families directly and are assigned to all

district classrooms. They facilitate parents in education, program planning, case management to assists

families in assessing their own needs, identifying and securing services and building upon their individual

strengths. Advocates access a variety of community resources for families in addition to crisis

intervention and emergency assistance. Above all, both the Advocates and Service Workers work closely

with community agencies as advocates for the parents and the early childhood program.

A Family Enrichment Center with spaces to meet and talk, computers for parents to use for job searches,

and books on child development has been opened. Classes about parenting, curriculum, and other topics

as identified have been conducted throughout the school year at the center.

Mental health professionals work with staff and parents to increase awareness of the special problems of
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children and provide a link to mental health resources.

Strengthen Birth to Third Grade Continuum

A four-week summer program was designed for students who struggled in pre-k to extend student learning and

improve literacy was held last summer at four early childhood centers.

ASD began building a Pre-K through third grade continuum, through curriculum and assessment alignment

between early grades (focusing on literacy/language development and social emotional/executive function)

Shelby County Schools established collaboration with Porter-Leath on the opening of a state-of-the-art

preschool and teacher training institute. The institute will establish a continuum of early childhood education,

from prenatal to age five, and promote excellence for young children and their families.

State Infrastructure evaluating and improving quality

The state partnered with Peabody Research Institute (PRI) in a study of the effectiveness of this pre-K

expansion with the goal to better understand how the structural improvements the districts are putting in

place affect outcomes for pre-k children. Peabody researchers assessed 1,409 students enrolled in new or

improved pre-k classrooms and through a battery of assessment tools collected individual measures on these

students' skills entering pre-K in the fall of 2015. The outcome data was collected in April of 2016. The original

plan in the grant was to compare this data with the Kindergarten Entry Inventory (KEI) data the state was to

implement in the fall of 2016. Unfortunately, individual student data was not collected (see state's response in

GPRA 1 (c)). In fall 2016, PRI assessed 1865 children with the same battery of tools and will collect outcome

data in April 2017. The plan is to compare this data with the newly adopted and implemented KEI in the fall of

2017 and with data from year one.

In addition to student assessments, PRI conducted classroom observations, enabling analysis of how teacher

practices correlate with student learning. The results have informed both practice and professional

development in all districts. The observation data gathered information on instructional time, instructional

content, child engagement, positive feedback, and behavior reminders. Districts made structural changes in

class schedules, transitions, center time, outside play, improved positive classroom management, and

addressed the amount of teacher and child directed learning; all informed by the evaluation data. A family

survey was conducted to determine effectiveness and knowledge of comprehensive services provided by the

grant. There was a low response rate and both PRI and the districts have collaborated to reassess survey

distribution.

Successes, Challenges and Next Steps

Working in parallel with the PDG-E grant, the TDOE Division of Early Learning and Literacy has been developing

a definition for high quality pre-k and revising the state Voluntary Pre-K application from a formula based

system to a competitive grant process. The department is defining structural quality, program quality, and

instructional quality. The work within the PDG-E programs, the PRI evaluation and the districts' experiences

have informed the department's work. In the new VPK application, ten key components define a high quality

Pre-K program and include:

1. Target funds to high needs students

2. Focus on access and attendance

3. Use data to improve student outcomes

4. Ensure curriculum is aligned to standards

5. Require developmentally appropriate schedule

6. Provide nurturing and responsive care

7. Support teachers through effective, job-embedded professional learning

8. Observe and monitor classrooms to ensure continuous improvement

9. Engage and support families
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10. Secure community partnerships

This is where our PDG-E districts are being the most successful. Many of these quality components are being

met and exceeded in the new and existing classroom. Our goal, as in the state's PDG-E grant application, is for

districts to implement high quality programs for all the eligible children they serve. Access for eligible children,

developmentally appropriate professional development, coaching, comprehensive services for families and the

PRI evaluation are all helping the districts meet these high quality components.

There have been challenges at both at the state and district level. The state and the districts are working to

address each of these challenges moving forward:

• Making sure eligible children are being served

o Identifying ways to braid and blend funding to create economically diverse classrooms

o Making sure eligible families are aware of registration processes and timelines

• Ensuring the districts' data systems report enrollment numbers accurately

o Creating data check point dates to confirm eligible seats are being filled

o Supporting inclusion practices and assisting districts to serve children with IEPs.

• Teacher and teaching assistant turnover rates

o Establishing a method for districts to communicate changes

o Providing a way for districts to document changes in state ePlan system

• Encouraging SCC to collaborate effectively

o Planning Consortium team meetings to address specific needs or challenges

• Encouraging districts to document scope of work activities

o Scheduling due dates for all documentation

o Developing clear guidelines for grant changes

• Building capacity at the state level to effectively monitor and provide support and guidance to district

coordinators and teaching staff

o Creating a monitoring plan for year three

o Determining whether funding is available for Program Manager

• Peabody Research Institute (PRI) and data sharing and article publication

Last year, we encountered a concern when the principal investigator for PDG-E program evaluation at

Peabody Research Institute (PRI) at Vanderbilt University, shared a research perspective and data

specific to Tennessee's Voluntary pre-K program (TN-VPK) and PDG-E programs via public articles and

interviews. The articles and interviews portrayed the VPK and PDG programs in a negative light,

identifying concerns about the quality of programs placed in elementary schools. The information

shared was public information and the publications did not violate the terms of the contract between

our department and PRI, but our concern centered on the fact that we (the department) had not been

informed that the data would be released prior to the article(s) being published. After we (the

department) became aware of the release, the executive director for the office of early learning at the

TN-DOE, contacted the principal investigator directly to address the department's concerns. During the

call, it was agreed that in the future, the department would be informed PRIOR to any release of data

specific to the PDG-E grant. As well, we (the department) are in the process of structuring the year 3

contract with PRI for PDG-E program evaluation, and we are outlining contract parameters to ensure

this does not become an issue again.

Currently, the districts are preparing year three budgets and scopes of work, with a first draft to be submitted
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in April. Teachers, children, and families have seen the difference this grant has made in program capacity,

teacher professional development and comprehensive services for families. State educational consultants and

program evaluators have observed some quality changes across the classrooms. Year three plans include

sustainability planning in both grant communities, development of early childhood administrator training

modules, more work in enhancing the birth to third grade continuum through transition planning, joint

professional development on developmentally appropriate practices, community wide kindergarten

registration fairs, and most of all supporting and encouraging teachers and teaching assistants to provide

responsive high quality learning for the young children in their care.
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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: TN PR/Award #: S419B150026

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.

Tennessee was successful in meeting the goal of increasing the number of eligible children served in high

quality preschool programs as proposed in the grant application. In the fall of 2016, MNPS opened 12 new

classrooms making available 240 new seats for eligible children. With these new seats and the 200 seats

added in year one of the grant, there is now a total of 440 new seats available eligible children in MNPS. In the

fall of 2016 Shelby County Consortium opened 11 new classrooms making available 220 new seats for eligible

children. With these new seats and the 660 seats added in year one of the grant, there is now a total of 880

new seats available eligible children in the Shelby County Consortium. The goal was not only to add new seats

but to make sure that eligible children were recruited and enrolled in these seats. Tennessee is meeting that

goal. Of the 1320 new seats added in both subgrantee districts 1270 seats were in use as of December 1, 2016.

96% eligibility has been met.

There are several factors that may be reflected in the percentage of eligible students enrolled in grant funded

classrooms. Lack of available classroom space in areas of high need often results in a preschool site location

outside of the targeted high need area which may negatively impact enrollment. Additionally, MNPS has a

district diversity goal to ensure racial, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic diversity in classrooms across the

district, including pre-K, and therefore some students enrolled in grant funded preschool classrooms may not

meet the eligibility requirementsfor this grant.

It should be noted that both subgrantees have a demonstrated need for high quality preschool seats that

significantly exceeds the current number of available seats. This fact, along with the eligibility data suggests

the need for greater examination of enrollment patterns and increased recruitment efforts, which both

subgrantees will address in their implementation plans for year three of the grant.

It should also be noted that the Shelby County Consortium will open another six new classrooms in the fall of

2017, which will meet the number of classrooms proposed in Tennessee's grant application (50 classrooms

(1000 slots) in Shelby County Consortium and 22 classrooms (440 slots) in MNPS).
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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.

