Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge: 2016 Annual Performance Report. Kentucky
Author: Department of Education (ED)
Date: 2017-06-00
Type: Reports - Descriptive
Subjects: Early Childhood Education,State Programs,Educational Quality,Accountability,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Access to Education,Program Validation,Child Development,Academic Standards,Educational Assessment,Health Promotion,Family School Relationship,Preschool Children,Preschool Teachers,Teacher Competencies,Credentials,Teacher Characteristics,School Readiness,Outcome Measures,Tables (Data),Educational Legislation,Federal Aid,Federal Legislation,Federal Programs

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2016 describes Kentucky's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies Kentucky will implement to address those challenges. In its third year of implementation, Kentucky continued to utilize the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge opportunity to improve the quality of early learning and development programs, engage and support families, and enhance their ability to measure the impact of work by improved data integration. Kentucky launched the Kentucky All STARS TQRIS (tiered quality rating and improvement system) on July 1, 2016. By the end of 2016, all state-funded preschool programs and Head Start programs entered Kentucky All STARS at a Level 3 STAR, and licensed and certified programs entered Kentucky All STARS at a Level 1 STAR. All early learning and development programs had and still have the opportunity to advance to higher levels of Kentucky All STARS after the initial migration phase. Kentucky provided multiple incentives to early learning and development programs in 2016 in an effort to improve the quality of programs serving children with high needs. Kentucky provided fifty classroom makeovers through a contract with Lakeshore Learning to twenty five licensed child care programs which received two classroom makeovers each. State-funded preschool programs received training and materials to improve scores on environmental rating scales, to overall improve quality within program sites. Kentucky also provided quality improvement grants to over thirty licensed child care programs. These quality improvement grants could be used in a variety of funding categories to achieve School Readiness. The goal of the quality improvement grants is to better equip early learning and development programs with the resources needed to increase school readiness in communities. Kentucky improved communications across cabinets, agencies and divisions. When the Project 2 coordinator accepted the Acting Director Position at the Kentucky Governor's Office of Early Childhood (GOEC) it created an avenue for stronger communications through existing relationships. When the GOEC hired the Project Manager, it enabled the GOEC to communicate effectively and efficiently with all project leads about grant deliverables. The Kentucky Strengthening Families online module which provides high quality training on the Strengthening Families Framework and the importance of protective factors has been completed by 1220 professionals. The Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant has funded one hundred United Way Born Learning Academies.