PRESCHOOL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
 

2015 ANNUAL PERFORMANCE REPORT
 

New York 

Preschool Development Grants SEPTEMBER 2016 
 

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 #: S419B150021 2. Grantee Federal Information Processing Code: 84.419B 

3. Project Title: Preschool Development Grant- Expansion 

4. Grantee Name: New York Education Department 

5. Grantee Address:89 Washington Ave. Albany, NY 12234 

City: Albany State: New York Zip: 12234

6. Project Director Name: Renee Rider 

Title: Assistant Commissioner, Office of Student Support Services 

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

Email Address: renee.rider@nysed.gov; Betsy.Kenney@nysed.gov 

Reporting Period Information 

7. Reporting Period: From: 01/01/2015 To: 12/31/2015 

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 

b. Current Budget Period $24,596,813.00 $365,000,000.00 

c. Entire Project Period 

(For Final Performance Reports only) 

9. Indirect Cost Information (To be completed by your Business Office. See Instructions.) 

a. Are you claiming indirect costs under this grant? Yes No 

b. If yes, do you have an Indirect Cost Rate Agreement approved by the Federal Government? Yes No 

c. If yes, provide the following information: 

Period Covered by the Indirect Cost Rate Agreement: From: 02/01/2015 To: 03/31/2016 

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 

✔

✔

ED 524B Page 1 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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: NY PR/Award #: S419B150021 

You are required to submit an Executive Summary of up to 3000 words with your Annual Performance 

Report. This summary should relate to your approved application and summarize the goals and 

objectives that have been achieved under your grant, what you learned, and any evaluation results. 

Describe any unanticipated outcomes or benefits from your project and any barriers that you may have 

encountered. If there have been any changes to the project from the approved application, those 

should be explained as well. 

New York State is working with five school districts to provide prekindergarten programing for 

children through the Preschool Development Expansion Grant. During the 2015-2016 school years, 

NY partnered with the school districts of Yonkers, Watertown, and New York City to expand 

prekindergarten programs in their respective communities and with the districts of Port Chester and 

Uniondale which, for the first time opened a prekindergarten program. During year one, a total 2,385 

children were served. 

Program Highlights 

New York City 

New York City (NYC) is now serving a total 64,203 children in their PRE-K FOR ALL program with 

756 of those children funded through the Preschool Development Expansion Grant (PDG). The 

children in the NYC PDG classrooms are served in 37 Community Based programs. 

Programs that partner with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) are given 

supports and resources from the NYC Division of Early Childhood Education (DECE) through field 

offices located in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens. In each office there are 

Instructional Coordinators and Social Workers who provide support and coaching for community 

partner leaders and their teaching staff throughout the year. 

During the school year, the NYCDOE provides ongoing professional development to both leaders and 

teachers. Topics include authentic assessment, using data to inform instruction, creating supportive 

environments, and instructional planning. 

Partnering programs participate in one of two instructional lanes during the 2015-2016 instructional 

years. The NYC Explore Track uses the Building Blocks math curriculum with interdisciplinary units 

designed by the DECE in collaboration with outside experts. The NYC Pre-K Lanes implement a 

DECE approved curriculum that is aligned with the New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for 

the Common Core and offers three choices for programs Choice A supports prekindergarten learners in 

developing the social and emotional skills needed to build a positive sense of self, build positive 

relationships, develop self- regulation skills, and adapt to change. Choice B focuses on using data to 

inform instruction and moving children forward by identifying strategies that meets the leaner's needs. 

Choice C supports children who are linguistically and culturally diverse learners by building on the 

diverse backgrounds and languages that the children enrolled bring to the program. 

Programs screen children at the beginning of the year using the Early Screening Inventory -Revised 

ED 524B Page 2 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edition and are able to receive free training through WeTeachNY.org. The DECE has screening 

materials available to teachers in multiple languages to support English Language Learners and has a 

protocol for receiving screening results for all students enrolled in the prekindergarten program. 

Partners with the NYCDOE are required to choose one of three authentic assessment tools in their 

program. These tools are Teaching Strategies GOLD, High Scope Child Observation Record, or the 

Work Sampling System. Developmental progression is rated three times per year, once in the fall, once 

in the winter, and once in the spring and this information is shared with prekindergarten leaders and the 

parents of the children. 

The NYCDOE offers support to partnering programs in providing family engagement experiences and 

resources. These resources include a teacher welcome letter template to send at the beginning of the 

school year and tools to provide webinars for families. 