Tennessee continues to strengthen its stance for supporting and ensuring children with disabilities have access

to high quality early childhood programs which will support the goals identified on their Individual Education

Plans (IEPs). As such, our IDEA 619 preschool coordinator and his staff work tirelessly to ensure children are

included in general education classrooms and that these programs meet the needs of all children. Since the

inception of our state preschool program we have encouraged the enrollment of children with disabilities. In

this year's revised Voluntary Pre-K Program application, districts have been asked to demonstrate efforts to

enroll approximately 10 percent of students with IEPs for priority enrollment as part of the state's competitive

funding process this is also the expectation for the new expansion PDG classrooms.

The percent of children with IEPs served in the grant funded classrooms is 6.6% which exceeds the national

average of 6.4%. However, this is a decrease 0.7% from the first year of the grant, with Shelby County Schools

only serving approximately 3% of students with disabilities. Shelby County Schools has noted in the past that

due to the developmental nature of young children, most children are not identified for disability services until

they are in Kindergarten or beyond. In order to increase the percentage of students with IEPs being served in

pre-k classrooms, Shelby County Schools collaborates with the Division of Exceptional Children to attempt to

place more students who have disabilities in typical Pre-K classrooms. Identifying students that may require

special services as early as possible, especially during the screening process, will increase numbers of students

with special needs being served. The Divisions of Exceptional Children and Early Childhood are currently

collaborating to identify 619 students who can be mainstreamed into PDG classrooms for next year. This

collaboration will increase the number of students with disabilities served through our program. In addition,

during the enrollment process, three seats are reserved for students with disabilities. These seats are filled with

typical students that met eligibility, only if and when it was determined there were no children with disabilities

that needed those seats usually within the first 8 weeks of the school year. This remains a high priority area for

the school district, and the Divisions of Exceptional Children and Early Childhood are currently collaborating to

identify students with IEPs to enroll in PDG classrooms for next year.
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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.

In both MNPS and the Shelby County Consortium, the need for high quality preschool seats exceeds the

number of seats available. Within the first two years of this grant, 66 new classrooms have been opened to

serve 1320 students. Of those 1320 seats, 1270 or 96% of them are serving eligible children. With the addition

of 1270 eligible children to the 18,615 eligible children served in TN Voluntary Pre-K, TN is now serving

approximately 25% of TN 4 year old population. Additionally with the new expansion classrooms, 234 existing

classrooms are receiving improvements, such as professional development, instructional coaching support and

comprehensive studentsupports.

Moving forward, both subgrantees are focused on recruitment efforts to fill all available seats and increase the

enrollment of students with IEPs. Robust recruitment plans are being developed and include strategies and

systems such as:

• Collaboration among departments to establish enrollment processes, targeted goals and expectations

• Identification of specific roles across the districts to assist in meeting registration goals

• Creation of a data system for selecting eligible applicants and mailings to 1st selected students earlier in

the registration period

• Development of clear communication for families on the steps to apply, accept and enroll for Pre-K and

use creative methods for distributing information and getting community involvement in the

registration process

• Begin to implement various methods of recruitment to increase student enrollment include:

Pre-K website,school newsletters, school events, PTA meetings, advertisement in local

newspaper and providing Public Service Announcements on local radio stations.

• Designation of Family Information Centers to assist in providing information to families and to

be central sites for registration beyond the local school sites.

• Development of a recruitment and selection calendar that outlines enrollment dates,

acceptance dates and dates for accessing roster, waitlist and vacancy reports

• Collaborate with community childcare and local Head Start grantees to seek out eligible students for all

programs

• Provide support and assistance for eligible English Language Learners and families to apply and

complete registration process, and encourage families to accept positions.

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.

Based on the data collected and entered in GPRA 1 (b), Tennessee increased enrollment for the 2016-17 school

year by 2,967 students, moving from a total enrollment of 15,648 students in 2015-16 to 18,615 students in the

current year. We believe that this increase is not a true reflection of increased enrollment; rather this increase

reflects more accurate data reporting by districts across the state. The addition of a grant funded data 

manager this year has provided the needed capacity to oversee data quality and to support districts to improve

their data reporting processes.
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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.

At this time, Tennessee does not have individual child kindergarten readiness data for children that attended

pre-k in the 2015-2016 school year. While 2147 children in 113 classrooms participated in a Kindergarten Entry

Field Test (KEFT) in the fall of 2016, individual data was not collected as the purpose of the KEFT was to identify

test items that were valid and reliable in measuring kindergarten readiness for the development of a new

version of the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) developed by the Maryland, Ohio, John Hopkins

University (JHU) and West Ed consortium. The state's participation in the KEFT provided valuable insight in the

implementation of a Kindergarten Entry Inventory (KEI) (Tennessee's selected name for the tool) and assisted 

in the planning and development of the Request for Proposals (RFP) for a statewide KEI while introducing the

assessment process to a selected number of kindergarten teachers across the five PDG districts.

The following are the steps the state has taken to ensure that there will be kindergarten readiness data

collected on the children that are attending PDG expansion and enhanced classrooms this school year

(2016-2017) in the fall of 2017 as they enter kindergarten:

Fall 2015:

• The Office of Early Learning (OEL) administered a statewide survey to all LEAs to determine what
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kindergarten entry assessments are currently used by districts and what specific benchmarks were

used to define kindergarten ready, if any. Results indicated the need for a coherent definition of

kindergarten readiness and the tools the districts used to determine kindergarten readiness were used

as screeners for classroom placement or to access literacy skills. TN current readiness model can be

found at: https://www.kidcentraltn.com/article/tennessee-s-school-readiness-model.

Winter 2016:

• The OEL examined several options for a Kindergarten Entry Inventory (KEI) (Tennessee's selected name

for the tool) based on specific DOE-determined requirements. These requirements included an

assessment that is research based and psychometrically reliable and valid, aligned to TN standards, and

includes measurable benchmarks in multiple developmental domains, including language and literacy,

math and cognition, social-emotional development, physical development and approaches to learning.

• The TDOE OEL met with a team from Maryland, West Ed and John Hopkins University on December 15,

2015 to examine possibilities for collaboration and/or development of TN-specific KES.

• OEL determined that the Maryland consortium was the best choice for a KEI field test due to their

alignment with our requirements.

Spring 2016:

• OEL selected the Maryland consortium for the KEI field test and chose five districts to participate based

on their participation as a grantee in the Preschool Development Grant, which required 

implementation of a KEI in 2016-17. These districts include Metro Nashville Public Schools, Shelby

County Schools, the Achievement School District, Bartlett City Schools and Millington Municipal District.

• The state began a process to enter into a MOU with the Maryland-Ohio consortium of states, and a no

cost contract with WestEd and John Hopkins University (JHU) for the development and field testing of

an early childhood assessment: the KEI, version 2.0.

Summer 2016:

• A MOU was executed between the Maryland State DOE and the TN DOE for Tennessee to join the

consortium of states as a charter state. And, executed a no cost professional services contract with

WestEd and JHU, partners in the consortium for the design, development, professional training,

technology and data management and evaluation of the KES pilot/field test in fall of 2016.

• WestEd/JHU led train the trainer sessions for staff and data managers from all five districts. The

partners trained 19 trainers who in turn trained 113 kindergarten teachers in 26 schools across the five

districts.

Fall 2016:

• Pilot KEFT was implemented from September 1st - November 11th. The purpose of the field test was

to determine validity and reliability of items. 113 teachers assessed 2147 kindergarteners across the

five PDG districts using two different test forms of the KEFT. Each child was assessed on 52 items that

will eventually be used as the consortium KRA version 2.0 and an extra item bank. No individual data

was collected or analyzed.

Winter 2016-2017:

• The KRA consortium members met and reviewed item analysis and planned for future implementation.

TNDOE was included in the item discussion.

• In Early December the state opened the Response for Proposal (RFP) process to determine availability

and select a Kindergarten Entry Inventory (KEI) to use for implementation starting the fall of 2017.

The requirements in this RFP included that the KEI we use to align to the following domains of the Tennessee

Early Learning Developmental Standards:

• Language and literacy (This includes reading literature, reading informational text, reading foundational

skills, writing, speaking and listening and language)
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• Math (This includes counting and cardinality, operations and algebraic thinking, measurement and

data, and geometry)

• Social foundations (This includes approaches to learning and social-emotional development)

• Physical development and health

Also, it was requested the assessment items would be conducted through activities and interactive games and

stories between the teachers and students, and through teacher observations of students. This will not be an

assessment that requires students to produce written or verbal responses in one sitting. It will be administered

by kindergarten teachers over the course of the first eight weeks of school.

• The final response had three different KEI submitted for consideration. At this time one, was selected

and is in the public viewing stage. The timeline for a contract to be put in place is by March and training

trainers by May. The KEI has been submitted by West ED and will be a version of Desired Results

Developmental Profile (DRDP).

