The water from the plastic bin splashed out as the apple plopped, spun, and (improbably) floated back to the water's surface. The classroom of 4-year-olds erupted in cheers. The little boy, who a minute earlier had predicted that the apple would sink, had a scrunched but elated look on his face as if to ask, "How is this possible?" The teacher referred to her chart and carefully wrote "Apple" in the "Float" column.
Looking around the classroom, I noticed that I, like all the other adult observers, was grinning ear to ear. We all felt it: joy. This is what learning should feel like.
We were standing in a pre-K classroom in Brandon, Mississippi, watching a teacher lead her class through a lesson in the Mississippi Beginnings curriculum about making predictions and charting results. We had all heard about the great things happening in Mississippi’s elementary schools and were here to learn more about a key ingredient—high-quality pre-K, fueled by evidence-based curriculum and robust teacher supports.
As funders, we spend a lot of time thinking about what the research tells us is critical for delivering quality early learning experiences. For instance, we know that children thrive when instructional materials center intentional play and a balance of teacher- and child-led activities. But seeing it live highlighted the complexity of what it takes to bring that curriculum to life. While research has identified the ingredients of quality, it rarely touches on what it takes to deliver quality learning on the ground, every day, for each child in the classroom.
When the other funders and I debriefed our classroom visits with the team at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), someone asked, “What were the hardest and most unforeseen challenges to the statewide rollout of Mississippi Beginnings?” The answer was unexpected. Jill Dent, director of the Mississippi Office of Early Childhood Education, talked about the logistical challenges of printing the curriculum so that all teachers could have a physical copy (and how important physical copies were to teachers). The state coaches also reflected on how some districts were ready and eager for a new curriculum while others needed more time for stakeholder buy-in. To support the implementation of a new curriculum statewide, coaches needed to deeply understand the context of each local community.
This is the messy middle. You have the commitment, you’ve identified the evidence-based curriculum, now you must work with the resources you have to deliver what science tells you is possible. But what does it take? How do you make what is researched in a completely different context work in your community? How do you account for funding, professional development, staffing schedules, family engagement, and technology and logistical challenges—challenges that every locality faces in some form but are also unique and specific by program, district, and community.
That’s why the Gates Foundation is funding the Early Learning Stories for Impact initiative—to provide concrete guidance and stories about what it takes to implement high-quality curriculum and assessments on the ground, in real communities across the United States. The intent of the work is to share case studies of effective implementation of quality curriculum and assessments in a wide variety of pre-K and TK (transitional kindergarten) classrooms so that other communities trying to do the same thing have resources to help them make decisions that will work for their children.
In the next two years, our three partners will be working directly with communities:
- Education First is working to implement the Great First Eight curriculum in 50-75 pre-K and TK classrooms across the state of California. A subset of classrooms will also be implementing the curriculum-aligned Amira Adventures assessment.
- University of Michigan’s Education Policy Initiative is partnering with the Mississippi Department of Education to strengthen implementation of Mississippi Beginnings in seven districts across the state, including improving fidelity of implementation and launching communities of practice.
- MDRC is partnering with states and school districts that represent different system sizes and populations to implement child assessments. One community, Union City, NJ, will be implementing Khan Academy Kids, a new direct assessment that captures children’s learning in math, language and literacy, and executive function.
These organizations will be working toward a common set of outcomes:
- Generate stories of effective implementation of curriculum and assessments to help TK/pre-K, district, and state leaders make decisions around selecting products that are best fit for their community contexts.
- Amplify lessons learned from places implementing curriculum and assessments to inform implementation in other communities.
- Build champions in local communities to sustain ongoing implementation, continued learning, and evaluation of curriculum and assessments.
We are thrilled to partner with Valhalla Foundation and Overdeck Family Foundation on this initiative, including on a research agenda to ensure we know the impact of implementation on children’s outcomes and the factors that drive effective implementation.
As our partners embark on this journey alongside communities, we are excited to hear more stories like the ones I experienced in the classroom in Brandon, Mississippi, and importantly what it took to bring joyful learning to life.