Resource Library

The session at the 2017 APPAM Fall Research Conference described the implementation of a unique research and policy collaboration: The New York Early Childhood Research Network. This first-of-its kind collaboration between a foundation, researchers in the metropolitan area, and key policymakers focused on a shared goal of improving New York City Universal Prekindergarten (UPK) program. Eight research studies are providing actionable and scientifically rigorous research findings using diverse methodologies to support continuous improvement of UPK.

This paper describes QUALITYstarsNY- New York State’s comprehensive quality rating and improvement system for all regulated early childhood programs—. It includes child care in both centers and homes, pre-kindergarten in both schools and centers, and Head Start programs. 

We examine the effect of New York City’s universal pre-kindergarten program (UPK) on the health and utilization of children enrolled in Medicaid using a difference-in-regression-discontinuities design. We find that UPK increases the probability that a child is diagnosed with asthma or with vision problems, receives treatment for hearing or vision problems, or receives an immunization or screening during the pre-kindergarten year. These effects are not offset by lower rates in the kindergarten year, suggesting that UPK accelerates the rate at which children are identified with and treated for conditions that could potentially delay learning and cause behavioral problems.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhealeco.2019.01.004 

We tracked the location of new child seats in the opening year of Mr. de Blasio’s pre-k effort. This brief first details varying levels of growth in the count of seats situated in public schools, looking across the city’s boroughs and communities, which differ widely in their economic vitality and organized infrastructure. We then examine the evolving distribution of seats situated in community organizations, asking whether they help to equalize children’s access to preschool. The city’s departments of education and health have published neighborhood-level data on the location of pre-k seats for 2013 and 2014, the inventories on which our analysis is based.

This policy brief provides information on the preliminary budget for New York City's 3-K for All program launched in 2017. The brief explains the landscape of the City's early education programs including the sources of funding. Additionally, there is a description of the proposed roll-out for 3-K for All.

This report by the The New York City Comptroller provides an analysis of the current landscape for infant and toddler care in New York City. It descibes a proposed "NYC Under 3" plan to be implemented over 6 years.  The report lays out how each year would be rolled out. It suggests recommendations with the goal of making services more affordable and accessible to families.  Additionally, it explains some challenges within the resources currently available for infant and toddler care in the city

This report takes a look at the progress made by New York City's July 2019 commitment to starting pay salary parity for early childhood educators. It describes the recent history of pay parity issues, and the challenges for Community Based Organizations (CBOs) in New York City. The gains made and continued challenges are discussed, including disparity in health and other benefits.

This report focuses on the effects of two enhanced math interventions in New York City. Making Pre-K Count involved randomly assigning pre-k programs to receive an evidence-based early math curriculum and associated professional development or to a "pre-k as usual" condition.  In the High 5's study, students from the Making Pre-K Count program classrooms in pre-k were individually randomly assigned to small-group math clubs in their kindergarten year.  The impacts of these interventions along with contributing factors and implications are discussed.

The New York City Department of Education, in conjunction with the New York City Center for Economic Opportunity, collaborated with Westat, Metis Associates, and Branch Associates, with additional support from New York University's Institute for Human Development and Social Change to conduct a study of the initial year of the New York City Pre-K for All program. This report also includes a summary of the findings from that study.  Additionally, accomplishments and improvements made in the second year of the program are discussed.  These improvements address some findings that arose from the study.

The New York City Department of Education, in conjunction with the Mayor's Office for Economic Opportunity, collaborated with Westat, Metis Associates, and Branch Associates to conduct a study of the progress made by the New York City Pre-K for All program in its second year of implementation. This report is the second one conducted by Westat. It includes a summary of the findings from the current study.  Additionally, a memo discussing the accomplishments and improvements made in the third year of the program (2016-2017) is included.  

This small study included 51 parents at three childcare centers in New York City.  It provides background information on the importance of interactions for parents; both with teachers and other parents.  The researchers suggest that little is known about the extent, location, and content of these interactions. However, building these social ties is valuable.  The various types of adult interactions at the centers are discussed, along with limitations of the research and recommendations.

This report describes the economic integration of the Educational Alliance pre-kindergarten program of the Manny Cantor Center (MCC).  This program, located in the Lower East Side of New York City, services a racially and economically diverse group of families.  For the first time in 2018, MCC placed 72 UPK students into four classrooms, regardless of their family’s point of entry into the program as Head Start-eligible or tuition-paying. The report also includes the challenges encountered, benefits achieved, and recommendations for such integration in the future.  

This report from the New York City Independent Budget Office provides an overview of the landscape of the New York City child care system from 2012 through 2016.  It includes a description of programs introduced, capacity changes, and funding.  Additionally, there is a discussion of potential future challenges.

This brief explains the steps New York City has taken towards integration of it's early care system. It describes the current early care landscape of New York City (birth through five years old). The author also presents brief information on the lack of diversity within the national early childhood education landscape.  A summary of previous research findings of the benefits of integration are discussed.  Additionally, the challenges and benefits of such intergration within the City are presented.  The brief describes policy recommendations for the City's future efforts towards integration.