More information about the DRDP can be found at https://www.desiredresults.us/

Spring 2017

• Held roundtable discussions with teachers and trainers who volunteered to share experiences with

KEFT implementation. Teachers reported biggest challenge was due to the late assessment window the

KEFT was not helpful in informing practice (this was due to access to the computer software). Some

discussion indicated that the tool did not measure what was needed, for example all of the alphabet/

sounds. The KEFT was a different format then the newly adopted DRDP.

Summer 2017:

• KEI Train the trainer will occur for the 5 PDG districts and state staff

• Trained trainers will train all kindergarten teachers in the 5 PDG districts

Fall 2017:

• Tennessee's two week KEI implementation window will be approximately thirty days after the start of

school. Once administration is complete teachers, principals, districts and the state will having "live"

access to data. Full data analysis to follow administration window.

Late Fall/Early Winter 2017-2018:

• Initial data reports will be provided from fall implementation of KEI
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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.
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Section A: Part B - Selection Criteria

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

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

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

responses.

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

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

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

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

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

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

During the 2nd year of implementation, our time and efforts have focused on supporting and consulting with

our Subgrantees, to implement PDG objectives. Our state continues to consult with our CEELO technical

assistance support team, Alliance for Early Education (Ounce) and other states as we further develop and

implement our plan to increase quality across our Subgrantee classrooms as well as across our state's voluntary

pre-K.

A description of our progress and next steps on each of the structural elements Tennessee is strengthening are

as follows (bolded sections are Tennessee's PDG emphasis):

(a) Enhancing or expanding Early Learning and Development Standards - The Tennessee Early Learning

Developmental Standards (TNELDS) were adopted by the Tennessee State Board of Education in August 2012

and are aligned with the state Kindergarten standards. In December of 2016, the new state Kindergarten

standards were adopted. Since the Kindergarten standards have been aligned to the TNELDS in the past, the

TNELDS will be reviewed and revised in 2017 and aligned with the newly adopted Kindergarten Standards.

(b) Implementing Program Standards consistent with a High-Quality Preschool Program - The program

standards in Tennessee are also aligned with the Pre-K Guidelines and Compliance Standards (including health

and safety) and are evaluated twice yearly by state Program Evaluators (PEs) in each PDG provider. The 

Program Evaluators have continued to evaluate all of the PDG programs twice yearly in year 2. The new Pre-K

Guidelines and Compliance Standards were adopted in January and will go into effect July 1, 2017. Along with

Guidelines and Compliance the PEs will also begin observing for high quality literacy implementation in pre-K

classrooms. Additionally, we have significantly revised our VPK application to reflect high quality indicators

based on research from the Vanderbilt study and other national research. This new criteria will be used to shift

our VPK funding from a formula-based method to a competitive grant process as required by the state's PreK

Quality Act.

(c) Supporting programs in meeting the needs of children with disabilities and English learners, including in

workforce development - The Subgrantees have started focusing on inclusive education for all children. The

emphasis has been on providing professional development and coaching support for inclusive practice. MNPS

has added an English Learner coaching position to assist pre-K teachers and teachers in the K-3rd continuum to

support English language learners in the classroom. Shelby County Schools have included 619 teachers in their

early learning PLCs and are working to use inclusive practices by including children with IEPs in general

education pre-K classrooms when allowed in their IEP.

(d) Conducting a needs assessment to determine the current availability of High-Quality Preschool Programs,

including private and faith-based providers and Head Start programs - As part of the expansion planning for

new classrooms each Subgrantee determined the need of additional classroom seats through multiple

procedures including current availability of seats, number of kindergarten seats available and projected growth
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in the communities of need. In Some of the expansion classrooms are located in community settings (child care

centers)in order to provide greater access in areas of high need. There is a 96% utilization of these new slots

with eligible children because of this strategic placement of classrooms.

(e) Establishing or upgrading preschool teacher education and licensure requirements - Tennessee requires that

pre-K teachers in the public school hold a Bachelor's degree and Early Childhood Education certification. TCA §

49-6-104 (b)(2) requires teachers to hold Bachelor's degree and Early Childhood certification.

(f) Improvementsto teacher and administrator early education training programs and professional

development -As our state has undertaken the process of improving quality across Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) and

the PDG classroom, we have learned with our Subgrantees in year one and two the importance of effective

professional development and coaching support. This is not only important for the classroom teacher, but also

teaching assistants, administrators and coaches. The state continues to strengthen and encourage districts to

take a closer look at the various components of their practices including curriculum, assessments and coaching

models through both the PDG classrooms as well as the statewide pre-K program (VPK). The new VPK

application emphasizes eligibility, aligning curriculum to TNELDS, increasing expectations for high quality and

providing research professional development in developmentally appropriate practice.

The state consultants and program evaluators have provided training to the coaches and classroom leaders in

both the Shelby County Consortium and the MNPS to support implementation.

• Observation and Coaching - Staff from the Tennessee Department of Education completed

ECERS-R classroom assessments for the second year expansion classrooms, where the teacher

returned for the second year. The overall scores improved in the majority of the second year

classrooms by almost one point. The scores and observation notes with strengths and areas of

growth were shared with the Subgrantees' district coordinators and coaches/advisors. In turn,

the coaches shared the reports with teachers. In MNPS coaches/teachers developed action

plans to strengthen classroom practice. The coaches use the action plans to follow-up on a

monthly basis. The state plans to conduct ECERS-R in year 2 expansion classrooms with action

planning in the fall of 2017. Cost for this observation and consultation will be included as part

of the job duties of the education consultants working on this project.

• Teacher training- the state has identified professional development core competencies as

required for all preschool classroom staff in an effort to have a solid foundation on which to

develop a high quality pre-K classroom. Each district in collaboration with state consultants

developed a training calendar offering these topics for the 2016-17 school year.

o ChildDevelopment

o TN Early Learning Developmental Standards

o Pyramid Model- social and emotional development

o ECERS and ELLCO

o Developmentally Appropriate Practices

• Subgrantees have provided additional training topics including (but not limited to) the district

curriculum, personal safety curriculum, classroom management, literacy and language, math

and others described throughout this report.

• In addition to the training for coaches and teaching staff, the department will further pursue

offering administrator training. Administrator training will not only impact practices at the preK level but across the pre-K-3 learning continuum. The creation of administrative modules on

early childhood development and appropriate practices are in the planning stages. Currently

administrators have been invited to participate in training provided to pre-K teachers and staff.

As part of the new pre-K - K student growth portfolio, training has been provided to

administrators, coaches and coordinators. Additionally, an early childhood guidance document
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connected to the state teacher evaluation has been developed to provide administrators with

“look fors” in developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms.

(g)Implementing a Statewide Longitudinal Data System to link preschool and elementary and secondary school

data- A statewide student data system is already in place and the PDGE Data Manager maintains the system

while collaborating with the Subgrantee data management teams to ensure data is entered correctly and is

available to inform practice. These improved practices have provided more accurate reporting of eligible

children and other grant required data.

(h)A Comprehensive Early Learning Assessment System -Tennessee's plan for a comprehensive early learning

assessment system includes the following components:

• Student assessment: The Subgrantees are committed to achieving ambitious goals for

improvements in both preschool and kindergarten. The state contracted with Peabody

Research Institute (PRI) to continue to complete student assessments on 1865 students in the

fall 2016 and will assess these same students again this spring. PRI completed the same

assessment cycle in 2015-2016 using a full assessment battery (spring and fall was completed

on 1409 children). Based on prior research completed by PRI using the same assessment tools

as in similar pre-K classrooms in MNPS, benchmarks for each assessment tool were set and

progress on reaching these benchmarks were measured by the children assessed in year one of

this grant. The following benchmarks for the expansion sites in Memphis and Nashville were

established on the battery of measures. Progress on reaching the benchmarks will be

measured on 10 children from each of the 200 classrooms each year. These are the

Subgrantee's preschool measureable outcome goals are:

1. By the end of the pre-K year, 75% of the children will score above 85 on the PPVT.

2. By the end of the pre-K year, 75% of the children will score above 85 on Spelling.

3. By the end of the pre-K year, 75% of the children will score above 85 on Quantitative Concepts.

4. For the simpler measures, Letter Word Identification and Applied Problems, 90% of the pre-K

children will score above 85.

The following are the aggregate benchmark results for year one:

Benchmarks Overall

75% of the children will score above 85 on the PPVT Actual = 68% - Not met

90% of the children will score above 90 on Letter Word Actual = 92% - Met

75% of the children will score above 85 on Spelling Actual = 69% - Not met

90% of the pre-K children will score above 85 on Applied Problems Actual = 90% - Met

75% of the children will score above 85 on Quantitative Concepts Actual = 70% - Not met

Year one was considered the “baseline” year and the results of the assessments and the classroom

observations (see below) have been used to inform and improve practice in areas such as use of instructional

time (decrease time spent in whole groups, increasing time in centers and outside play), transitions, classroom

management procedures, and high quality instructional practices.

