ERIC ED574336: Illinois' Early Childhood Innovation Zones: A New Model for State Policy? IERC 2017-1. Executive Summary

2017·0.51 MB·English

by  ERIC

Illinois’ Early Childhood Innovation Zones:
A New Model for State Policy?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Bradford R. White, Carol E. Colaninno, Mimi Doll, and Holly Lewandowski
Illinois Education Research Council
Introduction
This evaluation reviews efforts made by Illinois engagement strategies. These efforts were designed
Action for Children (IAFC), with guidance from to help zones conceptualize concerns at the system
the Illinois Governor’s Office for Early Childhood level and to equip zone leaders with the skills and
Development, to spur experimentation with new community partnerships needed to address these
systemic change strategies to increase the number concerns.
of children from priority populations—those
considered to be the most vulnerable, with multiple Methods
risk factors—who are enrolled in high quality early
This study used a mixed methods approach to
learning programs. The Early Childhood Innovation
describe the strategies utilized by the IZs to improve
Zones initiative, funded by a Race to the Top-Early
enrollment and quality and evaluate the progress
Learning Challenge grant, supported capacity
of capacity building efforts made by IAFC. The
building efforts for organizations working with
research team conducted interviews with leadership
young children in 11 underserved communities, or
and core team members from all 11 IZs, as well as
Innovation Zones (IZs), across Illinois. The theory of
project leadership from IAFC. Interview items were
action undergirding the IZ project calls for building
designed around the initiative’s logic model, as well as
capacity in these organizations to promote the
themes identified in IZ project narratives. Interview
implementation of system improvement strategies
data were supplemented with a review of project
for increasing two primary outcome measures:
documentation. Quantitative data included bi-annual
1) enrolling and serving more children (birth to
reports submitted to IAFC by the zones that included
kindergarten) from priority populations in early
priority population enrollment and ExceleRate
learning programs; and 2) increasing the number of
ratings. An end-of-grant survey also gathered data
early learning programs participating in ExceleRate
on short- and intermediate-term outcomes, such
Illinois, the state’s quality rating and improvement
as utilization of systemic thinking strategies and
system (QRIS). Illinois Action for Children’s
increased collaboration.
capacity-building efforts combined behavioral change
theories with systemic thinking and community
IERC 2017-1 http://ierc.education
Findings
? The zones used small experiments to test innovative Innovations in Enrollment
cy
oli solutions to local problems that they likely would
e P All zones developed and tested strategies to increase
at not have attempted otherwise. Using more sources
St the number of children from priority populations
or of data and examining data critically helped zones
del f make evidence-based informed decisions about enrolled in high quality early learning programs.
o Enrollment strategies focused on aligning the
M
w which strategies to implement and whether they were
e early childhood system, developmental screening
es: A N sduactac eossnf uela.r Hly olewaervneirn, gi npcroomgrpamletse hainndd einrecdo nthsiesstee nt campaigns, family and community engagement
on efforts, and expanding organizational partnerships.
Z efforts. Other key findings include:
on Each zone used multiple innovations to increase
ati
ov • Zones were provided a range of technical enrollment, often combining multiple strategies
n
d In assistance and supports including to reflect the unique needs, demographics, and
o
ho conferences, coaching, peer learning networks, geography of their community.
d
Chil and sponsored trainings. The shift from a more
arly academic and theoretical approach in cohort 1 • Efforts to align agencies that provide services
E to high needs children helped families enroll
s’ to a more applied and practice-oriented focus
noi their children more easily, including cross-
Illi in cohort 2 helped sites implement supports referral, shared intake, and simplified intake.
in a more meaningful way. Zones reported
However, some zones struggled to get all
that IAFC tailored coaching and support to
necessary partners on board.
their specific needs and local context, and
that peer learning networks allowed zones to • Developmental screening campaigns helped
develop collegial professional networks through more families receive the services their children
which they could support one another, share need and helped raise awareness of early
strategies, and coordinate services in a more learning and development programs zone-
effective manner. wide.
• Zones indicated that successful • The zones explored a wide range of family and
implementation of systems-level solutions community outreach strategies, including
required engaging the community and utilizing social media, door-to-door canvassing,
developing trusting, genuine relationships Parent Ambassadors, home visiting, and
with parents and a wide range of stakeholders. mobile preschools. These strategies were often
This empowered the community and helped used in combination, such as joining the efforts
generate more innovative solutions to early of their Parent Ambassadors with mobile
childhood system challenges. Some zones preschool events. Overall, zone representatives
noted that when preferred solutions were felt that their outreach efforts successfully
introduced in a top-down fashion, they tended increased awareness of available early learning
to be less relevant to the community and less options, although the door-to-door approach
successful. was viewed as the least effective.
