Lori Goodwin-Bowers – Colorado Preschool Program Supervisor, CDE Charlotte Brantley – President...
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Issues to Consider in Developing a Finance System for Preschool Lori Goodwin-Bowers – Colorado Preschool Program Supervisor, CDE Charlotte Brantley – President and CEO, Clayton Early Learning John Augenblick – Partner, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates November 8, 2011
Lori Goodwin-Bowers – Colorado Preschool Program Supervisor, CDE Charlotte Brantley – President and CEO, Clayton Early Learning John Augenblick – Partner,
Lori Goodwin-Bowers Colorado Preschool Program Supervisor, CDE
Charlotte Brantley President and CEO, Clayton Early Learning John
Augenblick Partner, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates November 8,
2011
Slide 2
Early Childhood Education in Colorado: The Colorado Preschool
Program Lori Goodwin-Bowers Colorado Preschool Program Supervisor,
CDE
Slide 3
Colorado Preschool Program The Colorado Preschool Program was
created in 1988 to address the needs of children who may not be
prepared to be successful in school. Authorized by the legislature
to serve 20,160 at- risk children (about 28% of CO four-year-olds)
CPP is voluntary for school districts, 170 of 178 districts in
Colorado as well as the Charter School Institute participate in the
program. Each slot is funded at.5 PPR in the School Finance
Formula
Slide 4
CPP Enrollment over the Last Few Years (39.2%) (42.7%) (48.0%)
Colorado State Demography Office
Slide 5
Estimate of Total Population Served by Colorado Preschool
Program, Early Childhood Special Education and Head Start
Slide 6
Important Features of CPP: Locally appointed District Advisory
Councils advise the school district in the implementation of the
program. Including: o Recommending a plan for delivery of services
o Monitoring programs at least twice a year using the Quality
Standards o Coordinating family support services and extended day
services o Overseeing the determination of eligibility
Slide 7
CPPs Delivery System Type of Delivery System2010-2011 Number of
School Districts Percentage CPP district councils with no other
licensed preschool or child care center in the community. 6236.7%
CPP district councils that contract out all allocated slots 4023.7%
CPP district councils that provide services in both community and
public school settings 4224.9% CPP district councils where other
community providers exist but do not contract with CPP. 2514.8% CPP
Children are Served in 67.4% of the licensed preschools in the
state. CPP Children are Served in 19.6% of the licensed child care
centers in the state.
Slide 8
Class size is limited to 16 children with a one to eight adult
to child ratio. Preschool offered 10 hours per week Teachers must
have core coursework in early childhood education, child
development and family engagement. CPP funds 90 hours per year for
teacher planning, child assessment, training, and family support
activities. Family involvement and support are required Child
outcomes measured through Results Matter More Important Features of
CPP:
Slide 9
Programs Serving CPP Children Must Use the Quality Standards
Interaction Among Staff and Children Curriculum Family/Staff
Partnership Staff Qualifications and Development Administration
Staffing Patterns Role and Function of the Teaching Team Physical
Environment Health and Safety Nutrition and Food Service
Evaluation
Slide 10
Relationship of Slot Allocations to Funding per Slot
Slide 11
Funding Sources Used to Provide Quality Comprehensive Education
to Preschoolers Early Childhood Special Education Funding Parent
Tuition District General Fund Head Start Grants and Foundations
Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) School Readiness Grant USDA
Child and Adult Care Food Program Title I Community Contributions
Fundraising Local Service Clubs
Slide 12
Benefits of CPP: CPP children make faster progress in preschool
than their more advantaged peers and the amount they are behind
narrows before they enter kindergarten. CPP children are more
likely to be identified as at or above grade level in literacy in
kindergarten through third grade than other at-risk children who
did not attend CPP. Across 3 rd through 5 th grade, in all three
subject areas, more CPP children were proficient or advanced than
other at-risk children who did not attend CPP. In kindergarten
through 3 rd grade, CPP reduces the need for retention- in
kindergarten by as much as one-half - thus saving taxpayer money.
2011 Legislative Report Colorado Preschool Program Working
Together
Slide 13
Retention Rates Retention rate cut in half!
