ERIC Number: ED518453
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2010-Nov
Pages: 3
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Project Early Kindergarten Evaluation: Summary of Results through 2009-10 of a Saint Paul Public Schools Initiative
Wilder Research
The Saint Paul Public Schools' Project Early Kindergarten program aims to improve the school readiness of Saint Paul children. The program offers a rigorous academic approach and targets children who are English Language Learners, come from low-income families, or need Special Education services. Ultimately, the program intends to help close Saint Paul's achievement gap. The program began in 10 Saint Paul schools in fall 2005, and expanded to community child care settings a year later. Project Early Kindergarten (PEK) has since become the model for pre-kindergarten programs district-wide and is now titled the Saint Paul Public Schools' Pre-Kindergarten Program. As of fall 2010, 28 district elementary schools, 9 child care centers, and 13 family child care homes offer pre-kindergarten programs following the PEK approach. PEK participates in a rigorous, independent evaluation conducted by Wilder Research. Children are tested over time and in developmentally appropriate ways. Evaluators compare children's academic and social skills in kindergarten and early elementary years to comparison groups of peers who did not participate in PEK to estimate program impact. As of summer 2010, data are available for three cohorts of PEK school children and for four cohorts of 4-year-olds who participated in the child care component. This summary is based on the Wilder Research's fall 2010 report that focuses on new evaluation results of PEK from the 2009-10 school year. A complete list of issues for consideration and "lessons learned" to date from the evaluation are provided in Wilder Research's full report. [For "Project Early Kindergarten Evaluation: Results through 2009-10 of a Saint Paul Public Schools Initiative" (the full report), see ED518418.]
Descriptors: Achievement Gap, Public Schools, School Readiness, Second Language Learning, Program Effectiveness, Child Care Centers, Low Income Groups, Preschool Children, Kindergarten, Child Care, Urban Schools, Program Evaluation, Outcomes of Education, Program Implementation, Student Characteristics, Educational Policy, Preschool Education, School Districts, Program Descriptions, Longitudinal Studies, Comparative Analysis, Elementary School Students, English (Second Language), Special Needs Students, Cohort Analysis, Control Groups, Experimental Groups
Wilder Research. Available from: Amherst H. Wilder Foundation. 451 Lexington Parkway North, Saint Paul, MN 55104. Tel: 651-280-2700; Fax: 651-280-3700; e-mail: research@wilder.org; Web site: http://www.wilder.org/research.0.html
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Elementary Secondary Education; Grade 1; Grade 2; Grade 3; Kindergarten; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Wilder Research
Identifiers - Location: Minnesota
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A