NYC Partners for Preschool Quality: Supporting the Workforce through Training, Coaching, and Learning Communities

This project will design, implement, and evaluate an innovative workforce development model for promoting high quality preschool in NYC’s high needs communities. The model will be used to:

  1. Train Professional Development Specialist (PDS) and early childhood program/education directors (PD) to work with teachers to create strong supports for children’s learning in preschool classrooms and through parent involvement.
  2. Support programs’ efforts to establish professional learning communities and other practices that can support continuous quality improvement in preschools.

Several features of the model are expected to enhance its potential for promoting high quality early childhood education and children’s school readiness.

  • Professional Development Specialists and Program Directors will be trained together in strategies for providing group training and coaching to teachers.
  • Training will be strongly focused teacher practices that have been shown in research to contribute to children’s early learning and school readiness (practices that support children’s social-emotional growth, early language and literacy development, and understanding of early mathematics).
  • Training will focus on helping teachers integrate and individualize learning supports within specified parts of the day.
  • Training will give PD Specialists and Program Directors skills in using a well-defined coaching model for on-site support of teachers, and in establishing site-based practices for continuous quality improvement.
  • Training will help PD Specialists and Program Directors work with teachers to create early-learning focused parent involvement activities.

This project is being conducted in partnership with the NYC Administration for Children’s Services (EarlyLearnNYC), the NYC Department of Education, the NYC Early Childhood Professional Development Institute, and the Center for Children’s Initiatives. In the first two years, the evaluation will focus on the model’s capacity for giving PD Specialists and Program Directors the knowledge and skills they need to offer high quality training and coaching to teachers; for helping teachers learn to integrate research-based best practices into small group activities, transitions and routines, and other parts of the day; for helping program staff establish early-learning focused parent involvement activities; and for promoting new activities aimed at continuous quality improvement in programs.

New York City Partners for Preschool Quality is Funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and New York Community Trust

Project Staff
  • Sheila Smith, PhD, Principal Investigator
  • Taniesha A. Woods, PhD, Co-investigator
  • Sherry Davidson, Lead Early Childhood Training Specialist
  • Patti Banghart,, Project coordinator

For more information about Early Childhood QRIS Quality Improvement Strategies, please contact: 

Patti Banghart
215 West 125th St, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10027
T: 646.284.9624
E: banghart@nccp.org