The initial plan was to link these benchmarks to the kindergarten readiness screening instrument chosen by 

the state and Subgrantees. This did not occur as noted in the narrative for GPRA 1 (c). The intention of the state

is that next fall the benchmarks from the 2016-2017 child assessments will be linked to the new KEI. The

Subgrantees' Kindergarten readiness measurable outcome goal is to have 75% of participating preschool

students score as kindergarten ready on at least three of the five domains as measured by the new KEI

instrument. The state infrastructure portion of the grant will fund PRI's contract and fully fund two Education

Consultants at TDOE who will support the implementation of both of these assessments.
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(i)Building preschool programs' capacity to engage parents in decisions about their children's education and

development, help families build protective factors, and help parents support their children's learning at home -

The state of Tennessee has created a website that provides resources and information for families about

childhood development and services that are available to support families and children (http://

kidcentraltn.com/). In addition each Subgrantee is using funds to enhance the comprehensive services that

children and families received. Included in these services are physical health screenings and referrals, family

supports within the communities for aftercare, mental health services, basic needs (food and clothing as

needed), sharing developmentally appropriate practices through connecting community partners (libraries,

museums, zoos & parks), and implementing transition planning to and from pre-K to support children and

families from one education system to another. These are described in more detail in “The progress the State

has made in establishing High-Quality Preschool Programs” section. Within the state pre-K guideline, family

engagement is required. Additional parent teacher conference are expected as well as home visiting.

(j) Building State- and community-level support for High-Quality Preschool Programs through systemic linkages

to other early learning programs and resources to support families, such as child health, mental health, family

support, nutrition, child welfare, and adult education and training sectors - Tennessee has a Readiness Model

that links families, children, schools and communities as a framework of support. Each district has a community

advisory council to discuss the pre-K opportunities, community resources and identify needs in their district.

(k) Other activitiesthat would support the delivery of High-Quality Preschool Programs to Eligible Children -

The state continues to partner with PRI to augment its current quality assessments to focus on the components

of effective high-quality preschool.

• Quality assessment: 139 classrooms were observed by PRI trained individuals using a 

Narrative Record in the winter of 2016. The narrative record allows for summaries that 

include, but are not limited to, the amount of time devoted to whole-class instruction, the

amount of time spent on mathematics, and the percentage of episodes that a teacher used a

high level of inference in his or her instruction. A second tool, the Pre-Kindergarten Classroom

Dynamics Rating Scale is a collection of behaviorally anchored ratings completed by observers

at the end of each of the full-day observations. These questions include groups of items that 

fall under the headings of Overall Impression, Classroom Management, Teacher

Responsiveness, Community, and Academic and Learning-related Behaviors. A summary of the

PRI Observation is available upon request. Year one was considered the “baseline” year and the

results of the assessments (see above) and the classroom observations inform and improve

practice in areas such as use of instructional time (decrease time spent in whole groups,

increasing time in centers and outside play), transitions, classroom management procedures,

and high quality instructional practices. The observation and assessment summaries were

shared with each Subgrantee and district coordinators developed priority topics for professional

development and coaching during year two of the grant.

• Note: part of the grant's infrastructure will fund PRI's contract and fully fund two Education

Consultants at TDOE who will help with administering the assessment if necessary.

Grant support: The Education Consultant and PEs positions funded by the grant oversee the

implementation of the grant and support training and technical assistance.

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.
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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.

Tennessee's currentstate funded pre-K program currently requires many of the structural elementsidentified

in this section through state law T.C.A. 49-6-101 --110.

• A teacher is required to hold a bachelor's degree and teacher licensure in early childhood

education. In Tennessee there are several different certifications that meet this requirement.

Currently our licensure endorsements include a dual general education and special education

license for birth through kindergarten, or a pre-K-3rd grade license, in either general education or

special education. Previously offered endorsements also cover licensure to teach pre-K-4th grade.

A district can apply for a waiver for a teacher if that person has an endorsement in another grade

level, (i.e., K-6). The waiver is good for two years during which time the candidate must complete

coursework and pass appropriate Praxis tests in order for a college or university to recommend

that the teacher receiving a pre-K endorsement on his/her license. A waiver cannot be renewed if

the teacher fails to complete any of these requirements. Teacher assistants are required to hold a

minimum of a Child Development Credential, if available. If not, the assistant must have a high

school diploma and prior experience working in an early childhood classroom.

• All staff are required to have 18 hours of professional development in their first year of hire

including child abuse reporting, and personal safety, and 12 hours of professional development in

the following years. All professional development must be related to early childhood development

or education. Because of the revision of the state Preschool Rules and Regulations document, the

required professional development hours will increase in year three of the grant.

• Staff child ratio is 1 to 10 at all times except during nap or rest time. This includes outdoor

time, or participation in any activity outside the classroom

• Class size capacity is 20 children regardless of classroom size. It requires at least one licensed and

early childhood endorsed teacher.

• The pre-K day operates a minimum of 6 hours and may include a thirty minute nap time.

• Full inclusion of children with disabilities is encouraged. This is beyond the occasional visit of

children with special needs to participate with their peers in outside activities or other planned

special activities. Approximately 10% of children enrolled in our state funded pre-K program are

children with IEPs. Accommodations are made to ensure full participation of all students.

• Classrooms are required to adhere to a scope of services specific to VPK as well as the State

Board of Education's Early Childhood Policy which addresses the requirement to use a state

approved comprehensive curriculum, to provide hands on learning experiences, to be culturally

and linguistically responsive to all students and families and to connect learning activities to the

state's early learning developmental standards for four year olds

• Teachers hired by the school district are compensated using the same pay scale and have the

same rights as any other K-12 teacher.

• Education consultants and program evaluators (PEs) complete site visits regularly. By state

regulations that set standards for health and safety PEs are required by to make a minimum of two

site visits per year. Additional oversight is completed through desktop review of various surveys

and reports required by the Division of Early Learning and Literacy.

• Funding from this grant was awarded to Subgrantees to provide access to comprehensive services

that were not already in place prior to this school year. These services include assessments of 

students as well as providing health, mental health, and counseling to families as requested or

necessary.

• State School Board Rules 0520-2-01-.01 --.16 provide evidence based health and safety
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standards with which all schools must be in compliance.

The Tennessee PDG applications targeted the following structural elements and in year 2 Subgrantees have

leveraged grant funds to address the expanding high quality program improvementsthrough these

examples:

High-quality professional development for all staff

• Districts are committed to ensuring that educators are provided with ample opportunities to

learn and develop, and that they have access to research-based practices that impact student

outcomes.

• Pre-K staff in several districts were provided with a comprehensive training for all new employees.

MNPS developed and implemented a one day “Tying it all together” training to have all staff on the

same page for the year focusing on health and safety, compliance, district policies, school year

priorities and non-negotiables determined by evidenced based practices and data collected by

Peabody Research Institute (PRI), and teacher/staff evaluations.

• All districts provided on-going trainings tailored to individual and district wide needs of teachers

and staff. Some professional development topics have included (but are not limited to):

Curriculum Training, ECERS, ELLCO, Developmentally Appropriate Practices, TN Early Learning

Developmental Standards, Health and Safety Curriculum, Developing Lesson Plans, Individualizing,

Screenings/Assessments, Education Forms/Children Files, Child Supervision, Daily Observations,

Pyramid Model (social and emotional development), Language and Literacy, Instructional

Transitions, Constructivism, Comprehensive Services, Family Engagement and Inclusion Practices.

All professional development activities were used to ensure that teachers, teaching assistants,

coaches and administrators acquire the skills that are needed to support the development of the

whole child in early childhood classrooms.

• Other staff development activities include job-embedded, continuous improvement strategies

focused on goal setting and areas of refinement identified through the state teacher evaluation

process.

• Staff development plans include summer institutes and professional development

opportunities during pre-service in August.

• In the Shelby County Consortium, one district developed a professional development plan that

provides all teachers with explicit training in the Pyramid Model and on the ECERS-R tool. These

trainings enhance the quality of our program by ensuring that all teachers and teacher assistants

acquire knowledge that will allow them to enhance their ability to address and support the

individualized needs of young children and establish classrooms that are warm, inviting, and child

friendly for the students.