Port Chester 

The Port Chester School District has partnered with the WESTCOP Head Start Program to provide 

prekindergarten for the first time in their school district. The program serves 131 children in seven 

classrooms. Children receive breakfast and lunch and families who are working or in school are able to 

use a full day program option and stay until 6 p.m. 

The program uses the Creative Curriculum and the GOLD system, and the Brigance and DIAL to 

screen children at the beginning of the program year. The district utilizes the Engage NY web-site and 

the NYS Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core Standards to support components of the 

Creative Curriculum. 

Each classroom has a bi-lingual educator and two teachers who are certified. Children participate 

weekly in their classroom in a musical literacy education program. The district partners with 

Manhattanville College who provides two masters level physical education interns to work with 

classrooms during their assigned gross motor times. 

The program utilizes the Waterford Program for families. Each child receives a chrome notebook that 

they take home each day to complete a fifteen minute activity on. The notebook comes back to school 

with the child for daily use in the classroom. The notebook has reading, math, and science activities 

uploaded on them for families to use based on the developmental level of the child. 

Building on the Community School Model that Port Chester already had, the prekindergarten program 

offers families medical services through the Open Door Family Medical Center. Family Services of 

Westchester offer mental health services, and dental services are available through a dental van that 

comes to the prekindergarten school site. 

Children will participate in the Jump Into Kindergarten program for transitioning into kindergarten. 

The Jump Into Kindergarten program is a home grown project. It consists of identifying students during 

Kindergarten screening who are struggling with age appropriate literacy skills. The parent and child 

participate in a four to six week initiative where the parents and child come in to talk with a member 

of the team to learn skills to work with their child at home on which will allow them to help their child 

advance academically in reading. 

Uniondale 

The Uniondale School District rents a school building in neighboring town of Baldwin to serve 144 

children in eight classrooms that run from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The district offers transportation to 

children who are four years of age, and serves breakfast and lunch daily. 

ED 524B Page 3 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The curriculum models utilized in the classroom are the Splash Into Pre-K program from Houghton 

Mifflin which includes components of English language arts, math, science, and social studies, and the 

EngageNY math curriculum modules. The Work Sampling System is used as the program's on-going 

authentic assessment tool and the Early Screening Inventory Revised Edition is used for developmental 

screening. 

The district has created several partnerships in their community to support the learning experiences of 

the children which include the Cradle of Aviation, the Long Island Children's Museum, the Hispanic 

Counseling Center, the Uniondale Public Library, the Molloy College Family Engagement Program, 

the Child Care Council of Nassau, and the North Shore Family Guidance Program. 

The district currently holds professional development for teachers three hours per month and included 

topics are transitioning to kindergarten, the New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the 

Common Core Early Learning Standards domains, and supporting instruction through modifications in 

the learning environment. 

Uniondale has identified future topics for professional development which include training for 

administrators (principal, directors, etc.) on what to look for in a preschool classroom observation, what 

are developmentally appropriate practices, differential instruction for students throughout the school 

day, and questioning skills (ex. how to ask higher level questions/ to develop critical thinking). 

Throughout the year, families are offered opportunities to participate in Parent Teacher Association 

meetings and family engagement workshops. Workshop topics include healthy child development, the 

importance of reading, and helping children manage anger. In addition, parents attend conferences held 

in the fall and spring and are invited to attend field trips. 

Watertown 

The Watertown School District has partnered with four community based organizations to provide full 

day prekindergarten to 92 students. The Creative Curriculum in conjunction with guidance from the 

NYS Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core is used to plan instruction. Partnering 

programs use the Teaching Strategies GOLD or Work Sampling assessment as their ongoing authentic 

assessment tool. 

The program screens children at the beginning of the year using either the Ages & Stages 

Questionnaire or the DIAL-3. Children also participate in the Handwriting Without Tears Program. 

One of the partnering programs uses the 2nd Step Anti-Violence program with the preschool class they 

operate. 

Watertown has established many partnerships. One of the partnerships is with the Watertown Public 

Library who provides on-site opportunities in classrooms to read a story and do extension activities 

based on the story. The district has also collaborated with their community fire department to provide 

fire safety education to students. 

Watertown School District has used part of their funds to appoint a district administrator who oversees 

the preschool program. The administrator observes in partner classrooms, sets up professional 

development experiences, and holds meetings between partnering programs. 

Yonkers 

Yonkers School District has expanded its prekindergarten program by converting 1,262 half-day seats 

to full-day seats. Yonkers is now offering a full day program to all prekindergarten children. 

