Resource Library
The Importance of UPK Setting and Auspice in New York City
Description
New York City must make critical decisions about how to allocate UPK funding and monitor program performance. This study will inform those decisions by providing a comparison of UPK programs across settings (schools vs. NYC Early Education Centers (NYCEECs) and auspices (e.g., DOE, ACS/CCDF, and Head Start). The study will discern if variation in setting and auspice translates into important differences in four key areas associated with quality: (i) teacher characteristics; (ii) professional development; (iii) instructional approach; and (iv) program level structural characteristics. Findings will be conveyed via a final report and two actionable policy briefs, designed for immediate use by policymakers at the DOE, ACS, DOHMH, and Mayor’s Office. Please see the resources section below for the final report.
Design
Participants and Sampling Strategy:
- Sites: Randomly selected 57 UPK programs in nine Community Districts after stratifying by setting (22 school vs. 35 NYCEEC).
- Administrators: All selected sites (n = 57)
- Teachers: Randomly selected 1 UPK classroom per site (n = 57). In sites that differentially allocate funding streams across classrooms, selected additional classrooms to represent distinct funding blends (n=9). (Total n=66)
Data Collection:
Administrator Survey
- Child demographic characteristics
- Funding streams
- Linkages with CBOs
- Turnover
- PD
- Ratios
- Teacher compensation
Teacher Survey
- Qualifications
- Autonomy, job satisfaction
- Mental health
- Economic security
- PD
- Compensation
- UPK implementation
Administrator and Teacher Interviews: Strengths and weaknesses of UPK implementation in each site
CLASS observations in each sampled teacher’s classroom
Child demographic data from NYC DOE for children in classrooms led by our sampled teachers.
Researchers
Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, Ph.D., Co-Director, National Center for Children and Families; Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Child Development at Teachers College and the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University.
Lynn Kagan, Ed.D., Co-Director, National Center for Children and Families; Virginia and Leonard Marx Professor of Early Childhood and Family Policy; Director, Office Policy and Research; Professor of Early Childhood Policy; Associate Dean of Policy
Jeanne Reid, Ed.D., Research Scientist, National Center for Children and Families
Contributing Institutions
National Center for Children and Families, Teachers College, Columbia University
Resources
Jeanne L. Reid, Sharon Lynn Kagan, & Samantha A. Melvin
The purpose of the NCCF study was to identify variation in PKA implementation by setting (schools vs. CBOs) and auspice (CBOs with only UPK funding; CBOs with UPK and Child Care funding; and CBOs with UPK and Head Start funding) during the 2016-17 school year. Designed to discern lessons regarding quality, we used a mixed-methods approach with data collected from 57 UPK sites and 66 lead teachers: 1) UPK administrator surveys; 2) UPK lead teacher surveys; 3) Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) observations; 4) DOE site-level child demographics. After determining the statistical significance of comparisons by setting and auspice, we identified differences in the implementation of policy efforts to enhance quality.
Jeanne L. Reid, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Samantha A. Melvin, Bridget F. Healey, and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
The purpose of this study is to examine the implementation of the PKA initiative during the 2016-17 school year, the first year of operation since the two-year expansion began in 2014-15. Specifically, we examine the variation present in PKA implementation and program quality among different program settings (i.e., schools vs. NYCEECs) and programs with different funding auspices (i.e., sites that receive UPK funds only through the DOE, sites that receive UPK and Child Care funds through ACS Early Learn, and sites that receive both UPK and Head Start funds). We also examine how differences in the resource level of neighborhoods where UPK sites are located may relate to variation in PKA’s implementation.
Jeanne L. Reid, Sharon Lynn Kagan, & Samantha A. Melvin
The purpose of the NCCF study was to identify variation in PKA implementation by setting (schools vs. CBOs) and auspice (CBOs with only UPK funding; CBOs with UPK and Child Care funding; and CBOs with UPK and Head Start funding) during the 2016-17 school year. Designed to discern lessons regarding quality, we used a mixed-methods approach with data collected from 57 UPK sites and 66 lead teachers: 1) UPK administrator surveys; 2) UPK lead teacher surveys; 3) Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) observations; 4) DOE site-level child demographics. After determining the statistical significance of comparisons by setting and auspice, we identified structurally rooted differences in PKA implementation and program quality.
Jeanne L. Reid, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Samantha A. Melvin, Bridget F. Healey, & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
This presentation was shared at the New York City Early Childhood Research Network Research symposium on December 6, 2019. The presentation previews key findings from the study: Building a Unified System for Universal Pre-K in NYC: The Implementation of Pre-K for All by Setting and Auspice.
Jeanne L. Reid, Sharon Lynn Kagan, Samantha A. Melvin, Bridget F. Healey, & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
This poster was shared at the New York City Early Childhood Research Network Research symposium on December 6, 2019. The poster previews key findings from the study: Building a Unified System for Universal Pre-K in NYC: The Implementation of Pre-K for All by Setting and Auspice.