Slide 14
Two Ways Early Childhood Students Are Included in the School
Finance Pupil Membership Count in Colorado Colorado Preschool
ProgramEarly Childhood Special Education Eligibility Children
qualify under legislatively defined risk factors. Every
participating district has a CPP allocation All preschool students
with a disabling condition have a right to services and may be
counted if they are eligible Minimum Age 3-year-olds must have 3
risk factors and turn 3 by October 1 4 or 5-year-olds may qualify
with one risk factor and must turn 4 by October 1 Students must
reach 3 during the semester of the official count date
Slide 15
Colorado Preschool ProgramEarly Childhood Special Education
Funding State: .5 per pupil revenue (FY 2010-11: $70,588,974)
State: .5 per pupil revenue (FY 2010-11: $23,598,714) State
Categorical Funds for Special Education Programs Under the
Exceptional Childrens Educational Act (ECEA) o Federal: IDEA Part B
allocation IDEA, Section 619 preschool allocation FTE Most children
are counted as half-day pupils (.5 FTE) Districts may apply for the
flexibility to fund a child using two CPP slots. Only 5% of the
slots in CPP can be used for full-day programs. All children are
counted as half-day pupils (.5 FTE)
Slide 16
Colorado Preschool Program Funding Colorado Preschool Program
Early Childhood Special Education Number s Served in 10-11 20,160
slots6,944 children How PPR Funds Can Be Used Defined in statute
(22-28-108 (5.5) C.R.S.). Costs that a district would not have
incurred without the services provided in conjunction with the
preschool program Overhead limited to 5% Revenues and expenses
reported by district in ADE Financial Data Submissions No guidance
provided on use of per pupil revenue
Slide 17
Trends in CPP Funding Over Last Three Years
Slide 18
The Fabric of Early Childhood Education Charlotte Brantley -
President and CEO, Clayton Early Learning
Slide 19
The Fabric of Early Childhood Education at the Community Level
CPP is one critical component In many communities, other components
include Early Head Start (federal), Head Start (federal), the Child
Care Assistance Program (federal + state), local tax-funded
programs (e.g., the Denver Preschool Program DPP), and
tuition-based child care and preschool programs
Slide 20
Characteristics of Components Some programs/funding streams
target high need children, such as low-income and other risk
factors, or specific age groups, such as 4 year olds Some operate
only in center-based settings, while others also fund family child
care settings Some require specific program quality indicators or
performance standards Some focus primarily on the child, while
others have a more comprehensive family focus
Slide 21
The Fabric of Early Childhood Education from the Childs Point
of View In the period from birth to kindergarten entry, an
individual child might be enrolled in several of these components,
often simultaneously An estimated 240,000 + Colorado children in
this age range have parents in the workforce Families weave
together these ECE components, many of which are part day, to form
the whole day needed to support their childrens health, safety and
school readiness while the parents are at work
Slide 22
The Fabric of Early Childhood Education from the Providers
Point of View Just as families weave these components, providers
often weave them when policies allow The resulting blended or
braided funding streams create comprehensive programs that meet
multiple needs of children and their families in one location For
example, embedding CPP within a community- based licensed child
care program supports enhanced focus on early learning while
eliminating the need to move children from site to site during the
parents work day
Slide 23
The Economic and Social Underpinnings of the Early Childhood
Education Fabric The US approach to ECE has evolved over decades
The most compelling identified need for programs has differed from
era to era For example, during WWII, as women were encouraged to
enter the workforce, the companion need for child care established
a focus primarily on health and safety of children while parents
worked The 60s political focus on the Great Society resulted in
establishment of Head Start to address school readiness of poor
children
Slide 24
The Economic and Social Underpinnings of the Early Childhood
Education Fabric In the late 70s and 80s states began to establish
a year of readiness programming prior to kindergarten entry, most
focusing on high need children As more and more mothers entered the
workforce in the past few decades, the number of child care
programs grew exponentially This pattern of program creation in
response to one compelling need or another has resulted in the
often fragmented non-system of a system we see today
Slide 25
The Funding Challenge In large part, funding has not kept pace
with the expansion of need and the expansion of programs Not one of
the multiple funding sources (federal, state, parent paid tuition)
currently covers the real cost of early childhood education In
addition, many funding streams were designed to provide only a few
hours of programming (e.g., 10 hours a week for CPP), not
recognizing the family need for program hours that match the
parents work schedule
Slide 26
The Starting Early Challenge A growing body of research
evidence supports the critical importance of starting a
comprehensive early learning focus well before kindergarten entry,
particularly for high need children Results driven programs for
infants and toddlers have proven outcomes, and are the most
expensive to provide due primarily to the required staff to child
ratios (ideally three teachers to 8 children)
Slide 27
The Starting Early Challenge School Readiness Scores (English
Bracken) of Kindergarten Bound Children by Age of Entry into
Educare All Sites, Adjusted, 2007-09
Slide 28
The Starting Early Challenge from a Community ECE Fabric
Perspective Despite the compelling evidence of the previous slide,
most programming for infants and toddlers is offered in
community-based settings, and is paid for primarily by parents who
are at the lowest earning levels of their adult life In the most
successful financing models, infant/toddler programming is combined
with programming for preschoolers to leverage the dollars
available
Slide 29
Early Childhood Education and School Finance Systems John
Augenblick Partner, Augenblick, Palaich and Associates
Slide 30
The General Structure of School Finance Systems Most states use
some form of a foundation program to allocate the majority of state
current operating aid not capital aid to school districts. Under a
foundation program, the state determines how much revenue school
districts should have based on numbers of students, student
characteristics, and district characteristics. The state then
equalizes aid by deducting local revenue from the total revenue
districts should have.