ED 524B Page 4 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yonkers is using the Splash Curriculum in conjunction with the Engage NY math modules and the 

PATHS program to incorporate social and emotional learning experiences. Children are screened 

upon entry into the program using the Brigance. The district is utilizing the Work Sampling System as 

their ongoing authentic assessment beginning program year 2016-2017. 

The district has created family welcome centers in each school building. These centers offer services 

and training programs for parents. These services include information and referrals for health care, 

education, immigration, training programs, housing, social security, translation, and adult literacy. 

Mental health services are offered to families in a partnership with Yonkers Day Treatment facility. An 

in school dental program through Smile New York Outreach provides families with preventive dental 

care at no cost. Other partnerships in the district include SUNY Cortland, the Dobbs Ferry Central 

School District Math Partners, Beczak Environmental and Educational Center, and Columbia Teachers 

College. Yonkers offers a Yonkers Pathways to Success program for families free of charge which 

offers classes in basic education skills, computer instruction, and courses in Test Assessing Secondary 

Completion (formerly the GED diploma). 

During late February, Yonkers will be partnering with Fordham University to provide literacy coaches 

in all of their prekindergarten programs. These literacy coaches will work with both teachers and 

children and will do follow up session with classroom teachers in strengthening literacy practices. 

Parents are able to choose from a variety of monthly workshops that are held through the district which 

include topics such as an Overview of Title I services, the Common Core Standards, Supporting 

Literacy in the Home, and Educational Strategies for Success in Grades K-8. 

The district is working on figuring out how to make the QRIS system as seamless as possible in their 

program due to the number of buildings. They are considering hiring someone that coordinates just the 

QRIS system for the preschool program. 

High Quality Prekindergarten Programs 

QUALITYstarsNY 

Port Chester, Uniondale, Watertown, and Yonkers are participating in QUALITYstarsNY, New York's 

quality rating and improvement system (QRIS). Each of the sites has received an orientation to the 

QRIS system and is beginning to work with a Quality Improvement Specialist that has been assigned to 

their program. 

QUALITYstarsNY is coordinated by the NY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute and 

receives support and oversight from the Early Childhood Advisory Council, the State Education 

Department, and the Office of Children and Family Services. 

The Quality Improvement Specialists will work with programs to create a program profile and register 

staff in the Aspire system, New York's Workforce Registry for Early Childhood Professionals. They 

will meet with program leads to review/explain the QRIS Public-School-based Program Standards. 

These standards have four overarching categories: Learning Environment, Family Engagement, 

Qualifications & Experiences, and Management & Leadership. Programs are assigned points in each 

of these categories which are totaled for an overall star rating. 

Programs will work with their Quality Improvement Specialist to begin their self-study and to submit 

documentation via an on-line portal. Information is reviewed and an initial star rating is assigned 

Based on this initial rating the Quality Improvement Specialist works with the program to write a 

ED 524B Page 5 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

program improvement plan. The improvement plan will address site specific needs that were found as 

a result of the document submission and the on-site Environment Rating Scale observation. 

One of the struggles New York State is currently having is the need for certified teachers to create a 

profile in both the TEACH and Aspire systems. The TEACH system tracks teacher licensing 

information and professional development. The Aspire Registry does the same thing. Information is 

not shared between the two systems to make these a seamless process. Currently conversations are 

happening between Aspire and TEACH to investigate how information can be shared to eliminate 

duplication of work. 

NYC Department of Education Pre-K for All Program Quality Standards 

The NYC Pre-K for All Program Quality Standards defines the NYC Department of Education's vision 

of high quality prekindergarten programs in NYC. The standards are aligned with the six elements of 

the NYC Framework for Great Schools. 

These six elements are rigorous instruction, providing supportive environments, having collaborative 

teachers, having effective school leadership, proving opportunities for strong family-community ties, 

and trust. These standards establish a shared set of expectations for prekindergarten programs 

throughout NYC. 

In order to support high quality programs, the NYCDOE provides observations using the Classroom 

Assessment Scoring System and the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised Edition. 

Once the observations are complete, the DOE sends the reports to the director or principal of the 

program. Data is used from the observations to inform coaches in future work with the programs. 

Results are also used to prioritize professional development topics. 

Targeted Resources 

Members of the NYS Office of Early Learning worked with the NYS Head Start Collaboration Office, 

the NYS Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) and the NYS Association for the Education of 

Young Children (NYSAEYC) to create a series of briefs to distribute to early childhood programs 

serving children age's birth to third grade. 