• In the Shelby County School District teacher assistants that do not hold a Child Development

Associate (CDA) degree or beyond are enrolled in a CDA course through Southwest TN Community

College. The cohort meets monthly for 12 months with a certified CDA college professor.

Inclusion of children with disabilitiesto ensure accessto and full participation in all

opportunities;

Each district has taken steps to include and support children with disabilities to include children with disabilities

in the PDG expansion classrooms. The following describe some of the activities and collaborations that have

occurred in year two:

In Shelby County Schools teachers have collaborated with 619 preschool teachers in order to have greater

inclusion rates in Pre-K classrooms. Students from the 619 preschool classes visit the typical Pre-K classes to

engage in activities including morning meeting, center time, and small group instruction if it is part of the

students' IEP. Professional development opportunities, that teach general education teachers how to modify

lessons to include appropriate adjustments for those with special needs are available. The Divisions of Early

Childhood and Exceptional Children administrative teams meet regularly to discuss best practices of inclusion
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for children with disabilities. Specially trained staff works with community agencies to provide services to

children with disabilities while simultaneously providing them with an integrated, developmentally appropriate

early childhood experience within the classroom. Shelby County Schools Division of Exceptional Children works

in conjunction with the Early Childhood Division and community organizations to ensure that disability services

are provided to children enrolled in the program.

Through PDG-E funds, MNPS put additional systems in place to support inclusion.

• An Exceptional Education coach was employed through the grant, has provided trainings to support

coaches, teachers and teaching assistants to implement strategies to provide differentiated

instruction in the classroom.

• Infant-toddler Mighty Minutes were purchased to support blended and self-contained classrooms

to meet children at their zone of proximal development.

• MNPS is piloting infant and toddler curriculum in three self-contained classroom to determine if it

would be best to purchase this curriculum to meet student and classroom instructional needs.

• The number of Pre-K age children attending general education was increased due to strategically

working with Exceptional Education Department to place children in least restrictive environment

during the period from August-September across the district. The Early Learning Centers have

provided opportunity for a new model called “continuum of services”. Students are placed in general

education settings all year with support of push in and/or pull out (if needed). This model is

individualized for each student and there is a transition period for the student and family to ensure

correct placement and services at the time of entry. MNPS has found this model to be highly

successful as measured by student IEP goals and school wide social-emotional goals.

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;

• The Shelby County Consortium currently utilizes the Opening the World of Learning (OWL)

Comprehensive Curriculum. The OWL curriculum is comprehensive and aligned to the Tennessee

academic state standards and TN-ELDS and includes research-based, field-tested content in oral

language and literacy skills

• In both MNPS and the Shelby County Consortium there are several classrooms that implement

Montessori and serve multi-age classrooms.

• In MNPS the PDG allowed the district to adopt and implement Creative Curriculum, which is aligned

with the TN-ELDS. MNPS uses a constructivist approach to learning and has incorporated additional

evidenced-based literacy and math supports that are also aligned with TN-ELDS. The grant has allowed

the district to provide professional development in Creative Curriculum and work toward implementing

to fidelity along with Teaching Strategies GOLD assessment.

Individualized accommodations and supportsso that all children can access and participate fully in learning

activities;

• Across Subgrantees, children receive a variety of individualized learning experiences to foster social,

intellectual, physical and emotional growth. Children participate in indoor and outdoor play and are

introduced to the concepts of literacy, language, science, social studies, math etc... They are encouraged

to express their feelings, develop self-confidence and their ability to get along with others. 

Additional materials and resources have been purchased to ensure that all students have access to high

quality instructional materials.

• Teachers receive professional development on strategies for organizing classrooms, classroom

management and for leading effective small groups to promote independent student learning.
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On-site or accessible Comprehensive Servicesfor children and community partnershipsthat promote

families accessto servicesthatsupport their children'slearning and development;

In Tennessee's plan for improve existing classrooms was to provide comprehensive services to enhance

family engagement, increase family involvement, and helping family access resources within the

communities where they live. Each Subgrantee has implemented a variety of comprehensive services

ranging from health screenings to parent education workshops to helping families find basic needs in their

communities. The following are descriptions of some services provided through grant funding:

Shelby County Consortium:

In order to better serve children and meet their health, dental, and mental health needs the Pre-K program has

established an extensive list of community partnerships:

• Lebonheur - to provide speech/hearing screenings

• Christ Community Health Services to provide dental cleanings and follow-up services

• University of Memphis School of Nursing, Memphis and Shelby County Health Department, Le

Bonheur L.E.A.D, Southern College of Optometry

• Mental health providers to address the social/emotional needs of children while also providing

strategies for parents and teachers to better meet the needs of pre-K children.

Contracted family service staff develop family partnership goals with parents that will help to identify the need

for resource and referral within the community. This information is tracked to determine goal attainment for

families and to ensure that pre-K staff are meeting the needs of families as identified in their family partnership

goals.

Family engagement and family/community services can include:

• Individualized meetings with each incoming family

• Family Enrichment Center with spaces to meet and talk, computers for parents to use for job

searches, and books on child development.

• Classes about parenting, curriculum, and other topics as identified will be conducted

throughout the school year.

• AmeriCorps VISTA helping with community engagement efforts, such as volunteers, mentors,

beautification, and community service opportunities.

• Wrap-around services / before and after care for families who enroll (a below-market fee

applies or scholarships are available as needed).

• Each classroom is assigned a Family Service Advocate who works with families directly.

• Through the nutrition program, children are served breakfast, a balanced lunch, and a snack

each day.

An essential part of every early childhood program is the involvement of parents in education, program

planning, and operation. Parents play an active role in all aspects of the program. Through their involvement

and other training and activities, parents also have the opportunity to gain skills and secure employment.

• A case management approach assists families in assessing their own needs, identifying and

securing services and building upon their individual strengths.

• A variety of community resources are available to families in addition to crisis intervention and

emergency assistance.

• During the enrollment process, each family is introduced to an assessment analysis that identifies 

the needs of the family (ex. education, employment, housing, transportation, etc.). Families are

introduced to a goal setting process that identifies goals that may be of interest to the family to

work towards. A written agreement is implemented that identifies strategies and time-
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frames relative to the goals setting process.

• Staff members work closely with families as a supportive link to both the parent and the

community resources. Based on the assessment results, community resources are identified and

linked to families for services.

• Family Service Workers work closely with community agencies as advocates to the parents and to

the Early Childhood program.

• Mental health professionals work with staff and parents to increase awareness of the special

problems of children and provide a link to mental health resources. Referrals are submitted to the

Mental Health unit and a team of staff work collaborative to establish a Mental Health Plan that

meets the needs of the child. The process is tracked and documented for progress in the recordkeeping data system.

MNPS

During year two, with the support of PDG-E funds, MNPS continued to contract with Catholic Charities,

Well Child, and Conexion Americas to implement specialized comprehensive services to Pre-K students.

• Catholic Charities provides services to MNPS pre-K families who have the most critical needs.

During year two, six Family Advocates maintained a caseload of an average of 30 families to whom

they provided services. Services can include support with homelessness, behavioral issues, mental

health, housing needs, legal needs, transportation, educational needs, and legal needs. Catholic

Charities' Family Advocates are also supporting MNPS with chronic absenteeism of pre-K students.

Family Advocates contact all families of pre-K students with chronic absences.

• During year two, MNPS put systems in place to provide vision and hearing screenings for all

Pre-K students. Well Child is prioritizing screening students who are located in schools who are

receiving PDG-E funding.

• Conexion Americas offers Parents as Partners, a training offered to parents to help pre-K parents 

reclaim their role as their child's first and most important teachers. During year two, Conexion

Americas provided three PAP sessions, and graduated 38 parents. In addition to PAP, Conexion

Americas also provided Cambridge ELC with a Family Engagement Coach to support EL families,

and assist families with communication issues.

• In year two, six Family Involvement Specialists focused their efforts in utilizing a Dual Capacity

Framework, based on the work of Karen Mapp, offering workshops, consultation, and training for

both families and teaching staff at schools in all twelve clusters in the Metro Nashville Public

Schools District. Through their efforts they seek to equip teachers and families to engage with each

other and the school system in ways that allow for academic partnering to the service of student

success.

• In year two, Family Involvement Specialists collectively offered 90 workshops for families with 964

participants. They have also played key roles in organizing and facilitating 53 parent events/

meetings with 1,980 participants. Beyond offering workshops at schools and community locations,

Family Involvement Specialists provided family engagement opportunities through the

dissemination of `Take-Home Bags' which provide activities for families from Creative Curriculum

along with supplies/books for the activities with ideas and resources to support learning at home.