• The state budget impasse had a substantial • The zones worked to foster new partnerships
impact on the project, including delayed and expand existing ones with traditional and
and disrupted funding to many state-funded non-traditional partners, such as healthcare
agencies and programs. As a result, zones providers, home- and community-based
occasionally struggled to meet the demands early learning programs, school districts,
of both existing duties and IZ commitments, WIC offices, refugee groups, and the faith
which limited participation in IZ efforts. community. Strong partnerships helped zones
2 IERC 2017-1
form a shared message about the importance • Three zones utilized communities of practice
of early learning and reach more children to improve quality, collaborating across
from priority populations. However, some programs to share ideas and learn from local
partnerships were more difficult to forge than experience and expertise. The remaining zone Illino
is
others. relied on a handful of its largest and strongest ’ E
a
programs to mentor smaller centers. rly C
h
Innovations in Quality ild
• All four zones used professional development ho
o
d
Four zones also focused on quality by working to (PD) as a key component of their approach. In
n
increase participation in or ratings on the ExceleRate Some coordinated their PD zone-wide, ov
a
system. The zones’ efforts focused on three broad whereas others utilized quality specialists or tion
Z
strategies: outreach and incentives, establishing coaches, distance learning, or other outreach on
e
s
communities of practice, and professional and incentive programs. : A
N
development. Zones tended to use multiple e
w
• We also identified several challenges to M
approaches to quality, rather than pursuing a single o
d
implementing innovations in quality. Some e
strategy. Key findings include: l fo
zones were initially overwhelmed by the r S
• Zones began by implementing outreach requirements of the ExceleRate system. Others tate
P
campaigns to inform early learning had overly ambitious quality goals. More olic
professionals about the ExceleRate system. ambitious PD efforts also taxed resources with y?
They promoted and sustained these efforts with regard to capacity, technology, and time.
incentives, such as public recognition.
Outcomes
Using qualitative data from interviews and analysis • Improvements in data collection and
of project documentation and quantitative data utilization.
submitted to IAFC by each zone, along with
Impacts on Enrollment. Enrollment outcomes
feedback gathered from our end-of-grant survey, we
centered on four areas:
summarize the impacts of the IZ program on zone
capacity, enrollment, and quality.
• Increased screening and referrals;
Impacts on Capacity. Zones reported that the IZ
• Increased enrollment capacity;
efforts improved capacity across seven areas:
• Increased focus on priority populations; and
• Increased collaboration amongst early learning
professionals; • Enrollment growth.
• Stronger connections with the community; Our analysis of the quantitative data revealed that,
over the duration of the grant, overall priority
• Stronger connections to state and local
population enrollment across all zones grew by 12%.
systems;
Seven of the 11 zones increased priority population
enrollment, in some instances considerably, and
• Increased prioritization of early learning and
two zones reported substantial priority population
development;
enrollment declines over the duration of the grant.
• New approaches to working with families; Most zones also increased the proportion of students
they served who were from priority populations,
• New mindsets and problem-solving strategies;
although these increases were somewhat limited
and
2 IERC 2017-1 http://ierc.education 3
because priority populations generally represented a Data Limitations and Other Challenges to
? substantial proportion of total enrollment from the Assessing Impacts. The quantitative outcomes
cy
oli outset. reported in this study should be interpreted with
P
ate caution due to data limitations and inconsistencies
St Impacts on Quality. The zones reported quality
or in reporting. Collecting the local program-level
el f outcomes in two major areas: data needed to implement and evaluate innovations
d
o
w M • Improvements to training and professional presented challenges across most zones. Data
e
N collected from early learning programs varied
A development; and
s: widely across zones and over time, and participants
e
n
Zo • Participation in and ratings on the ExceleRate expressed concerns about attributing impacts to the
n
atio Circles of Quality. IZ initiative, as most zones simultaneously were
v
no participating in multiple early childhood initiatives.
d In Quantitative data indicated that ExceleRate quality
o
ho ratings increased across all zones and within each
d Sustainability of Innovations
hil zone over time. At the beginning of the grant, 34%
C
arly of participating centers were rated Gold and none All zones reported focusing on developing
E
s’ had earned an Award of Excellence. By the end of improvement strategies that would be sustainable
oi
Illin the grant, 40% were rated Gold and 4% earned an after the grant ended in December 2016. Our
Award of Excellence. analysis revealed four distinct approaches to
sustainability:
Differences by Cohort. Our survey data suggest that
there were large differences in perceptions of program • Focusing on sustainability from the outset;
effects by cohort. Cohort 1 reported substantially
• Embedding innovations into everyday practice;
more positive impacts than cohort 2, likely due to the
additional year they spent implementing the project.
