EXPLORATION
AND ADOPTION
INSTALLATION
INITIAL
IMPLEMENTATION
FULL
IMPLEMENTATION
SUSTAINABILITY
AND SCALE-UP
What is birth-to-college alignment? What is
the role of teachers and staff early on?
Implementation Guide for Teachers and Staff: Exploration and Adoption*
Written by: Amanda Stein, Holly Lewandowski, Leanne Beaudoin Ryan and Elizabeth Rothkopf
RATIONALE
A birth-to-college (BTC) model of public education seeks to not only close—or even prevent—the
achievement gap for our society’s most vulnerable children but also to provide high-quality,
equitable public education for all that results in learning and skills that can take a student through college
graduation to later life successes. These goals can be realized through the creation of a model of public
education that (1) begins at birth and extends through college graduation, (2) is characterized by
evidence-based, high-quality experiences and supports for students and their families, (3) is grounded in
trusting relationships and communication “among all adults who share responsibility for [students’]
learning and development”1 and (4) is aligned so that each experience has a cumulative effect—ideally,
each coherently contributes to the next by sustaining and building upon the growth and learning that
comes before. Therefore, BTC alignment2 refers to the coherent set of educational experiences and supports for
students, families and the professionals and organizations that serve them that begins at birth and continues
through college completion.
Interestingly, early childhood education (ECE) and kindergarten–12th grade (K–12) communities already
share, and work toward, a common vision of success for the children and families served in their
systems.3 A logical extension, then, would be to work together to align respective policies, systems,
processes and practices in a way that will naturally make education more coherent for children and
families, as well as more streamlined and efficient for teachers, practitioners and direct service staff.
Therefore, an important first step would be for potential partners to begin participating in meaningful
dialogues aimed at identifying areas of significant cross-organizational overlap. These dialogues can
and should be informed by the framework created by Kauerz and Coffman for planning, implementing
and evaluating activities around alignment.4 This framework consists of eight “categories of effort,”
known informally as “buckets,” that “have been identified as essential to high quality and comprehensive
Pre-K to 3rd grade approaches.”5 That being said, potential partners might also consider proceeding in a
more conservative fashion by identifying and engaging in efforts that pertain, initially, to no more than
one or two of Kauerz and Coffman’s buckets. Early success within one or two areas will drive subsequent
successes in additional areas.
Yet bridging the disparate policies, systems, practices and mindsets of early and K-–2 education settings
to create a seamless experience for children, families and staff, while essential, has proven to be complex
work. Adding to the complexity are the multiple levels on which alignment efforts can occur. For example,
top-down efforts begin at the state and district levels (e.g., Montgomery County Public Schools in
Maryland), while those that are bottom-up are characterized by grassroots efforts within individual
schools (e.g., the Ounce of Prevention Fund’s Birth-to-College [BTC] Collaborative).
Ultimately, alignment is considered to be a powerful game changer in education and, therefore, has
become an important issue locally and nationally. At the local level, successful pre-k–3rd grade systems
include Bremerton School District in Washington State, Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland
and Union City Public Schools in New Jersey. At the national level, upon seeing the successes in places
like Washington and Maryland, President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge
grants competition prioritized pre-k–3rd grade alignment proposals. This guide outlines key decisions
and strategies for the exploration and adoption of partnerships for the purpose of BTC alignment,
provides reflection questions to guide this initial stage of implementation and offers examples from the
BTC Collaborative. A similar guide for school and program leaders is located here.
KEY DECISIONS AND STRATEGIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION
GETTING STARTED
All recommendations are based on the experiences of the BTC Collaborative. The authors
have attempted to sequence these recommendations in a way that is logical for a reader unfamiliar with
the BTC Collaborative and embarking upon the work of alignment in his or her own context. However,
it is important to emphasize that these recommendations are in no way prescriptive and should be
informed entirely by your own circumstances and sequenced based on your own organizational and
contextual priorities and needs.
●Inform Yourself: Inform yourself about alignment (i.e., what it is and what it could be) through
readings, videos and examples of the current evidence base (i.e., places where alignment is working).
For relevant examples, please refer to the “For More on This Subject” section at the end of this guide
and the “References” section of the BTC Collaborative Toolkit.
●Explore Possibilities: Begin to think about and discuss with colleagues the “why” of alignment by
using some of the following guiding questions:
• What does BTC alignment mean to us as an organization and as individual professionals?