The `Take Home Bags' can be `checked-out' in a process similar to the check-out and return process

for library books. During year two, there were 491 rotations of Take Home Bags.
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Selection Criteria (D)(4) from NIA

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

The actual number of eligible children served in new preschool slots for year 2 in the Shelby County Consortium

was 216 (out of 220 new slots) or 98% usage. Each of the new slots in the Shelby County Consortium costs

$8242. The total new preschool slots in the Shelby County Consortium in years one and two equals 880. Forty

addition new slots that were targeted to open in year two will now be opening in year three along with the 

final 80 slots slated for year three. Shelby County Consortium has improved 1346 slots in year two of the grant,

this is beyond the target number of 1000 slots described in the states original application. Each of the improved

slots in the Shelby County Consortium costs $1248 per slot.

The actual number of eligible children served in new preschool slots for year two in MNPS Early Learning

Centers is 124 (out of 140 new slots) or 89% usage. Each new slot in the Early Learning Center costs $11023 per

slot. The actual number of eligible children served in new preschool slots for year two in MNPS site based is 92

(out of a 100 new slots) or 92% usage. Each new slot at a site based costs $8517. The total new preschool slots

added in year one and two in MNPS equal 440. The actual number eligible children served in improved

preschool slots for year two in MNPS is 1917 at cost of $1523 per slot and the target number was 2380. The

difference between the actual numbers and target numbers in MNPS are attributed to two factors, first to a

district diversity goal to ensure racial, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic diversity in classrooms across the

district, including pre-K, As such, some students enrolled in grant funded enhanced preschool classrooms may

not meet the eligibility requirements documented in this grant. Second, some children with IEPs were placed in

classrooms without determining family income eligibility status. This will be corrected in year three by 

requiring all families registering for pre-K slots to provide economic documentation.

New classrooms are expected to adhere to the State Board of Education's Early Childhood Policy which

addresses the requirement to use a state approved comprehensive curriculum, to provide hands on learning

experiences, to be culturally and linguistically responsive to all students and families and to connect learning

activities to the state's early learning developmental standards for four year olds. To meet these requirements

the following expenses contribute to the cost perseat:

• Set-up of new classrooms equipping them with:

o Child sized furnishings

o Technology

o Approved curriculum and materials 

o Center/interest area materials

o Children's books

• Personnel costs qualified teachers, teaching assistants and family involvement specialist

• Professional Development for teachers and teaching assistants

• Comprehensive services

• Contracts with Family Advocates
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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.

The Tennessee Department of Education has worked diligently to build strong relationships and open

communication with each district. Subgrantees submitted budgets and an electronic scope of work for approval

in order to access grant funds through the state's electronic ePlan system. This plan allowed for access to funds

as needed by the districts in order to meet all proposed grant activities, including the opening of 23 new

classrooms in the fall of 2016. The eplan system assists the state in desktop monitoring subgrantees 

throughout the year. Districts document teaching assignments, teacher certification, budget changes, and

teacher action plans that are required by the state. The PDG educational consultants monitor eplan for 

changes, maintain weekly contact with each districts' pre-K coordinating team, and in person district team

meetings were held quarterly in both MNPS and the Shelby County Consortium.

The state developed a scope of work document in an effort to help districts track their progress and for the

state to monitor this progress bi-annually for grant compliance. (see attached document in Grads360) The

scope of work document, completed yearly, requires districts to describe and detail implementation plan for

each activity funded through the grant, provide an evaluation strategy and outcome goals for each activity. 

The scope of work document is linked to a budget document that identifies the costs of the activities. The

scope of work is approved by the state before funding is released and then monitored through the year for

compliance. For year three the monitoring protocol will be strengthened to require more detail of specific

services provided by the grant funding and actual data of families and children served. Monitoring of the scope

of work will occur quarterly for year 3.

Progress by Topic

Establishment of roles and responsibilities of the State and Subgrantee toward implementing the State's

plan;

In order to maximize efficiency and integration of the expansion program with existing state and local preschool

programs, the roles and responsibilities associated with the implementation of this project plan 

closely follow those associated with implementation of the statewide Voluntary Pre-K program (VPK). Through

these existing VPK roles and responsibilities, Tennessee has made clear its preference for local control and local

accountability in carrying out the state's vision for early childhood education. Because of that preference, local

communities are able to develop their own priorities around early childhood education, build coalitions, and

engage stakeholders to ensure local priorities are met and plan for sustainability. In the process Shelby County

Consortium and MNPS have developed and are moving toward ambitious goals of their own, taking a leading

role in moving towards high-quality preschool for every child in their communities. Because both Subgrantees

already have significant experience administering VPK programs and both recently committed and allocated

new funding to their preschool programs, the state elected to delegate the allocation of new preschool

classrooms and seats to local decision makers. Both Subgrantees have established their own committees to

review applications for funding and allocated classrooms according to agreed-upon criteria. The state continues

to provide program administration, monitoring, oversight, and technical assistance through the use of the

eplan system, quarterly meeting with district coordinators, professional development for staff and classroom

observations by state consultants

Increasing organizational capacity and infrastructure of the Subgrantee to provide High-Quality Preschool

Programs, either directly or indirectly through an Early Learning Provider(s);

Tennessee's Office of Early Learning (OEL), established in 2005, currently administers the VPK program. Its

responsibilities include reviewing applications and overseeing the application process, program administration,

monitoring, data collection, technical assistance, training, and family literacy and health consultations. OEL is

responsible for data collection and filing of allstate and federal progress reports regarding all programs
ED 524B Page 29 of 38

administered through this office.

In the spirit of local ownership, both Shelby County Consortium and MNPS have carried out the expansion

program through slightly different methods. The differentiated strategies take into account their existing

education and early childhood infrastructures, the different stakeholders in each community, and the local

investments in quality already underway in those communities. The state, through the Office of Early Learning

at TDOE, oversees all grant funds; distributes expansion funds to Early Learning Providers according to the

recommendations of each Subgrantee; collects and compiles all required student and classroom data to fulfill

state, federal, and grant requirements; establishes standards for the responsible use of grant funds; and

ensures that all Early Learning Programs receiving expansion funding are meeting those standards.

Ensuring that each Subgrantee minimizes local administrative costs;

Each Subgrantee submitted a budget including a line item for administrative costs. These budgets were

reviewed and approved by the state department. Amendments must be made if changes in any line exceeds

15% or more of the original budget. The state's electronic system is set up so that funds cannot be drawn

down if line item amounts do not align with the requests for payment. Amendments are encouraged to be

held no more than twice during the grant period, approximately six months after the grant period begins and

two to three months prior to the end of the grant period. In year 2 no major amendments were requested by

any of the Subgrantees.

Monitoring Early Learning Providersto ensure they are delivering High-Quality Preschool Programs;

The Tennessee Department of Education already monitors preschool programs operated by school districts and

works with the Department of Human Services and the Subgrantees to ensure classrooms located in DHS

facilities meet the highest rating for quality as defined by the Stars Quality Rating and State Report Card.

Monitors and providers are already well-versed in these quality metrics and stakeholders already had a clear

set of expectations. Classrooms are monitored twice yearly unless further observations are necessary due to

non-compliance of state rules and regulations. In year 1 & 2 Educational Consultants have observed in the

majority of new expansion classrooms. Each visit is documented and shared with the subgrantees. Suggestions

are provided as needed to classroom teachers and coaches. In year 2 all returning year one expansion teachers

were observed using ECERS-R and results were shared and action plans were completed. These teachers were

also observed in year 1 with ECERS-R and the overall score average increased by a point. The plan is to observe

using ECERS-R year 2 new expansion classrooms in the fall of 2017.

Coordination of plansrelated to assessments, data sharing, instructional tools, family engagement, crosssector and comprehensive services efforts, professional development, and workforce and leadership

development;

Each school district has identified one or two point people through which all communication regarding the

grant is channeled and they are responsible for coordinating the activities of their district. Some of the

responsibilities of these people include:

· Identify terms regarding data sharing and tackle roadblocks to enhance the interoperability of data

systems. This is done in conjunction with the input from their district's Office of Research, Assessment

& Evaluation and the state and local Data Management Offices.

· Structure data sharing agreements with comprehensive community service providers to assess the

quality of services and impact on student learning

· Collaboratively design summer professional development and trainings to be offered by the state and

Subgrantees.

·Aggregate, review, and provide input on family engagement strategies based on findings from the annual

family satisfaction survey.

