Title: P-3 in Action: An Implementation and Outcomes Analysis of a Collective Impact Preschool to 3rd Grade Initiative

• In Event: 2-048 - Preschool Selection, Sequences, and Persistence: Examining Programming and Child Development in the P-3 Continuum

Integrative Statement

San Mateo County, California, is a largely affluent, educated community known for Silicon Valley. Despite these advantages, 45% of third-graders are not reading proficiently (CASPP, undated). Motivated by research suggesting that high-quality early education can support student achievement (Takanishi, 2016), three local county organizations launched Program A , a preschool – 3rd grade (P-3) initiative that includes services across four “pillars”: 1) preschool; 2) summer learning interventions; 3) school attendance supports; and 4) family engagement activities. The first year of implementation was 2015-16.

Program A is unique in its collective impact (CI) approach to a P-3 continuum of services implemented through the collaboration of 300 community organizations. CI efforts generally include a group of actors with a common goal, mutually reinforcing activities, and a backbone organization (HanleyBrown et al., 2012). While theory motivates the CI approach (HanleyBrown et al., 2012), limited research exists on how CI can enhance early childhood P-3 interventions. Thus, this implementation analysis of Program A may suggest important lessons for the field. The research questions guiding the analysis are:
1. To what extent are community members engaging in collective impact? 

2. How are the strategies for the four pillars being implemented? 

Further, tracking the cognitive outcomes of children who received Program A will provide preliminary evidence of its effectiveness. We ask:
3. How do the cognitive outcomes of children who received Program A’s services— specifically, preschool and summer learning— differ from those who did not?

To address research questions 1 and 2, we conducted a thematic analysis of interviews with community leaders (n=66) and focus groups with educators (10 groups; 3-14 participants each). Data were collected from fall 2015 to summer 2017.

To address research question 3, we conducted regression analysis of administrative data on the 2016-17 and 2017-18 kindergarten classes in participating districts (n=4,197). Data include administrative records on enrollment in Program A’s preschool and summer learning interventions, and parent-reported demographic data. The outcome measures are the Brigance Early Childhood Screen III (Brigance and French, 2013), a kindergarten-readiness assessment collected at the start of kindergarten, and the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark Assessment System (Fountas & Pinnell, 2007), a reading assessment collected at the end of kindergarten and start of 1rst grade.

Results of the thematic analysis suggest that the collective impact members share a common vision and services are being implemented as planned. However, challenges exist, including data burden and financial sustainability. Regression analyses suggest that children who attended Program A preschool were significantly more likely to be kindergarten-ready than children who did not attend preschool, and children who attended two years of Program A’s preschool had stronger skills than those who attended just one year. For the 2016-17 kindergarten class, the preschool advantage persisted through the start of 1st grade. We found no statistically significant differences between the outcomes of children who did and did not attend Program A’s summer intervention. We discuss the implications of these findings for the Program A’s future directions.

Authors

• Celia Gomez, RAND Corporation
  Presenting Author

• Anamarie Auger Whitaker, RAND Corporation
  Non-Presenting Author

• Susannah Faxon-Mills, RAND Corporation
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jill S. Cannon, RAND Corporation
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lynn A. Karoly, RAND Corporation
  Non-Presenting Author