• Why would we want to dedicate some of our time and efforts to working on BTC alignment?
• Why might alignment be important to our students, our families, our teachers, family-support
staff, and other staff?
• How will alignment make our school, program or organization stronger?
• How will alignment enhance our ability to ensure better outcomes for our children and families?
• How will the alignment process change our school’s culture?
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●Identify Potential Benefits and Challenges: Discuss the potential benefits of and challenges to
BTC alignment.
• Potential benefits and opportunities might include:
○Getting to know staff, processes and practices of organizations other than your own
○Sharing your knowledge about your students and families with teachers and staff
who have them before or after you do
○Observing or hear how organizations or
schools go about doing their work:
standards, expectations, approaches
to support learning and development,
approaches to family engagement that
come either before or after the age group
you work with
○Exploring how alignment of processes
and curricula would better support your
children and families about what comes
next (e.g., the transition process from
pre-K to kindergarten)
• Potential challenges might include:
○Resisting to change in personal practices, expectations, accountability and
day-to-day procedures
○Buying-in from staff on the process of alignment when the work may be
perceived as ambiguous and time-consuming
○Ensuring that all concerns from staff, including direct service staff, are heard
and engaged
○Negotiating new organizational climates, approaches and philosophies of the
respective partners while developing relational trust
●Be Involved: Think about your level of involvement in the exploration and adoption stage of BTC
alignment. Consider being involved in your program’s internal discussions or meetings about alignment.6 When conceptualizing BTC alignment, it is important to consider the needs of the children and
families in every step. Act as a liaison between the internal alignment team and families to ensure
family voice and choice are central to alignment development.
ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS
● Talk With Other Staff: Have conversations with other staff in your building (e.g., teachers,
paraprofessionals, therapists, social workers, school psychologists, family-support
specialists and other related support staff) about their understanding of alignment. Note some
commonly held beliefs about alignment among staff. Also note differences in their conceptualization
of and feelings about alignment. Understanding how alignment can benefit the children and families
you all serve will help establish common goals and common language across organizations.
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●Speak With Families: Have conversations with families early on about the benefits of having a line of
sight from birth through college for their child’s education. When families have been familiarized with
the concept of alignment and how it is a powerful catalyst for change in education, it is crucial to
converse with parents and other relevant family members about what they would like to see in an
aligned BTC continuum. Relevant topics include:
• How they would like to see their children’s learning and development advanced
• The types of opportunities they would like for their children
• How they experience the enrollment process and other transitions at your school/program
and at other schools
• What they would like in terms of opportunities for family engagement
●Share Information: Have conversations with families early on about the benefits of having a line
of sight from birth through college when it comes to their child’s education. When families have
been familiarized with the concept of alignment and how it is a powerful catalyst for change in
education, it is crucial to converse with parents and other relevant family members about what
they would like to see in an aligned BTC continuum. Relevant topics include:
• How they would like to see their children’s learning and development advanced
• The types of opportunities they would like for their children
• How they experience the enrollment process and other transitions at your school/program
and at other schools
• What they would like in terms of opportunities for family engagement
SELF-STUDY
Teachers and other staff may use the following questions in their efforts to explore the
possibilities of adopting a BTC alignment approach to education:
• What do you want your role in BTC alignment to be? How do you want to be involved? What do
you want to learn?
• How do you talk with other staff about BTC alignment?
• What other stakeholders should weigh in on these conversations and initial decisions?
• What strategies and information could be used to build buy-in?
• What preparations will be necessary to assist teachers, staff and families in co-creating a
culture of learning and development within a newly aligned system?
• What support do you need or what questions do you want to have answered from your
principal/school leader in order to participate in BTC alignment?
WINDOW TO THE BIRTH-TO-COLLEGE COLLABORATIVE
This Window to the BTC Collaborative describes the steps each of the respective partners
took to prepare staff for alignment work. Preparing staff on what alignment work entails
promotes buy-in and builds relational trust among new partners. The following information was adapted
from Building a Birth-to-College Model: Professional Learning Communities: A Teaching Case Study.