These briefs highlight developmentally appropriate practices in early education programs. Topics for 

the briefs include leadership, curriculum, environment, interaction, and assessment. The Fifth Brief on 

Assessment was released in the spring of 2015. A copy of the full set of briefs and a webinar link to 

Brief Five was sent to all five districts. Brief Six on Family Engagement has been completed and is 

currently being printed. Plans are under way to distribute the brief through a mailing with a follow up 

webinar to the districts. 

Districts received copies for each of their classrooms of the NYS Prekindergarten Foundation for the 

Common Core, The NYS Early Learning Guidelines (NYSELG), and the Core Body of Knowledge 

(CBK). The NYSELG are a resource for teachers to help them understand how children develop and 

learn. The CBK is a roadmap for early educators in building meaningful relationships with children, 

families, and colleagues, for creating nurturing stimulating environments, and for developing oneself as 

a professional in the field. 

Districts also received visits during the fall of 2015. At these visits, the NYS Prekindergarten Program 

Quality Assurance Protocol document that will be used at site visits to look at quality assurance was 

distributed and explained. The purpose of the protocol is to engage prekindergarten program providers 

in creating and maintaining a high quality prekindergarten program, and to be used as an ongoing tool 

by the Department for technical assistance and support. This will be explained more in depth on page 

ED 524B Page 6 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nine. 

Utilizing our partnership with NY University's Steinhardt Child & Policy Center, Watertown, Port 

Chester, and Uniondale received an introductory training in authentic assessment and then an additional 

session based on the assessment tool they choose. New York City has their own cycle with NYU for 

professional development and submission dates for authentic assessment data. 

Additionally, Yonker's administrative staff received an overview of all three tools: Teaching Strategies 

GOLD, Work Sampling, and the High Scope Child Observation Record to assist them in choosing a 

tool that was fit for their program. 

NYU has continued to provide support to classrooms through coaching calls to individual teachers to 

address concerns they may have in completing the tools. NYU has begun to develop a plan for training 

in program year 2016-2017 that includes training for new staff, more advanced training for staff who 

are in year two, and for administrators in how to use data to inform instructional practices. 

For program year 2016-2017 a memorandum of understanding is being created between NYU, and 

school districts to bring data into the common metric, which will allow data analysis for individual 

programs and across grantee programs as a whole. 

Challenges 

Program year one with the focus on comprehensive services has brought a different program model for 

how preschool programs are run in NYS communities. Districts at times have been overwhelmed with 

the collaborative partners and understanding their services. For example, they are working with 

NYSED for grant monitoring, the QRIS system to improve quality in their programs, CUNY 

partnerships to support assessment and the implementation of The Early Development Instrument 

(EDI). 

In recognition of not wanting to overwhelm the districts, planning meetings have been held with the 

partners to help solidify efforts and determine lead contact agencies on projects. Alignment of tools 

such as the NYS Prekindergarten Program Quality Assurance Protocol with the QRIS standards has 

begun as an example of the group's efforts. 

Goals 

The NYSED Office of Early Learning has the following goals for year two: 

1. Work with members of NYS ECAC, the NYS Head Start Collaboration Office, and the 

NYSAEYC to write two additional briefs on English Language Learners and Social/Emotional 

Competence. 

2. Provide a two day institute during the summer of 2016 to districts for teachers and administrators 

focused on the topics of authentic assessment, transition practices, and developmentally 

appropriate learning experiences. 

3. Provide roll out sessions in regional communities throughout the state based on feedback from 

the May 2016 Leadership Forum. 

4. Continue to support programs in growing in their quality rating score as per their QRIS 

assessment. 

5. Begin to work with school districts with the EDI. 

6. Finalize the data sharing agreement with districts for loading assessment information 

ED 524B Page 7 of 23 
 

 

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: NY PR/Award #: S419B150021 

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, 2015. 

New York State has been providing state funded preschool programs for almost twenty years. In the 

past several years, NY has almost doubled its state funded preschool programs but is still only serving 

62% of its preschool population. Upon receipt of this federal grant, the five school districts that are 

partnering in this initiative were excited and ready to mobilize district resources and community based 

partners to implement the program as of September 1, 2015. In three of the five districts, they already 

had funding and were able to convert half day slots to full day slots or easily create new full day slots. 