This report by the National Center for Children in Poverty provides information about young children (age birth through nine years old) living in deep poverty within New York State.  The  authors provide data on the prevalence of deep poverty (families with an income below 50 percent of the Federal Poverty Level) within the state, areas of concentration of this poverty, state policies that support these families, and recommendations for two-generation policies to improve the education and health of children.

This report presents the findings of a comprehensive study by the National Center for Children and Families at Teachers College Columbia University.  The year-long study examined the quality and accessibility of early childhood services for young children (defined for the purpose of the report as children ages birth to school entry).  The report describes the geographical and demographic layout of Long Island.  The authors then present the findings of the study including the strengths and challenges of the available early childhood services. Recommendations are suggested for the future including incentives for the wider use of QualityStarsNY.

This research examines student problem behaviors using an ecological perspective.  This approach highlights the importance of interactions between the home and school for positive child outcomes.  While the importance of parent involvement has been established, the current study builds on previous research by examining the interactive effect of parent involvement and teacher emotional supports on children’s behaviors.  Data was collected from parents, teachers and classroom observations on 255 low income students in 60 kindergartens in New York City.  A review of the literature, study methods, findings, limitations, and implications are discussed.

The process of transitioning to kindergarten is often a complicated one for families.  This is especially so for families of children with disabilities. This issue brief describes this "Turning 5" process that families go through as their Individualized Education Program is reevaluated before entry into kindergarten. The brief also describes the assistance that the advocacy group Advocacy for Children of New York, in collaboration with the New York City Department of Education, provide for families going through the process.

This dissertation is a descriptive study that examines preschool special education teams in New York City.  The study involved collecting data through a survey of 111 families and in-depth interviews of 10 parents.  The findings are presented and discussed including an analysis of the different responses according to demographics.  Suggestions for future research are included.​

While the importance of social-emotional learning (SEL) has been established, there have been few research studies on the impact of SEL on academic achievement in particular.  This study examined the impact of SEL on academic achievement in early childhood. Specifically, it evaluated whether the SEL program INSIGHTS improved low-income kindergarten and first grade students’ math and reading achievement by first enhancing classroom emotional support and organization.  The results and implications for research and planning of SEL programs are discussed.

This article tells the story of “Lucas,” a kindergartener with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  The study includes multiple perspectives of Lucas including his mother, his teacher, and a teacher-educator in the classroom.  The authors describe in detail how a play/writing project in the classroom was used as a tool for fostering inclusion.  The article challenges some of the common assumptions of children with ASD and makes recommendations for using children’s play to encourage inclusion.

This article explores building on children’s engagement with popular culture as an entry point for literacy.  The researcher explores the interest of kindergarteners in popular culture, specifically Star Wars.  The extension and authentication of literacy as the children play out scenes is examined.

This brief describes the context, design, and implementation of the EarlyLearn program in New York City. It was compiled through interviews with past and present Administration for Children's Services (ACS) staff members, EarlyLearn providers, early childhood advocates, ACS reports, and publically available resources. The authors detail how the program reorganized the child care system in NYC. The successes, challenges, and a potential path forward are discussed.

This study builds on previous research studying temperament in early childhood. It examines the role of child temperament profiles and child gender on children’s standardized academic outcomes following participation in the school-based, INSIGHTS temperament intervention. The study included 324 kindergarten students attending urban, low-income schools. A review of the literature, description of the study methods and findings, and implications for future practice are included. Findings suggested that cautious and male kindergarten intervention participants attained higher standardized mathematics and literacy scores than their non-intervention participating counterparts. 

This article explores how using science-themed books in shared-book experience classes may influence science literacy. The authors discuss previous literature including research related to integrating reading development and content-area reading. The study included seven first grade students from the New York Metropolitan Area, and it involved eight shared book experiences over twenty-four sessions with the children. During the sessions, the children’s questions and comments were collected. The findings, conclusions, and implications from the study are discussed.

This report from the Day Care Council of New York describes and examines the operations of 13 early childhood programs that remained open during the COVID-19 pandemic.The sample included nine center based providers and four family child care providers in New York City. The authors conducted interviews with representatives from each program. The report provides the findings from these interviews, including information on the daily schedule of the programs during the pandemic. It also describes the concerns of providers, including those related to public health requirements and economic viability. The authors suggest recommendations to be considered as New York City starts to reopen its early education system.

This research builds on the Prosocial Classroom Model by using The Five Awarenesses of Teaching Framework to understand social-emotional competency (SEC) through a developmental lens.  The study involved eighteen Early Care and Education (ECE) teachers.  Three key themes were identified: 1) The Framework described cognitive capacities relevant to ECE teacher SEC consistent with other teacher populations; 2) there was an underlying conflict between teachers’ keen awareness of student social-emotional learning (SEL) and an active suppression of their own social and emotional well-being; and 3) the impact and importance of race, ethnicity, and family engagement.  The findings and implications for policy or practice are described. 