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In March 2011, the University of Chicago Urban
Education Institute (UEI) and the Ounce of
Prevention Fund developed a plan to orient staff
to the BTC Collaborative. This partnership focused
initial efforts on aligning the two pre-k to 5th
campuses of the UChicago Charter School
(Donoghue and North Kenwood/Oakland [NKO]
elementary campuses) with Educare Chicago, a
model birth-to-five program operated by the
Ounce. Leadership from UChicago Charter
Schools and Educare asked their respective
faculties and staff to convene in separate meetings. At each meeting, the BTC vision and mission
statements were presented, and the floor was open for questions and comments from the teachers and
staff. A separate UChicago Charter School and Educare Chicago convening included the viewing of
the case study video on the formation of the BTC Collaborative partnership, reviewing a concept
paper outlining the key objectives of the BTC Collaborative and the crafting of the vision and mission
statements. Questions and comments could be anonymously written on Post-its and also posed in
each convening. These meetings helped to prepare and orient staff to the BTC Collaborative overall
and for the first meeting of the partnership which took place shortly thereafter.
THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
The Ounce and the UEI planned the May 2011 meeting where all Donoghue, NKO, and Educare teachers
and family-support staff from birth through 3rd grade would meet each other for the first time in a
Community of Practice (COP). The COP meeting was designed to permit the participants to begin
getting to know each other on multiple levels: as individuals with different personal backgrounds,
professionals with specific roles and responsibilities, members of three distinctive school cultures and
potential colleagues curious to explore how the BTC vision, mission and objectives might affect their
thinking, learning and practices.
By design, at each table sat individuals from each of the three schools, each discipline (teaching and
family support) and each developmental or grade level from infancy to grade three. This very simple act
had a profound effect on those attending the meeting. Linda Wing, a UEI adviser to the initiative,
described the depth of this experience:
“[Prior to this meeting], I had never, ever sat at a table before with a master teacher of infants.
That was the first time ever I had met a teacher of infants. I started out as a high school teacher.
I’m sure it was the first time ever that my colleagues from Donoghue and NKO had sat with
teachers of infants.”
The first activity consisted of representatives from the UEI and the Ounce asking individuals at each
table to recall a memorable teacher and share a story about that teacher. A volunteer from each table
then recounted trends in the stories or a unique story. One table shared the story of a teacher who had
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been home schooled by her parents from birth through high school graduation. Another table told the
story of a teacher who consistently called a child “Harvard,” although few of the child’s classmates
thought he had the potential to pass the class, much less go on to Harvard. Yet the child today is a
Harvard graduate. Cumulatively, the stories showed the power of teachers to impact children over the
course of their lifetimes, as vividly remembered and recounted 10, 20, even 30 years later.
The second activity consisted of the examination of a series of “I” statements made by teachers at a
school known for effectively educating young African-American males.7 These “I” statements are
affirmations of the teachers’ commitments to engage in practices they found to be successful with their
students. The affirmations were posted around the room, and teachers and family-support staff were
asked to view the affirmations and to place Post-it notes next to those that resonated with them. These
Post-it notes were color coded by school so that which affirmations resonated with which groups of
practitioners would be immediately apparent to observers.
One affirmation stated, “I plan for each day and use achievement data to develop my lessons.” As
recalled by Linda Wing, this generated conversation at one table between teachers of infants and
toddlers and teachers of children in elementary schools:
“In the conversations with teachers of infants and younger children, [the elementary school
teachers learned that] there is no such thing as achievement data in the way that they think
of it. Achievement data is usually a grade on something. It is a test score. It is something
that is based on some kind of student performance. An infant doesn’t take a standardized
test or write or speak words indicating understanding. So, we learned about the kind of data
that a teacher of infants is constantly taking in and thinking about, so as to adjust how that
individual teaches an infant.”
It appeared to the Ounce and UEI organizers of the COP that the participants had begun to develop a
mutual understanding of the influence of a teacher over the entire trajectory of a child’s life and the
developmentally and educationally different strategies that are required to advance a child’s learning,
depending on where he or she is on the learning continuum. Organizers of the COP also hoped they had
gained the participants’ commitment to working with each other in an ambitious endeavor. When asked
to reflect on their experiences at the COP meeting, individual after individual stood and said he or she
had been “inspired.” Eric Lester, a Donoghue kindergarten teacher, had the last word:
“I didn’t know what to expect [when I arrived]. It’s after hours, and we have lots of other things
to do. I had to drive some miles to get here, and my daughter is waiting for me to pick her up.
Now, [at the end of the meeting], I can say that I am legitimately excited. I know I’m in the right
place. I’m in the most important place I need to be.”