Slide 31
How Students are Differentiated in State Aid Systems Most
foundation formulas are based on the dollars times students
approach (e.g., $6,000 X 8,430 = $50,580,000). In determining how
much revenue districts should have from state and local sources,
states may differentiate the value of students based on: Grade
level (e.g.,.50 for K or cost weights for grade levels) Program
(e.g., vocational education) Student characteristics such as:
eligibility for free/reduced price lunch, gifted/talented, language
needs, or participation in special education
Slide 32
It Is Possible to Add Preschool Students to the System The
state could count students who participate in preschool just like
students in any other grade. A variety of issues would arise: How
to count students What cost (or relative cost weight) to apply to
students Whether funds would be categorical or fungible Whether
funds would be equalized Whether there would be programmatic
requirements
Slide 33
How to Count Students What ages would be counted? (e.g., four
years old, three and four year olds, younger participants, etc.)
Would all participants count or just some? (e.g., just those from
low income families) Would students be counted as full-time or
part-time (that is as 1.0 or something less than 1.0 if attending
on less than a full-time basis) Would there be a cap on the number
of students? Note: this age group may or may not be covered by
state education clause language.
Slide 34
What Cost to Apply to Preschool Students The same base cost as
all other students The actual cost of pre-school or a weight that
is the ratio of that cost to the base cost Differential cost based
on program quality (e.g., higher quality programs have a higher
weight) Differential cost for three vs. four year old students
(e.g., the cost differs between the two age groups) Direct
education cost only or include the cost of wrap-around services as
well?
Slide 35
Other Considerations Would some portion of state funding (e.g.,
85%) be required to be spent on preschool programs or would funds
be fungible like most other funding? Usually, the cost of providing
a service exceeds state aid It is more difficult to require
spending of state aid if it has been equalized so that districts
receive different amounts of aid Would private pre-school providers
be eligible for state support? If so, how would wealth be taken
into consideration? (e.g., districts count students served
privately and pass through state, and local, support) Could tuition
be charged? What, if any, restrictions apply?
Slide 36
Programmatic Requirements Should the quality of preschool
programs be rated (e.g., Qualistar)? Should standards be set for
class size? Should teachers have to meet certain credit or degree
requirements? Should teachers be paid on the same schedule as other
teachers in the district?
Slide 37
Programmatic Requirements Should there be standards for
facilities? Should funds be provided for districts that do not have
appropriate facilities? Should a portion of slots be provided
privately? Should districts be required to have plans demonstrating
how they will work with private providers?
Slide 38
Funding Illustrations 13 states and DC include preschool in
their state aid formulas. Other states provide funding but outside
the formula. States that do include preschool in their formulas do
not require that districts actually provide preschool. Funding may
be insufficient to meet demand either due to the weight given
preschool children or a cap on the numbers eligible to receive
state aid. Weights can conflate time and cost. That is.60 might
mean students attending half time but cost weighted at 1.20 (50 X
1.20 =.60).
Slide 39
Funding Illustrations Student counting examples: Vermont,.46;
Kansas,.50; Iowa,.60; Oklahoma,.70 (1.3 for full-time); West
Virginia, variable depending on hours per week (25 hours = 1.0, 12
hours =.5) West Virginia requires that no less than 50% of the
classrooms for eligible children must be provided through
contractual agreements with community partners that can meet state
quality standards. New Jersey has studied the cost of providing
high quality preschool programs, which is higher than K- 12
programs, but does not provide sufficient funding.