Indispensable Policies & Practices for High-Quality Pre-K

By Nicole Sharpe, BreAnna Davis Tribble, Mimi Howard

Overview

In 2016 and 2017, New America brought together more than 30 leaders from research organizations, early learning programs, and advocacy organizations to distill years of research on what it takes to provide a quality pre-K experience. The task was to find a way to produce simple, easy-to-remember statements about instructional practices and policies that would reflect common ground across multiple institutions and viewpoints. Central to this work, New America partnered with School Readiness Consulting (SRC) to conduct an analysis of existing pre-K quality standards, summarize leading pre-K program research, and conduct interviews and listening sessions with early childhood stakeholders across the country. The resulting analysis helped to inform critical discussions at two subsequent convenings with these key leaders to come to consensus on a final set of indispensable policies and practices for high-quality pre-K.  

Our Process

For this effort, the SRC team engaged in an in-depth process to gain a better understand of and arrive at a summary of policies and practices that are vital to high-quality teaching and learning in pre-K. The work included a synthesis of recent meta-analyses and other studies of pre-K programs and existing pre-K quality standards, as well as interviews with national experts in the early childhood field.

Six core themes emerged from this review that were documented in the resulting Indispensable Policies & Practices for High-Quality Pre-K report:

·       Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment 

·       Family Engagement 

·       Funding 

·       P–3 Alignment 

·       Program Improvement 

·       Workforce Support

The report helped to guide important discussions among early childhood stakeholders at the New America-led convenings to come to a consensus on the key components fundamental to building high-quality pre-K. 

The Outcome

The results of the full project are published on the Indispensables for Quality Pre-K, a website by the Alliance for Early Success, along with a downloadable two-pager designed to assist early childhood stakeholders interested in promoting the importance of quality in pre-K, as well as for leaders who aim to improve early learning systems.

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Facilitation and Thought Partnership

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Related Work

SRC Contributors

Nicole Sharpe
Senior Director

BreAnna Davis Tribble
Managing Associate

Mimi Howard

Advisor for Strategy and Systems