• Leveraging funds and accessing additional
funding; and
• Building community relationships.
Policy Implications
Implementation for local variation. Moving forward, policymakers
should consider how to ensure that strategies are
The IZ initiative marks a new approach to delivering
responsive to local context, while simultaneously
statewide education policy. The model requires
building on state capacity and existing research
policy to be flexible enough to account for variations
regarding best practices. Additionally, because IZ
in local capacity, while also being sufficiently
efforts often overlapped with other state-level early
well-defined to achieve intended outcomes. This
childhood initiatives, it is important to align and
approach allowed zones to develop context-sensitive
coordinate these policy reforms in such a way that
strategies and promoted creative solutions to
they complement one another and are not perceived
common problems. However, as would be expected
as redundant. Such reforms can be further supported
with such a new approach, project leadership
by policies that require system-level collaboration,
occasionally struggled to calibrate the amount and
and the IZ communities will be well-positioned to
type of supports delivered to each zone, creating
implement such policies.
tensions between being prescriptive and allowing
4 IERC 2017-1
Human Capital Data
The importance of human capital was a central theme The IZ theory of action depended on systemic Illin
o
of improvement strategies and a consistent challenge thinking driven by data. Unfortunately, the lack of is
’ E
to innovation noted throughout the IZ project and uniform and systematic collection of early learning arly C
across zones. Zones working explicitly to improve data impeded this approach to some extent. That h
ild
quality, in particular, were hindered by the realities is, although participants generally understood the h
o
o
d
of compensation, working conditions, and turnover benefits of using data to make and evaluate their In
n
plaguing the field of early childhood education. decisions, they were also keenly aware of the need ov
a
However, increasing the number of qualified early for better data to accurately identify problems tio
n
Z
childhood educators is also an important component and measure the impact of their efforts. Many on
e
s
for increasing access to high quality early learning, participants described challenges with the data : A
N
and most communities will need to drastically collection process, the quality of data collected, and e
w
M
increase the number of high quality programs in the limitations of current datasets. In short, the early o
d
e
order to serve all children who need them. Given the childhood system is simply not set up to measure l fo
close link between teacher quality, increased access to many of the very things it hopes to accomplish. As r S
ta
high quality programs, and early learning outcomes, communities begin to coalesce around a common te P
o
human capital concerns must be addressed as part agenda, the ability to share quality data becomes lic
y?
of any comprehensive approach to improvement. critical, and this will become even more important as
However, because staff compensation comprises community change strategies shift to a multi-sector,
the bulk of early learning budgets, policymakers coordinated approach.
must seek innovative solutions to improve teacher
qualification while still keeping early learning
programs affordable for families.
Conclusions
The IZ project was successful in building capacity local expertise for creating local solutions to local
and helped 11 high need communities move to problems using local resources. In doing so, it
new, more collaborative mindsets. Illinois Action overcomes some common criticisms of state-level
for Children is also to be commended for their policymaking, but there are trade-offs inherent in
willingness to model continuous improvement. this approach, especially given that it is new and
The challenge now is to advance these efforts in relatively untested. The challenge for the IZ project,
the absence of grant support and not revert back to and similar initiatives in the future, will be finding
working in isolation. the balance between prescriptiveness and flexibility,
support and autonomy, that promotes solutions that
The IZ project represents a bold and audacious
fit local needs and are effective at meeting shared
experiment for early childhood education systems
goals. It is our hope that this report contributes to
and policy in Illinois—a state-level capacity-building
efforts to meet this challenge.
policy process that defers to (and relies heavily on)
4 IERC 2017-1 http://ierc.education 5
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The Illinois Education Research Council at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville was
established in 2000 to provide Illinois with education research to support Illinois P-20 education
policy making and program development. The IERC undertakes independent research and policy
analysis, often in collaboration with other researchers, that informs and strengthens Illinois’
commitment to providing a seamless system of educational opportunities for its citizens. Through
publications, presentations, participation on committees, and a research symposium, the IERC
brings objective and reliable evidence to the work of state policymakers and practitioners.
The full report is available at http://ierc.education
For further information, contact the IERC at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville
toll-free at 1-866-799-IERC (4372) or by email at [email protected]