The New York State PDG team worked hand in hand with the new districts that were new to 

kindergarten to successfully get off the ground. As of December 1, 2015, 2,359 Eligible Children were 

served in High-Quality Preschool Programs funded by the grant. This is 2.80% of all Eligible Children 

total throughout the five subgrantee school districts. As of December 1, 2015, New York State served 

100% of Eligible Children as contemplated in its performance objectives. 

Please describe, as required in Program Requirement (k)(2) in the Notice Inviting Applicants (NIA), 

how the State established policies and procedures that ensure that the percentage of Eligible Children 

with disabilities served by the High-Quality Preschool Programs is not less than either the percentage 

of four-year-old children served statewide through part B, section 619 of IDEA (20 U.S.C. 1400 et 

seq.), or the current national average, whichever is greater. 

Note: The current national percentage of four year-old-children receiving services through part B, section 619 of 

IDEA is 6.4%. Source: 2012 IDEA Part B Child Count (www.ideadata.org). States should include detailed 

information on ALL structural elements. 

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

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

program shall be designed to promote and increase inclusion and integration of preschool children with 

disabilities. As such, each school district subgrantee is required to comply with Commissioner's Regulations and 

each prekindergarten program is required to make appropriate efforts to include children with disabilities in each 

prekindergarten program. Currently, 18% of eligible children served are identified as a preschooler with a 

disability. 

ED 524B Page 8 of 23 
ED 524B Page 9 of 23 
Describe the State's progress in increasing the number and percentage of Eligible Children served in 

High-Quality Preschool Programs funded by the grant. 

Each year the five school district subgrantees will increase enrollment of Eligible Children in High-Quality 

Preschool Programs funded by the grant. The school districts will achieve this by increasing each community's 

respective outreach efforts, enrolling children on waiting lists, and where applicable, expanding the 

prekindergarten program into additional community-based organizations. 

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 2015-16 school year. 

New York State allocated an additional $30M in fiscal year 2015-16 for the purposes of serving additional 

children in high-quality prekindergarten programs, which resulted in serving an anticipated additional 3,295 

children in new and/or improved prekindergarten slots. In the 2015-16 school year, it is anticipated that New 

York State will serve 118,947 children (62.26%). 

ED 524B Page 10 of 23 
 

 

 

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 1 APR, grantees must describe their progress towards identifying the measures, methods, 

and data on the school readiness of children served by the Preschool Development Grant. In the 

narrative below provide the following information: 

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

measured; 

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

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

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

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

and/or Statewide; 

x Whether the State provides or will provide training for local staff administering the assessment. 

If so, describe the requirements including processes to ensure continued reliability in the 

administration of the measure; 

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

Also, please describe, if applicable: 

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

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

subsets of the measure; 

x School readiness data for children disaggregated by subgroup (e.g., students who are 

American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian, not Pacific Islander; Native Hawaiian/other 

Pacific Islander; Black or African American; Hispanic/Latino; White, not Hispanic; two or 

more races; with disabilities; English learners; and from any other subgroups the state 

determines appropriate; and 

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

NYS, through its partnership with the City University of New York Professional Development Institute 

(PDI), will be working with Dr. Zoila Tazi from Mercy College to implement The Early Development 

Instrument to monitor children's development and readiness for school. This assessment will be given 

to children upon school entry by the kindergarten teachers in the district. 

The instrument will be used in NYS programs for children who attend prekindergarten funded through 

the Preschool Development Expansion Grant. Data from the EDI will be used to foster community 

building, facilitated by a community leader chosen by Dr. Tazi. The overarching goal is to address 

disparities in the community, and enhance comprehensive services available to the children and their 

families. 

The EDI is designed to both assess school readiness and to galvanize communities in promoting the 

ideal conditions that promote school readiness. Using the EDI in an evaluation indicates a strong 

commitment to both understand and affect existing conditions for young children. Including the EDI as 

ED 524B Page 11 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

part of a program evaluation is based on two premises: 

1. The first administration of the EDI will serve to establish a baseline where existing patterns of 

school readiness are analyzed for future comparison; 

2. Along with the administration of the EDI, communities are engaged in a process of reflection 

and improvement. 

The following implementation time-line demonstrates how EDI will be rolled out in NY. 

August 2016: 

All approvals are complete. 

