Community Engagement and Early Childhood Education Zipporah Hightower, Managing Director of Program Shanita LeFlore, Manager of Program Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mission Our mission is to ensure high academic achievement for all children, especially students in poverty and students of color, by developing transformational school leaders and advancing the policies and practices that allow great leaders to succeed. Vision We envision a day when there is educational excellence and equity in America – when our country’s public schools ensure that every student is prepared for success in college, careers and citizenship.

New Leaders Chicago Problem Statement Early Childhood Education Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS-K), African American and Hispanic children score substantially lower than Caucasian children at the beginning of kindergarten on math and reading achievement metrics. Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES), shows that the program’s children, disproportionately minorities from low-income families, already test far behind their more affluent peers in vocabulary, early reading, letter recognition, and early math by ages three and four.

New Leaders Chicago Opportunity Statement Promising community-based programs that help parents learn the behaviors that promote child development and school readiness High quality early education programs that directly teach low income children school readiness skills and improve a child’s development Partnerships McCormick Erikson and Ounce of Prevention Kellogg

McCormick Foundation continues to support New Leaders toward accomplishing the following outcomes: 1. Providing CPS high-quality school leaders focused on early childhood through our Aspiring Principals Program, ensuring preparation to drive dramatic student achievement results in schools and ensuring positive impact on students in grades PK Deeper integration of early childhood curriculum strand across the program continuum 3. Enhancement of early childhood curriculum, with emphasis on curriculum that addresses special education students and English language learners in grades Pre-K- 3, and on increasing partnership between schools and families. 4. Development and enhancement of evaluation metrics to ensure early childhood curriculum has impact across the New Leaders program continuum.

Center for the Study of Education Policy at Illinois State University Partnered with New Leaders to create a continuous improvement evaluation plan to inform the implementation of ECE work across our Chicago Program continuum.

New Leaders Early Childhood Education Project Course Content: EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION IN THE U.S.: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE CHILD DEVELOPMENT & DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE CHILD DEVELOPMENT & THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT & THE IMPORTANCE OF INQUIRY PRESCHOOL CURRICULAR APPROACHES & BIG IDEAS IN EARLY MATH FAMILIES & CULTURE Assignments: Family Engagement Project PreK-3 Assignment Kindergarten Reflection Play Reflection Preschool Assignments

Community Engagement and Early Childhood Education Survey

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© New Leaders, Inc. All rights reserved. | 15 Community Engagement and Early Childhood Education Survey 1. Are there certain knowledge and/or skills related to early childhood education that you wish New Leaders would have given you more exposure to that you believe would have made you a more effective school leader? “I don't recall much about ECE. My school has a preschool. I felt prepared. When you see good or bad instruction, you know it at any level” “I would have liked to have learned more about curriculum connections from Pre-K to K, since there is more of a concentration on academics once students enter K.” “Impact of poverty and how schools can be more effective in engaging these learners at the onset.” “Finding funding and additional supports to enhance early childhood.” “Analyzing data as it relates to PreK-3rd Using data to guide PD specifically for PreK-3 Classroom management strategies as well as Instructions strategies specifically for PreK-3 How to teach a child to read.”

© New Leaders, Inc. All rights reserved. | 16 Community Engagement and Early Childhood Education Survey 2. How did New Leaders’ ECE curriculum impact your family and community engagement in grades 3 -12? “It has created an elevated sense of urgency around the needed practices.” “We have a family event at our school once per quarter in addition to awards assemblies. This includes, Literacy night, Night of the Arts, MAP community night.” “Allowed me to identify how the increase of parent involvement at this age can significantly change future outcomes in academic success.”

© New Leaders, Inc. All rights reserved. | 17 Community Engagement and Early Childhood Education Survey 3. What types of learning experiences could New Leaders incorporate into the program through coursework or internship experiences that would add to Resident learning of the early childhood stage of learning and development, and teaching and classroom practices? “Learn the specifics of Pre-K programs offered in CPS. This would help to identify the big rocks for student's development needs.” “More content, training, and site visits with an ECE focus.” “Observation time in traditional and non-traditional early childhood settings.”

New Leaders Early Childhood Education Project Course Content: EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION IN THE U.S.: PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE CHILD DEVELOPMENT & DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE PRACTICE CHILD DEVELOPMENT & THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT & THE IMPORTANCE OF INQUIRY PRESCHOOL CURRICULAR APPROACHES & BIG IDEAS IN EARLY MATH FAMILIES & CULTURE FUNDING & RESOURCES FOR ECE PROGRAMS DISTRICT AND STATE ECE GUIDELINES & PROTOCOLS Assignments: Family Engagement Project PreK-3 Assignment Kindergarten Reflection Play Reflection Preschool Assignments Experiences: ECE SITE VISITS: Montessori, Reggio Emilio, Play-based, Waldorf, Inclusion

Analysis of Results In Fourth year of implementation, continue to expand emphasis on Family and Community Engagement. Most New Leader principals and assistant principals do not have an Early Childhood endorsement, yet place strong emphasis on ECE and value of expanding our curriculum to focus on effective Family and Community engagements. Candidates value observations of strong ECE environments in their training.

Next Steps Continue to recruit ECE candidates to ensure a diverse pool of principal talent and to enhance the experiences and learning for peers and their cohort. Deeper emphasis on Family and Community Engagement and training curriculum, providing more authentic experiences and ensuring projects continue after residency. Enhance candidate experience through observation of early childhood settings and partnerships with the district to ensure understanding of specific Pre-K programs offered.

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