Delivery of High-Quality Preschool Programs to Eligible Children who may be in need of additionalsupports,

such as:

·Children with disabilities or developmental delays

·English learners
ED 524B Page 30 of 38

·Children who reside on "Indian lands"

·Migrant children

·Homeless children

·Children in the child welfare system

·Children who reside in rural or tribal areas

·Children from military families

·Other children asidentified by the State

The data found in Table A.3(a) and Table A.3(b) identifies the very diverse population being served in our

expansion preschool classrooms. Because the grant districts are located in very urban settings this accounts for

the lack of any children from migrant families or those who reside on Indian lands. Additionally, since these

Subgrantees are located in large urban cities they have access to many resources to meet the diverse needs of

their population and the comprehensive services provided by the grant assist families in accessing these

resources.

Subgrantees will implement culturally and linguistically responsive outreach and communication effortsto

enroll children from families with Eligible Children, including isolated or hard-to-reach families; helpsfamilies

build protective factors; and engages parents and families (e.g., builds capacity to support children's learning

and development) as decision-makersin their children's education.

The Subgrantees are required to document their process for enrollment and registration as well as provide

documentation of family engagement activities and opportunities. Each district has many strategies already in

place to reach families who might otherwise be overlooked. Some of the services available and provided by

the Subgrantees available:

· Translation services

· Family engagement specialists who conduct workshops and formal outreach

· Shelby County offers a community celebration fair focused on preschool students where families can

receive a variety of information about preschool, health and dental services, family support

· MNPS offers the Parent Ambassador Program,started by the Mayor's office and Metro Schools which

pairs immigrant families with host families in Nashville

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).

Last year, the Tennessee Department of Education refocused its mission and support for the importance of the

early years and publicly recognized this time as foundational to the success of every child graduating from high

school with the postsecondary knowledge and skills needed for college and career readiness. To do so, Early

Foundations and Literacy was established as one of five state priorities in the state's strategic plan, Tennessee

Succeeds, and the various groups who support this work were combined into the Office of Early Learning. This

strategic focus has continued this year, with an intentional and more purposeful alignment to connect birth to

five with Kindergarten to third grade and better support high quality instruction along the continuum, with the

creation of a new division of Early Learning and Literacy (encompasses the Offices of Early Learning and

Reading), and a new assistant commissioner role to lead the division. This shift occurred in November 2016.

Concurrent with this internal restructuring, Tennessee's Department of Education (DOE) and Department of
ED 524B Page 31 of 38

Human Services (DHS) have partnered to strengthen early learning opportunities for children in public and

private childcare settings. Building on new rules and regulations adopted last year that require all childcare

workers to have a minimum of six hours of professional development on early literacy, the DOE and DHS have

identified 200 classrooms to participate in a pilot during the 2017-18 school year, whereby the required

professional development is provided by the DOE (linked to the state's K-3 reading initiative) and supported

with coaching activities throughout the year. Additionally, participating classrooms will be enriched with books

and materials provided by the state's Books from Birth program. This work originated out of the Governor's

Children's Cabinet, a group of individuals that represent a broad range of state organizations supporting

children's health and education, and exemplifies the high priority and focus being placed on early childhood

education.

The DOE has also been intentional in its efforts to improve the quality of instruction in its state-funded

Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) program. Using the findings from the Vanderbilt study of pre-K efficacy, the state's

funding application has been significantly revised to focus on structural, programmatic, and instructional

indicators of high quality. This year's funds will be awarded to districts that demonstrate strong efforts to

recruit and serve the targeted student population, implement strong instructional practices including

appropriate use of time during the day, and provide teachers and teaching assistants with strong professional

development and classroom supports.

To further support this work in VPK, the state will be instituting a student growth portfolio in pre-K and K in the

2017-18 school year. This portfolio will represent a collection of evidence demonstrating student growth

throughout the year, will be scored by peers, and will constitute the 35% growth measure that is part of a

teacher's annual summative evaluation score. This work is strategically structured to focus teachers'

instructional practices on ensuring individual growth for all children towards mastery of the grade level

standards, and provide opportunities for reflective practice and job-embedded professional development

throughout the year.

A new full-time position has been hired in the Division of Early Learning and Literacy to provide high quality

professional development to support these desired shifts in practice. Through collaboration with other

divisions within the TDOE, three phases of training have been provided to districts statewide through Early

Learning Model (ELM) training. Two additional phases are planned and will be delivered prior to the start of

the new school year.

In addition to the work being led by the TDOE, all Subgrantees have strived to implement proposed continuum

goals listed in the PDG application. Much of their work has been built on the foundation of collaboration across

the continuum and providing opportunities for professional development for administrators and staff across

age and grade levels.

1. Transitions for Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age Five

a) How your efforts expanded families' choices or activities that facilitated or improved families'

access to programs and supports in their own communities;

As mentioned previously, the placement of expansion classrooms has been driven by a

purposeful process that identifies community need for the targeted student population. This

has resulted in greater access to high quality pre-K in both MNPS and the Shelby County

Consortium.

Additionally, both Subgrantees are focused on providing access to comprehensive services. In

MNPS all Pre-K Sites provide access to health screenings and family engagement support.

Family Involvement Specialists and Family Advocates support families of children attending

schools in some of the most culturally diverse areas of the city to assist them with
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understanding availability of and access to resources for them and their children. In the

Shelby County Consortium school districts, Porter Leath provides comprehensive services such

as health screenings and family support to all families in the expansion classrooms, as well as

previously existing classrooms that did not have these services available. Services are diverse

to meet the needs of the families. Both Subgrantees offer an open registration so that families

can register and identify the top 3-5 schools they are interested in having their child attend.

(b) How the State is working to ensure that High-Quality Preschool Programs will not diminish

services or increase costs to families for other programs serving children from birth through age

five?

Tennessee's plan for providing new high quality preschool seats was entirely funded with newly

committed resources. There is an assumption that families who participate in this program may not

currently be receiving any of these services and thus should not impact any existing services.

Subgrantees are working in collaboration with community partners and Head Start grantees to

determine areas of need across their districts and aiding in the identification of new pre-school seats.

The following are examples of collaboration and training activities that have occurred in year two by

the Subgrantees in birth through age five program activities:

• Shelby County Schools established a collaboration with Porter-Leath on the opening of a stateof-the-art preschool and teacher training institute that will establish a continuum of early

childhood education, from prenatal to age 5 and promote excellence for young children and

their families.

• Shelby County Schools partners with Porter Leath to assist those parents enrolled in their Early

Head Start program in transitioning into the Pre-K program smoothly.

• The Shelby County Schools Early Childhood Division and Porter Leath also partner with the

Student Services Division to ensure families with students transitioning from Pre-K to

Kindergarten know all of the necessary requirementsfor Kindergarten entry and are provided

resources when needed.

• During year two, MNPS and NAAEYC collaborated, through a contract with Scholastic, to

provide a full day training for community providers, placing emphasis on infants and toddlers.

This training will strengthen the alignment from birth through Pre-K.

• MNPS Family Involvement Specialists (FIS) supported the birth to third grade alignment by

inviting community agencies and childcare programs in their area to participate in trainings

that were planned for the district pre-K teachers and families.

2.Transitionsfor Programs Serving Children from Kindergarten to Grade 3

(a) How the State will ensure that Eligible Children are well-prepared for kindergarten;

In year two, the state is using PRI data to help us ensure that children who participate in the preschool
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classrooms are well prepared for kindergarten. The individual student information gathered from PRI

assessments will provide us with much needed data to identify individual student data, as well as

professional development needs. Initially, the Kindergarten Entry Inventory (KEI) pilot was intended

to give the state another data point to indicate readiness, however the KEI field test only involved a

limited number of children in each Subgrantees kindergarten classrooms and did not provide usable

data points (See summary on GPRA 1(C) question). The teacher's evaluation scores on ECERS-R will

assist us with an understanding of the teacher's style of interaction with the students, as well as the

level of quality of the classroom environment. The Narrative Record will also provide insight into the

daily activities of the classroom and how the time is spent and the level of engagement of the

students.

(b) Efforts and activities to sustain the educational and developmental gains of Eligible Children:

Collaboration between preschool and kindergarten teachers should be enhanced with the

implementation of the student growth portfolios. As both groups of teachers learn to be purposeful

and intentional in their instruction as it relates to the grade level standards, the opportunity to

highlight the continuum of learning will be emphasized during professional development.

Additionally, as the TDOE explores means of assessing pre-K quality and implements a KEI across the

state, opportunities to compare and cross-reference new data will further this collaboration.

As previously mentioned, the Governor, the DOE and other child serving state departments launched 

a new "Read to Be Ready" initiative in February 2016, which focuses on supporting families, early care

providers and teachers with understanding of research-based best practices to build strong

foundational literacy skills in the early years. Currently only 43% of third grade students are reading

on grade level. The goal through this initiative is to have 75% of third graders reading on grade level

by the year 2025, and because the approach is an integrated one, it promises impact math scores as

well. To date, 90 districts across the state are participating in this initiative, supported by 250+ highly

trained reading coaches.