Work begins with all Communities Links & connections Conduct public training on school readiness; 

Coordinate with Offord Centre to Create the EXCEL dataset template 

September 2016: 

Work begins with all communities 

Meet with School personnel 

Conduct public training on school readiness 

Meet Community Liaison, begin planning initiative 

Coordinate with Offord Centre 

December 2016: 

Obtain Parent Opt-Out letters from all communities 

Create schedule for all collections 

Create EXCEL data collection framework for all communities 

January 2017: 

Collect in 2 communities 

February 2017: 

Collect in the remaining 2 communities 

March 2017: 

Raw data for first 2 communities returned from Offord 

Conduct data analysis Prepare Maps 

April 2017: 

Raw data for second 2 communities returned from Offord 

Conduct data analysis 

Prepare Maps 

Present Findings & Maps to the first two communities 

May 2017: 

Present findings to the second two communities 

Summer 2017: 

Prepare a final combined dataset representing all 4 collections 

Obtain concluding reports from Community Liaisons 

ED 524B Page 12 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ED 524B Page 13 of 23 
For Preschool Development Grants - Development Grants States ONLY: 

1(d) GPRA Performance Measure: The number of States that collect and analyze data on State 

Preschool Program quality, including the structural elements of quality specified in the 

definition of High-Quality Preschool Programs.

 N/A
 

ED 524B Page 14 of 23 
 

 

 

 

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. 

New York's ambitious and achievable plans for ensuring quality preschool programs are grounded in 

decades of experience implementing the Pre-K . Over the last 50 years, our state has learned that the key to 

building a statewide infrastructure is leveraging partnerships to innovate and sustain program quality. 

As we implement the next iteration of High-Quality Pre-K services in High-Needs communities for children 

with high needs, our goal to strategically expand access to High-Quality Preschool Programs and bring 

greater coherence to our educational services from birth through 3rd grade has begun to be achieved during 

this first year of the FPDG. To that end, this grant has provided opportunity to capitalize on the state's 

existing innovative investments in the infrastructure to support a continuum of quality programs. Chief 

among these strategies is New York's Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System (TQRIS), 

QUALITYstarsNY: the unifying framework for monitoring and improving the quality of the state's early 

learning programs. Just as significant, our infrastructure-building agenda focuses on bolstering the capacity 

of our statewide system to better support local communities to implement effective and efficient Pre-K 

programs in collaboration with their community partners and assure that their approach meets the specific 

and diverse needs of their children and families. 

This federal investment has provided resources to develop the State's capacity to offer guidance to Districts 

and their Pre-K partners. SED recognizes its important role in supporting the high-quality implementation 

of its Pre-K programs. To that end, SED will be hosting a Leadership Seminar this May to support district 

leaders who are part of the FPDG, as well as leaders throughout the state. The seminar focuses on the 

Birth-grade 3 continuum and will lay the groundwork for a productive state-community relationship to 

ensure 4-year-olds enrolled in Pre-K receive excellent care. This seminar will serve as a model moving 

into year two and three of the grant. Continued leadership support is critical part of the grant. Monthly 

leadership calls as well as district visits help support leaders and the communities they serve. 

ED 524B Page 15 of 23 
 

2. Expanding High-Quality Preschool Programs in Each High-Need Community (Selection 

Criteria D of application) 

Describe the progress the State has made during the reporting year to implement and sustain 

voluntary high quality preschool programs for eligible children in two or more High-Need Communities 

(Selection Criteria D(4) of the application) that include ALL structural elements listed below that are 

included in the definition of High-Quality Preschool Programs. States should include detailed 

information on ALL structural elements. 

High staff qualifications, including a teacher with a bachelor's degree in early childhood 

education or a bachelor's degree in any field with a State-approved alternative pathway, 

which may include coursework, clinical practice, and evidence of knowledge of content and 

pedagogy relating to early childhood, and teaching assistants with appropriate credentials; 

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

✔

High-quality professional development for all staff; 

A child-to-instructional staff ratio of no more than 10 to 1; 

A class size of no more than 20 with, at a minimum, one teacher with high staff qualifications; 

A Full-Day program; 

Inclusion of children with disabilities to ensure access to and full participation in all 

opportunities; 

Developmentally appropriate, culturally and linguistically responsive instruction and evidence-

✔ based curricula, and learning environments that are aligned with the State Early Learning and 

Development Standards, for at least the year prior to kindergarten entry; 

✔

✔

✔

Individualized accommodations and supports so that all children can access and participate 

fully in learning activities; 

Instructional staff salaries that are comparable to the salaries of local K-12 instructional staff; 

Program evaluation to ensure continuous improvement; 

On-site or accessible Comprehensive Services for children and community partnerships that 

✔ promote families access to services that support their children's learning and development; 

and 

✔ Evidence-based health and safety standards. 

