UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

November 2, 2016

Nasha Patel

Louisiana Department of Education

201 North Third Street

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Dear Nasha Patel: 

On July 15, 2016, a team from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) (the Department) 

conducted a desk monitoring of the Louisiana Department of Education’s (LDE) implementation 

of its approved Preschool Development Grant (PDG-D). This monitoring aims to continue the 

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

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

successes, challenges, and strategies for the implementation of its plans for its PDG 

Development grant; and the fiscal management of the grant funds. It also helps us tailor 

technical assistance to each State’s specific needs.

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

including grants management, high-quality preschool programs, early learning standards, 

comprehensive services, workforce development, and sustainability. Before the call with the 

State, ED project officers had a conference call with two of the teachers who work in PDG 

classrooms. 

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

implementation of PDG and a snapshot of Louisiana’s progress under each PDG key area. This 

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

LDE continues to implement their PDG consistent with its approved application, scope of work, 

and timelines identified in its project plans.

We want to thank you and your staff for the time you set-aside for the monitoring call, and for 

your efforts in providing high quality preschool opportunities through the Preschool 

Development Grant. We hope you will continue to communicate any needs or concerns to your 

ED project officer(s). 
We look forward to continuing our work with you and supporting LDE’s technical assistance 

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

Louisiana’s youngest children.

Sincerely,

/s/

Libby Doggett

Deputy Assistant Secretary 

for Early Learning

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

U.S. Department of Education

Enclosure
Louisiana’s PDG Desk Monitoring Report

Monitoring Information

State Lead Agency Louisiana Department of Education

Grant Period 01/01/2014 – 12/31/2018

PDG Monitoring Period 01/01/2015 – 12/31/2016

PDG Monitoring Activity Part B Desk Monitoring

Monitoring Review Date(s) July 15, 2016

State Participants Nasha Patel, Interim Director 

Yshauna Sanders

Ashley Stevens

Lindsey Bradford

U.S. Department of Education Rebecca Marek, Lead Project Officer

Miriam Lund, Project Officer

Overview of PDG Monitoring

The Department of Education is committed to supporting States as they implement the expansion 

of high-quality preschool programs for eligible children through their PDG grant. Consistent 

with this commitment, the Department has designed a monitoring process to assess a State’s 

implementation of the program requirements and its approved Scope of Work for PDG and the 

State-level systems and processes needed to support implementation.

During the recent onsite monitoring, Louisiana’s implementation of PDG was reviewed across 

several key areas which represent the core priorities for implementation as outlined in the PDG 

Monitoring Tool: Capacity Building and Increasing Slots, Subrecipient Monitoring, Birth to 

Third Grade Continuum, Budget and Sustainability, and Fiscal Accountability. In each area, the 

Department identified key elements that are required under PDG and are likely to increase the 

access to and quality of State Preschool programs and lead to increased high quality 

opportunities for young children and their families. 

Louisiana was identified for a site visit based on the following factors: 

• Louisiana is a PDG Expansion State and the Department is conducting monitoring calls 

to all PDG Expansion grantees; 

• Louisiana has some concern in meeting the goal for KEA, as Louisiana is still piloting 

their KEA, and reporting all the demographic data since we do not have a data system 

that supports gathering all of the demographic data yet

 

The report contains the following sections:

• Summary of Call. This section describes, in brief, the topics covered and personnel 

participation.

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

in the State’s implementation of PDG as identified during the site visit.
• Status of Implementation of PDG. This section indicates the State’s implementation 

progress based on the monitoring and information collected.

• Elements Requiring Next Steps. This section identifies any elements for which the State 

is not on target for meeting its timelines outlined in the approved scope of work and 

includes next steps that the State must take to meet the grant outcomes, as identified 

during the monitoring. 

• Recommendations to Strengthen Implementation. This section provides 

recommendations to support the State in continuing to meet the goals and timelines of its 

PDG grant, as identified during the monitoring.

• Additional Comments. As appropriate, this section includes any additional information 

related to the State’s implementation of PDG not included elsewhere.

Summary of Visit

The PDG desktop monitoring call for Louisiana was conducted on July 15, 2016. During the 

first 30 minutes of the call, ED project officers had a conversation with two of the PDG teachers 

pertaining to PDG implementation and eligibility as well as and outreach and professional 

development that has been provided by the State. 

The remaining hour and 30 minutes of the monitoring call was between ED project officers and 

LDE PDG officials. During the discussion LDE officials openly identified meeting the goal for 

KEA, and reporting all the demographic data challenges to PDG implementation.