In the PDG districts, there are explicit transition activities for children moving from preschool

programs into the kindergarten, and in these districts kindergarten is a full day program.

(c) Additional steps taken to build upon or align programs:

Tennessee has a set of early learning standards (TN ELDS) that are generally aligned with 

kindergarten standards. In December 2016, the state's kindergarten standards were revised and the

DOE is beginning a process to revise the TN ELDS to ensure explicit alignment and consistent language

and expectations. The DOE currently requires that a teacher possess a four year degree, a teaching

license and an endorsement in pre-K. Our teacher licensure staff are revisiting the teacher prep

program requirementsto determine what adjustments, if any, need to be made to ensure teachers

are prepared to teach after graduation. We have a data system for tracking students enrolled in our

school districts but not one that connects students enrolled in a non-school based or administered

program.

(d) Family engagementstrategies.

Tennessee offers many resources to help families become involved in their child's learning at home

and at school. The Imagination Library, sometimes called the Governor's Books from Birth program,

offer one free book a month, from the month the child is born until he turns five, to every child in

Tennessee. Many of the books offer suggestions on questions or comments to make with children

about the book. The First Lady of Tennessee developed a program called Read for Twenty which

encourages families to read to their children at least 20 minutes a day. A state sponsored website,

KidsCentralTN.org, offers resources to families focused on education, development and health. The

new Read to Be Ready initiative also provides a link for connecting the community to support

children's love and engagement in reading.

The following are examples of collaboration and training activities that have occurred in year two by

the Subgrantees in Kindergarten through third grade:
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• All Subgrantees have schools participating in the Read to be Ready Initiative to ensure third

grade reading proficiency.

• One district developed an Early Childhood Task Force (pre-k - third grade) to determine

assessment alignment, strategies for school leaders around early grades, shared PD, and

school cultures

• Pre-K programs based in public schools participated with all academic and extra-curricular

activities, for example: Literacy Night, Family Math and ELA planning night, and in some,

community child care programs were invited to participate in these activities as well.

• Ongoing professional development and professional learning communities were established

across grade levels to develop learning progression plans, intentionally align curricula in pre-k

that models the same instruction strategies as the district's K-3 curriculum to expose the

students to foundational skills that will be reinforced and further developed in kindergarten

through third grade.

• One district offered Pre-K - 4th grade coaches the opportunity to attend a vertical

collaborative coaches' meetings. Focusing on coaching strategies, developmentally

appropriate practice, and reinforcement of the district's literacy initiatives, the coaches

worked together to set professional goals to align coaching practice.

• As social-emotional support for students in Pre-K classrooms, the Pyramid Model has

traditionally been a professional development session led by the DOE for Pre-K teachers. With

the goal of strengthening the Pre-K through third grade continuum this year, a fall and a spring

professional development session on the Pyramid Model was offered for K-2 educators and

administrators.

• One Subgrantee has developed “summer transition bags” to prepare children for kindergarten

through reading, math and other activities.
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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.

There are no discrepancies to report on the state's year two target matching funds and the year 2 actual

matching funds. The county commission classrooms operating within the Shelby County Consortium school

districts continue to be funded and operated as originally defined in the grant application as local match. The

MNPS Early Learning Centers serve as local match as defined in the grant application. These centers have

guided the districts' work and served as models, empowering the district to embed the constructivist approach

in all pre-K classrooms, and establishing clear expectations, which have positively impacted principals, teachers,

and students in grades Pre-K through 3rd grade.

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.

Both MNPS and the school districts comprising the Shelby County Consortium are working diligently to not only

provide a high quality pre-K program, but also strategies that can strength their program by looking at the

experiences each student has prior to entering pre-K and the experiences they will have when entering the

formal K-12 education system. In year two of the grant all districts have supported and strengthened areas of

professional development for administrators and staff, transitions, before/after care and/or comprehensive

services for families in need. These activities will be evaluated through the subgrantee contract with Peabody

Research Institute with a yearend family survey and through professional development completion surveys.

Administrators of pre-K-3 classrooms are learning more about what quality pre-K looks like and how

K-3 teachers can differentiate and support children at the diverse levels of development they bring

with them into the school system. This is being supported through administrator training at the

district level. For example, an early childhood guidance document connected to the state teacher

evaluation has been developed to provide administrators with “look fors” developmentally

appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms. Pre-K -3 Administrators have also been involved

in professional development on topics of early childhood development, social emotional development

and early literacy.

MNPS has opened pre- K professional development when space is available to community childcare

programs and community partners. In addition they are planning a Kindergarten registration fair to

invite community partners, feeder schools, and other community services to aid families in the

transition and registration for kindergarten. MNPS has collaborated with Head Start and community

childcare programs to strengthen the continuum work along with assisting in increasing enrollment of

eligible students. MNPS has been able to add more before/after care spaces for pre-K families at a

reduced cost as part of the year two scope of work.

The Shelby County Consortium is intentionally aligning curricula in pre-K that models the same

instructional strategies as the district's K-3 curriculum to expose the students to foundational skills

that will be reinforced and further developed in kindergarten through third grade. One district is
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working with local community agencies, other school districts, and philanthropies to implement a

Shelby County Early Childhood Plan that includes awareness to parents regarding resources and

services for children birth to third grade, collaboration with child care centers and pre-K programs,

effective staff development, and quality comprehensive services.

For all of the Subgrantees, the provision of comprehensive services required in the grant plays a vital

role to support children's educational success and strengthening the learning and development across

the continuum.

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.

A review of the spreadsheet submitted with our application, shows that over the four year grant period, 70% of

our total grant request will create 1440 new state preschool program seats. This year 240 and 220 new seats

were added in the MNPS and the Shelby County Consortium respectively. This adds to the additional 860 new

seats opened in the first year of the grant, for a total 1320 seats. 120 more seats will be added in year three.
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Section B: Budget Information

Budget and Sustainability (Section G in the application)

1. Please provide a brief explanation of any discrepancies between the State's approved budget and

its total expenditures for the reporting year. Explain carry-over funds that have not been expended or

obligated from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016.

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).

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.

The Tennessee department of education along with all of the Subgrantee districts remain focused on

continued planning for high quality pre-K classrooms beyond the four year grant period. The

department has included early foundations as a major piece of its strategic plan to ensure all students

are postsecondary and career ready when graduating high school. The governor and the department

of education and other child serving state departments continue to support the "Read to Be Ready"

initiative which also focuses on supporting families', early care providers' and teachers' understanding

of research based best practices to build the foundational skills important necessary for conventional

reading and writing. There is also a renewed interest by private businesses, philanthropic

organizations, chambers of commerce and even some legislators to invest in practices to ensure

quality early learning experiences are available and that the department is working to hold all

programs to high quality standards. Individual grantees report the following initial sustainability plans:

• All districts are actively seeking philanthropic and foundation grants to sustain high quality

preschool programs.

• Shelby County Consortium is partnering with People First (initiator of the Shelby County Early

Childhood Plan) to pursue local government, organizations and philanthropic funds to sustain

Pre-K across Shelby County.

• Collaborating and leveraging Head Start funds to maintain and possibly expand access to high

quality programs

At this time the state does not anticipate any substantive changes to our budget from the one submitted.

There are no changes to the approved budget and total expenditures for the reporting year. Funding

for year two was approved and allocated in June 2016 with the budget year following the state

budget year of July1, 2016-June 30, 2017. Expenditures (draw down by Subgrantees) continue to be

monitored and it expected to be on target with carry over funds from year one funds and year two

funds to be expended or obligated by June 30, 2017.
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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.

The discrepancies in the proposed budget versus the actual expenditures are mainly due to fact that the state

operates on a fiscal year instead of a calendar year. Activities described in the year two scope of work will

continue through June 30, 2017. These include:

• Professional development training for administrators and classroom staff;

• Regional Summit in each area of the state which are planned for June 2017;

• Continuation of classroom observations and collection of child assessment data for evaluation of progress

of improving quality across districts;

• A family survey assessing effectiveness of comprehensive services;

• Planning and development of year three scope of work by state and Subgrantees;

• Technical assistance including ongoing travel to visit classrooms, and other opportunities to learn from

our technical assistance partners and other states;

• Salaries of staff in the department of education as well staff from grantees and contractual agreements;

• Ongoing implementation of comprehensive services.

All planned projects are meeting benchmarks for completion by June 30, 2017.