ED 524B Page 16 of 23 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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. 

In order to ensure that preschool classrooms participating in the PDG sustain high quality, NYS utilizes 

two documents to review district policies and procedures, and to observe classroom practices. These 

tools, the NYS Prekindergarten Program Quality Assurance Protocol and the NYS Prekindergarten 

Administrative Review Document (please see Grads360 documents) are used with the all NYS 

prekindergarten program funding streams. 

By using these same documents, it allows NYS to ensure a seamless process of quality assurance 

monitoring for all of the districts receiving state and federal prekindergarten funds. It is important that 

the documents used for PDG classrooms is the same used for all other prekindergarten programs to 

provide consistency for those districts such as NYC, Watertown, and Yonkers who receive 

prekindergarten funding from more than one NYS funding source besides the PDG. 

All districts received an orientation to the tools during an initial on-site visit and follow up questions 

have been answered through conference calls. At least thirty days prior to the on-site visit, both 

documents are sent to the key district contact person along with the dates of the on-site document 

review and classroom observation. 

The documents provide a checklist for review of the following information: facility quality; 

curriculum, learning environment, materials, and supplies; family engagement and support; staffing 

patterns; teacher education, and experience; physical well-being and health; partnerships with nonprofit, community, and educational institutions (including transitions in and out of programs); 

program oversight and fiscal management; and screening and assessment. 

The NYS Prekindergarten Administrative Review Documents are returned by districts to the NYSED 

Office of Early Learning one to two weeks prior to the on-site visit. This document gives staff a 

summary of program features that will be discussed or reviewed further during the visit. It includes 

staff qualifications, curriculum models the district uses, how children are recruited and selected to 

participate in the program, class size, and practices around physical well-being and health. 

All five districts will receive an observation in 10% of their classrooms by June 2016 and a document 

review using the protocols. At the conclusion of the on-site visit, a debriefing is held with district 

administrators and other agency partners if the district is partnering with a Community Based 

Organization. A typed report is given to the district with 30-60 days of the on-site visit. 

NYSED Office of Early Learning staff share reports with the programs QRIS Improvement Specialist 

with the intent that efforts between the QRIS Standards and the NYSED Office of Early Learning can 

become seamless in identifying the needs of programs and assist in quality improvement efforts with 

programs. 

See Attachment A for the crosswalk that illustrates how the use of New York State's Quality 

Assurance Protocol monitors the structural elements listed above. 

ED 524B Page 17 of 23 
Table 6 - Selection Criteria (D)(4) from NIA 

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

Year 1 Target from the application and Year 1 Actual in Table 6 differ, and any approved changes in 

targets for Years 2-4. 

The cost per slot for High-Quality Prekindergarten Program for this grant is $10,000 per child per school year. 

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

New York State Prekindergarten Foundation for the Common Core, professional development, administrative 

overhead costs, and other incidental programming requirements. This amount has not differed. However, in the 

first year of this grant, each school district subgrantee was given additional funding for "start-up" costs to 

purchase things associated with rolling out a new program such as increased outreach efforts, building setup, 

furniture, etc. 

ED 524B Page 18 of 23 
 

 

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. 

Each sub grantee has executed a MOU document assuring that their program will adopt and follow all 

regulations set forth by the State of New York to implement High Quality Pre-School programs. 

During the first year of the federal grant we have provided technical assistance in start-up and 

development of each program. We have visited each program a minimum of two times including a 

visit to administer the New York State Prekindergarten Program Quality Assurance Protocol at each 

site. In order to provide additional technical assistance to each unique program NYSED has 

collaborated with QUALITYstarsNY to provide additional support and professional development. 

Each program will be working with QUALITYstarsNY to achieve a four star rating for quality. 

To begin to ensure quality NYSED has set and met its goal of fully enrolling all new federally funded 

preschool programs. Each sub grantee identified schools or community based organizations with the 

capacity for new pre-k programs. To fully enroll in the targeted high-needs areas, program recruitment 

was targeted to families whose children would most benefit from an early educational experience. 

NYSED and districts have coordinated plans related to assessments, data sharing, and professional 

development by collaborating with NYU, SUNY, CUNY, QUALITYstarsNY, and NYS Council on 

Children and Families. NYSED has facilitated planning meetings for all collaborating agencies 

throughout the 2015-2016 school year and has begun to plan for a leadership forum for early May. 