Highlights of the State’s PDG Implementation

• Through community coordination and streamlined applications across provider types, 

families and children are benefitting from grant-supported partnerships to support mixed 

delivery and family choice. Additionally, in Year 1, over 770 children in these 

communities accessed seats in classrooms that were improved through job-embedded 

coaching and access to comprehensive services. Communities are leveraging local 

partnerships to ensure at-risk families can access comprehensive services, including 

health screenings and support.

• LDE has been able to double the number of New and Improved slots for 4-year olds the 

state originally committed to and is offering 1000 seats in Year 2 of the grant.

• Implementation of LDE’s Early Childhood Care and Education Network has been a huge 

success. Ninety-eight percent of classrooms were observed in the fall and spring. LDE is 

preparing to release this years practice performance profiles which include performance 

ratings and profiles. The state is also planning to support communities to implement an 

improved Coordinated Enrollment system next year.

• LDE is preparing to release their practice performance profiles from this year with stakes 

attached to performance ratings and profiles. They will also be supporting communities 

to increase sophistication of Coordinated Enrollment for next year
Status of Implementation of PDG

In the onsite monitoring, the Department used a monitoring and accountability rubric to help 

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

status levels: 

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

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

communications with subrecipients and other stakeholders. 

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

the activity might still benefit from adjustments, training, or communications with 

subrecipients and other stakeholders. 

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

State, and may be undergoing a process of evaluation or program improvement. 

Subrecipients, stakeholders and users have been trained and/or communications strategies 

have been established.

Element Status

Capacity Building and Increasing Slots

The State public awareness and recruitment 

activities are targeted towards eligible 4 year old 

children in high need communities and families 200 

percent below poverty. 

Level 3- Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement 

The State’s expansion efforts are targeted towards 

increasing the access to high quality preschool 

programs for 4 year olds.

Level 3- Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement 

The State has a plan to ensure that existing State 

Preschool slots met the twelve standards of a High 

Quality Preschool Program under the PDG funding. 

Level 3- Sustaining & Continuing 

Improvement 

Subrecipient Monitoring

The State Lead Agency has a process to monitor 

grant and sub-recipients activities to ensure 

implementation of the goals and performance 

measures outlined in the approved PDG State Plan. 

Level 2-Developing

The State is on schedule with its monitoring of 

subrecipients to ensure that all of the high quality 

standards for Preschool are met within PDG funded 

preschool classrooms.

Level 2-Developing

 

The State is providing access to comprehensive 

services to all children enrolled in the PDG funded 

preschool classrooms.

Level 2-Implementing

Birth to Third Grade Continuum

The State has aligned the PDG funded program 

within the Birth to Third Grade Continuum of early 

learning standards and activities that help prepare 

Level 1-Developing
children for kindergarten thru third grade. 

The State is implementing a data collection system 

for tracking student outcomes from prekindergarten 

to kindergarten entry through third grade.

Level 1- Developing

The State is implementing a transition protocol to 

ensure that children transitioning from early care 

and education environments to kindergarten to third 

grade settings receive the supports necessary for a 

smooth transition.

Level 1-Developing

Budget and Sustainability

The State has policies and procedures to track the 

State and Subrecipient budget activities to ensure 

that funds are expanded according to State, Local 

and Federal procurement laws.

Level 2 - Developing

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

funds” under the PDG grant. 

Level 2 - Developing

The State has a plan to ensure that High Quality 

State Preschool Programs will remain of high 

quality after federal funds are no longer available. 

Level 2 - Developing

Fiscal Accountability

The State has policies and procedures in place to 

ensure the grant funds are expended according to the 

federal laws outlined in the federal Super Circular 

and EDGAR.

Level 2-Implementing

 

The State has a system in place to ensure that its 

Subrecipients are meeting the federal laws of the 

Super Circular and comply with the “supplement not 

supplant” requirements. 

Level 2-Implementing

Elements Requiring Next Steps: 

• None

Recommendations to Strengthen Implementation:

• The Department has concerns related to Louisiana’s meeting the goal for KEA

participation. Currently, Louisiana is still piloting their KEA, and experiencing difficulty 

reporting their demographic data since their data system does not yet include

demographic data. The Department will continue to work closely with Louisiana to 

monitor the progress of the KEA pilot.

Additional Comment:

• Louisiana has obligated grant funds according to its budget. However, because the funds 

are expended throughout the school year rather than the calendar year, most funds will 

not be drawn down until the calendar year after the funds have been awarded. While this 

is not a concern, the Department will continue to work closely with Louisiana to monitor 

the progress of its spending.