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SUMMARY
The purpose of this exploration and adoption guide for teachers and staff is to explore means
of early involvement specific to teachers and staff, to outline the potential benefits and
challenges of alignment and to provide suggestions for beginning the work of alignment for all school
and program staff responsible for directly serving children and/or families. The hope is that those
interested in alignment will gain from the experiences of the BTC Collaborative. In the next guide for
teachers and staff, the authors build on this initial stage of exploration and adoption by addressing
alignment in terms of the importance of establishing a seamless pathway for children between ECE
programs and K–12 schools.
FOR MORE ON THIS SUBJECT
Alliance for Early Success and Child Trends. (2013). The Research Base for a Birth through Eight State
Policy Framework. http://earlysuccess.org/sites/default/files/website_files/files/ChT-Alliance%20R%20
at%20a%20Glance%20v9%20wactive%20links.pdf
Beaudoin Ryan, L., Nash, R.S., & Wing, L.C. (2012). Building a Birth-to-College Model: Professional Learning
Communities: A Teaching Case Study (Research Report No. 2). Retrieved from the Foundation for Child
Development: http://fcd-us.org/resources/building-birth-college-model-professional-learning-communities
Bryk, A.S. & Schneider, B. (2003). “Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for School Reform.” Educational
Leadership, Vol. 60, No. 6, 40–45.
Fixsen, D.L., Naoom, S.F., Blase, K.A., Friedman, R.M., & Wallace, F. (2005). “Implementation Research: A
Synthesis of the Literature.” Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental
Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication No. 231). http://nirn.
fpg.unc.edu/sites/nirn.fpg.unc.edu/files/resources/NIRN-MonographFull-01-2005.pdf
Hayden, P., Frederick, L., & Smith, B.J. (2003). A Roadmap for Facilitating Collaborative Teams. Longmont,
CO: Sopris West.
Kauerz, K., & Coffman, J. (2013). Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade
Approaches. Seattle: College of Education, University of Washington. http://depts.washington.edu/
pthru3/PreK-3rd_Framework_Legal paper.pdf
New America Foundation. (2009). Fighting Fade-Out Through PreK-3rd Reform. http://fcd-us.org/
resources/fighting-fade-out-through-prek-3rd-reform
New School Foundation and Foundation for Child Development. (2010). Prekindergarten–3rd Grade: A New
Beginning for American Education. http://www.prek-3rd.org/index.html
PreK-3rd National Work Group. (February 29, 2012). “Progress and Possibilities: The PreK–3rd Approach”
(webinar). http://www.prek-3rdgradenationalworkgroup.org/node/9
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NOTES
* These guides were organized and informed by the framework on program implementation created by
the National Implementation Research Network. “Exploration” is defined as the process of “assessing
the potential match between community needs, evidence-based practice and program needs, and
community resources [in order] to make a decision to proceed (or not).” “Adoption” is defined as a
process that occurs at the end of the exploration stage of implementation whereby “a decision is
made to proceed with implementation of an evidence-based program in a given community or state
based on formal and informal criteria developed by the community and by the evidence-based program.”
1 Bryk, A.S., Schneider, B. (2002). Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for Improvement. New York: Russell
Sage Foundation.
2 BTC alignment efforts proceed vertically, encompassing multiple age and grade levels, as well as
disciplines, across three schools. Horizontal alignment efforts are typically constrained to singular
or more limited age or grade levels within a particular school.
3 “Success” is multifaceted and encompasses (1) social emotional growth, (2) academic achievement
and (3) other positive life outcomes.
4 Kauerz, K., & Coffman, J. (2013). Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade
Approaches. Seattle, WA: College of Education, University of Washington.
5 Ibid., 8 “Categories of effort” include (1) cross-sector work, (2) administrator effectiveness, (3)
teacher effectiveness, (4) instructional tools, (5) learning environment, (6) data-driven improvement,
(7) family engagement and (8) continuity and pathways.
6 An internal alignment team in your own school/program should be established in the exploration
and adoption stage of implementation. This alignment team should include high-level administrators,
mid-level management, instructional leaders (e.g., coaches, curriculum specialists, educational
coordinators) family-support/engagement leaders and, ideally, some direct service staff and parents
as representatives. This team will be charged with exploring and discussing the advantages and
drawbacks, and, eventually, successes and challenges of pursuing a BTC-aligned approach.
7 Kafele, B.K. (2009). Motivating Black Males to Achieve in School and in Life, www.principalkafele.com
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© 2014 Ounce of Prevention Fund and Urban Education Institute. All rights reserved.
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