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). 

NYS has historically made extensive efforts in aligning the birth through third grade continuum. 

Coordination between NY's Pre-K programs within the education sector occurs at the State, 

community, and programmatic levels. At the state level, the Early Childhood Advisory Council 

(ECAC) serves as the hub for collaboration between a wide range of public agencies and private 

organizations that are invested in child and family development and well-being. Within the targeted 

communities this grant provides funds, we have begun to facilitate collaboration between community 

organizations, ECAC, QUALITYstarsNY, BOCES and SED to provide professional development on 

kindergarten transitions and the birth through eight continuum. 

Additionally, NYSED has coordinated a state-wide leadership forum to provide leaders with 

professional development on the Pre-K- age 8 continuum and best practices for the children of New 

York State. QUALITYstarsNY`s framework provides support for programs serving children birth 

through age 8. 

ED 524B Page 19 of 23 
I I 

ED 524B Page 20 of 23 
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 1 Target differs from the Year 1 Actual.

 New York State committed in the 2013-14 school year an additional $25M to allocate to school districts to 

support prekindergarten programs. In the following school year, 2014-15, New York State allocated $340M for 

the purpose of administering and implementing the Statewide Universal Full-Day Prekindergarten Program, and 

finally, in this school year, 2015-16, the State allocated an additional $30M for funding of additional 

prekindergarten. As such, New York State has increased its state spending on prekindergarten programming 

from $386M to $781M. Additionally, increased funding for prekindergarten continues to be a priority of the New 

York State Board of Regents as well as for Governor Cuomo. 

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. 

New York has been building a continuum of high-quality, comprehensive services for infants, 

toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children over the past 30 years. The intentional confluence of 

statewide policy reform and community partnerships is yielding innovative models for supporting a 

continuum of early learning and development, which we continue to advance with this Preschool 

Expansion Grant. 

With leadership from the SED and the ECAC, New York has begun examining the policy and 

regulatory issues that affect linkages and transitions across the various systems and services for 

children from birth to age eight in all domains of school readiness. A committee of experts is 

examining our Birth to Second Grade Teacher Certification criteria to assure that the importance of 

continuity and alignment is explicit. New York also has a strong commitment to a mixed delivery 

system, so that every investment in Pre-K includes a requirement that 10% of funds be used to serve 

children in community-based programs (CBOs). For example, this has resulted in 53% of New York 

City's four-year old Pre-k students receiving services in CBOs and many creative efforts to align the 

curricula, assessment, professional development and parent engagement strategies used by all providers 

of Pre-K. The alignment of our rigorous standards also demonstrates the commitment to creating a 

continuum, not only across the years, but also across service auspices. Our Early Learning 

Development Standards, Pre-K Foundations for the Common Core, are aligned with the standards in 

QUALITYstarsNY, our tiered Quality Rating and Improvement System that covers children from birth 

to eight. A widely disseminated cross-walk of standards also shows how they align with Head Start 

ED 524B Page 21 of 23 
 

Standards and accreditation standards from the NAEYC. All venues of early childhood education in 

New York State have the same standards for achieving high quality and similar resources for helping 

programs achieve continuous quality improvement. 

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.

 New York State's funding each year is $25M for the purpose of this grant program. Four of the five school 

district subgrantees are using their respective funding to create new high-quality prekindergarten slots and as 

such, New York State is spending $14,169,771, $14,324,379, $15,888,790, and $16,456,934, in years one 

through four, respectively. Overall, of New York's award, which totals $99,078,108, $60,839,874 will be spent to 

create new High-Quality Prekindergarten slots. 

ED 524B Page 22 of 23 
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, 2015 through December 31, 2015. 

Any carried over funds requested that were not obligated by December 31, 2015, were as a result of the State 

level infrastructure putting into place the administrative requirements to hire additional staff, purchase new 

equipment, execute new contracts, and other costs affiliated with a new programmatic initiative. 

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

Grant budget in the upcoming fiscal year (January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016). 

There are no substantiative changes anticipated at this time for the 2016 year. 

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. 

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has committed New York State to implementing truly universal prekindergarten. As 

such, the recent enacted budgets have brought the total preschool appropriation from $386M to $781M. It is 

anticipated that at the end of this grant, this program will be absorbed into the State's preschool program 

infrastructure, to be continued in each school district's preschool allocation. 

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, 2015 through December 31, 2015. 

There are no discrepancies. 

ED 524B Page 23 of 23