Louisiana's Preschool Development Grant Birth-Five Evaluation

The purpose of this project is to better understand how to foster sustainable quality improvement across diverse early childhood settings. Through large-scale workforce surveys this project aims to better understand the day-to-day experiences of early childhood leaders and educators in child care, Head Start, and pre-k programs and to identify key barriers and opportunities for quality improvement. 

Empowering Local Communities to Build High Quality Early Learning Systems: Lessons from Louisiana's First Cohort of Ready Start Networks

In 2019, Louisiana started the Ready Start Community Networks project to support local communities in building strong early childhood systems, improving quality, and enhancing access. Using qualitative methods, this project examines how the first cohort of "Ready Start" communities worked to build better early childhood systems. It tracks their challenges and successes, and provides lessons to other communities in Louisiana and beyond.

COVID Relief Spending and the Early Childhood Workforce in Louisiana

​The 2021 American Rescue Plan included more than $50 billion in direct relief funding for the child care sector.  This project seeks to understand how child care leaders in Louisiana allocate new investments, the extent to which funds are directed directly towards teachers, and the extent to which stabilization funds lead to reductions in teacher turnover.

New Strategies for Supporting Early Educators and Improving Quality at Scale: Lessons from Louisiana's Early Childhood Ancillary Certificate (ECAC) Program

Starting in 2019, all lead teachers in publicly funded child care settings are required to attain an Early Childhood Ancillary Certificate, a professional credential. However, many teachers who start working on the ECAC do not complete the program requirement. This project will identify key barriers early educators face in working towards the credential. It will also examine the extent to which completing the ECAC is linked to developmentally- and policy-relevant outcomes (including teachers' knowledge, attitudes, and wellbeing; the quality of teacher-child interactions; teacher turnover).