Resources for Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) Applications

PDG B-5 renewal grants support early childhood services for children birth to age five and encourage alignment and quality across a mixed delivery system of child care providers, Head Start, state pre-K, home visiting and more. States and territories have until November 7 to submit their applications. Check out the New America resources below for strategies to inform your state’s application.

Program Quality

• A State Scan of Early Learning Assessments and Data Systems – This brief provides an overview of state early learning assessments and data systems with the goal of sparking ideas about possibilities to strengthen and enhance these systems.

Transitions

• Toolkit for Using Policy to Enable Effective and Supportive Transitions for Children, Families, & Educators – This toolkit provides steps and policy ideas to help leaders take action now on improving transitions and aligning children’s early learning experiences. One section focuses on solutions for staffing challenges and supporting early educator and staff needs.

Subsidy Payment Policies

• Make Child Care More Stable: Pay by Enrollment – This brief highlights the multiple benefits to both providers and children of choosing to adopt a system of reimbursing providers based on child enrollment rather than attendance.

Workforce Pathways

• Grow Your Own (GYO) Toolkit – The PDG application urges states to consider strategies for “building innovative pathways for non-traditional students and incumbent early educators.” This Grow Your Own (GYO) toolkit consists of a collection of resources for states to use to address local gaps in the early educator workforce.
• Supporting Early Educator Degree Attainment – This paper identifies barriers IHEs face in supporting early educators who are pursuing degrees, highlights promising practices to address those barriers, and puts forward state and federal policy and institutional levers that can help promote change.
• States Partner On Micro-Credentials To Personalize Teacher Learning – The PDG application highlights micro-credentials as a potential tool for helping early educators acquire specific skills or competencies or for those entering the field with a degree outside of early childhood.
• The Place-Based BA Program: Meeting Early Educators Where They Are – Place-based bachelor’s degree programs that revolve around on-the-job experience are an equitable and innovative pathway for non-traditional students and current early educators.

Apprenticeships

Apprenticeship is specifically listed in the PDG application as a method of removing barriers to completion in credentialing programs.

• Earning While Learning with Early Educator Apprenticeship Programs – This brief on Registered Apprenticeship models explores strategies to address the growing demand for early childhood educators with bachelor’s degrees.
• Youth Apprenticeship in ECE – This report highlights youth apprenticeship as a potential strategy to recruit and train a new generation of early educators.
• Teacher Apprenticeship: What Is It and Why Now? – This article touches on apprenticeship as a way to increase access to and reduce the cost of teacher preparation.
• The What and Why of Educator Apprenticeship for Youth and Adults – This webinar discusses the growing momentum behind educator apprenticeships and highlights promising practices from established apprenticeship programs serving both adult and youth learners.
• Youth Apprenticeship Quality Assessment Tool – The Partnership to Advance Youth Apprenticeship developed a Youth Apprenticeship Quality Assessment Tool to assist leaders in collaboratively identifying ways to improve policies, procedures, and practices in support of learner success.

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