This study examined academic delays for children born large for gestational age (LGA). It assessed effect modification by maternal obesity and diabetes and then characterized risks for LGA for those with a mediating condition. Cohort data were obtained from the New York City Longitudinal Study of Early Development, linking birth and educational records (n = 125,542).  Findings and suggestions for future research are described.

This report provides the findings and discussion of a survey completed by the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education.The survey sought to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York’s early childhood workforce. The survey included early childhood program leaders, teachers, and family child care providers. Over 3,000 individuals who are members of the state’s Aspire Registry responded. The report provides a descriptive snapshot of the workforce during the pandemic. It also includes suggestions for next steps as the worforce moves forward.

This executive summary provides a brief report of the findings and discussion of a survey completed by the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education.The survey sought to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York’s early childhood workforce. The survey included early childhood program leaders, teachers, and family child care providers. Over 3,000 individuals who are members of the state’s Aspire Registry responded. The summary provides a brief descriptive snapshot of the workforce during the pandemic. 

This report explores the range of quality across the pre-k sites located in New York City.  It lays out some of the research related to equity in universal prekindergarten.  Using City data from the 2016-2018 period, the authors describe racial segregation and disparities in pre-k quality in New York City. The report discusses how to mitigate some of the forces that lead to inequities.

This paper provides new evidence on the distribution of prekindergarten quality in NYC by student race/ethnicity, and investigates the extent to which observed differences are associated with the spatial distribution of higher-quality providers. The authors discuss the findings including the high average quality of public pre-K providers relative to other jurisdictions. However, the paper also discusses the disparities in quality experienced by black and white students.

This research by the City College of New York and Teachers College, Columbia University, brings together the study of child development, the science of early learning, culturally responsive/relevant pedagogy, and multilingual development. The researchers conducted a study of nine prekindergarten classrooms over a year.  These classrooms represented three different socioeconomic communities in New York City. Their findings illustrate how putting the seven articulated principles into practice promotes high-quality early learning.

This first report by Preyecto Bienstar/Project Well-Being discusses findings from a cross-sectional survey conducted from June 2019 through February 2020. Participants were 88 educators, paraprofessionals, social workers, administrators, therapists, and family coordinators working in schools and centers in New York City. Findings indicate that respondents experienced stressors because of low incomes coupled with the restrictive, anti-immigrant climate.

In this essay the author discusses the definition of "useful research evidence." Specifically, the essay focuses on Critical Race Theory to explore how critical perspectives might inform the field of evidence use. The paper provides a brief history of the theory and then discusses how CRT can be used as a conceptual framework for informing studies and improving the usefulness of research evidence.

This essay builds on the previous paper Centering the Margins: (Re)defining Useful Research Evidence Through Critical Perspectives. In the current essay, the author discusses a definition of antiracist research and improving the use of evidence from antiracist research.

This qualitative case study investigates nontraditional teachers, particularly immigrant women of color, and their diverse pathways into early childhood classrooms. Implications point towards the importance of cultivating a more diverse teaching force and supporting teachers’ development.

This report summarizes recent developments in Early care and Education (ECE) in New York City. Some issues discussed include the increase in funding, disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and new City ECE initiatives. Additionally, it makes suggestions for future changes needed to strengthen the City's ECE system.

Through an adapted use of the Critical Ecologies of the Early Childhood Profession framework the authors examine the implementation of policy directives and recommendations during the expansion of universal Pre-Kindergarten in New York City. Methods used inlude indepth interviews with teachers at community based organizations with Pre-K classrooms. Three themes emereged from the data:becoming a teacher who can play multiple roles to meet administration’s expectations is necessary; continuously modifying practice based on external support from the leadership and policymakers can be confusing; and having a brand new relationship with administrative bodies presents challenges.

This article explores what can be gained from research-practice partnerships in Early Childhood Education (ECE). Through discussing their partnership with NYC Department of Education during the expansion of its universal pre-k initiative, they argue that these types of partnerships offer a unique opportunity for researchers to address larger questions in ECE. They suggest recommendations for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners considering this type of research.

This report examines the participation in New York City's Universal Pre-K for All program during the years 2018-2021. Data evaluated includes applications, enrollment, and attendance. The report provides insight into the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on participation by comparing pre-pandemic and pandemic trends. 

Vivian Tseng, president of the Foundation for Child Development, discusses in this essay the role research-practice-partnerships (RPPs) can play in advancing research related to social justice for children and families. Tseng argues that intentionality in research design is key for RPPs.  In this essay, she suggests three design principles for RPPs: centering children marginalized by oppression, embracing historical perspectives, and contending with power asymmetries. 

This report from The Office of New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli provides data on child poverty trends in New York State. It analyzes the impact of COVID relief funding on reducing child poverty and the subsequent increases after that funding ended. New policies, and future recommended policies to reduce child poverty are discussed.  

This executive summary of a report from Raising New York provides data on child poverty in New York State. The report includes analysis of barriers to accessing early childhood and poverty reduction programs. Recommendations are made about how to address these barriers.