Institute Publications

The Institute operates the Aspire Registry, the state's workforce data system. All licensed early childhood educators in NYC are required to participate. This generates rich data telling stories about the city's early childhood landscape. Periodically we release data stories highlighting different aspects of the workforce. In this edition, we use Aspire data to tell us about the professional development that New York’s early childhood educators experienced during the Pandemic. We measure participation and other factors in one year’s time, from March 2020 to March 2021. This helps us see what occurred during the height of the Pandemic.

We are pleased to share the third report from the New York Early Care and Education COVID-19 Survey, which the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute conducted in partnership with Bank Street College of Education. The survey’s goal was to provide information about how the pandemic was affecting early childhood program leaders, teachers, and family child care providers to inform policy decisions that will help us to navigate this ongoing crisis. This brief report highlights both the unique challenges that family child care providers faced, as well as the resilience they showed during the pandemic's first wave.

This research brief is a follow-up to the snapshot report: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on New York's Early Childhood System which explored how New York's ECE field was faring during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic Understanding the Impact provided a descriptive snapshot that raised reflective questions about the field’s needs in the areas of: (1) emotional well-being, (2) programs’ reopening and economic assistance, (3) individuals’ economic support needs, and (4) issues around developmentally meaningful remote care and instruction. This survey, along with others conducted by the Day Care Council, Raising New York, and the National and New York State Associations for the Education of Young Children provide a comprehensive portrait of the challenges facing the early care and education system throughout New York State.

In Summer 2019, the Institute worked with CUNY to launch the Early Childhood Workforce Scholarship. The scholarship was an initiative of Governor Cuomo’s, recommended by the Early Childhood Advisory Council and endorsed by the NYS Women’s Justice Agenda. This scholarship is specifically designed to support the early childhood workforce and covers tuition for students working at least 20 hours/week in licensed centers. This report of the first year of the scholarship details the incredible results that the first 100 scholarship recipients were able to achieve – 99% of the students completed their coursework, even as classes transformed to remote learning with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and 96% of students received an A or B grade in their courses.

• Lists the developmental milestones children attain between birth and age 5.
• A resource to refer to when you want to know how children develop.
• Provides sample strategies to help you bridge your knowledge of child development to your practice.
• Available in English y en Español

Throughout this report, you will see that the components of our work intersect with each other. We build systems, we innovate, experiment with, and evaluate new paradigms – all the time with an eye towards implementation, and then we support policy change.This diversity of impact comes from our focus on and deployment of a diverse and talented range of people.

• Outlines recommended practices for educators and administrators.
• Can be used as a self-assessment or in conjunction with a performance appraisal with a supervisor, coach, or mentor.
• Includes a tool to help you chart your professional goals and career development.

• Lists the developmental milestones children attain between birth and age 5.
• A resource to refer to when you want to know how children develop.
• Provides sample strategies to help you bridge your knowledge of child development to your practice.
• Available in English y en Español

• Provides a framework for all four year old prekindergarten children regardless of abilities, language, background or diverse needs.
• Use as a resource for planning professional learning opportunities.
• Includes a Sample Instructional Unit

There are several pathways to becoming a New York State certified early childhood education teacher. This booklet is designed to make navigating that process a little simpler.

The Institute operates the Aspire Registry, the state's workforce data system. All licensed early childhood educators in NYC are required to participate. This generates rich data telling stories about the city's early childhood landscape. Periodically we release data stories highlighting different aspects of the workforce.

We are pleased to share the third report from the New York Early Care and Education COVID-19 Survey, which the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute conducted in partnership with Bank Street College of Education. The survey’s goal was to provide information about how the pandemic was affecting early childhood program leaders, teachers, and family child care providers to inform policy decisions that will help us to navigate this ongoing crisis. This brief report highlights both the unique challenges that family child care providers faced, as well as the resilience they showed during the pandemic's first wave.

This research brief is a follow-up to the snapshot report: Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 on New York's Early Childhood System which explored how New York's ECE field was faring during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic Understanding the Impact provided a descriptive snapshot that raised reflective questions about the field’s needs in the areas of: (1) emotional well-being, (2) programs’ reopening and economic assistance, (3) individuals’ economic support needs, and (4) issues around developmentally meaningful remote care and instruction. This survey, along with others conducted by the Day Care Council, Raising New York, and the National and New York State Associations for the Education of Young Children provide a comprehensive portrait of the challenges facing the early care and education system throughout New York State.

In the Summer of 2019, Governor Cuomo’s office called upon CUNY to ask for partnership in launching the New York Early Childhood Workforce Scholarship – an initiative recommended by the NYS Early Childhood Advisory Council and endorsed by the NYS Women’s Justice Agenda. The University Dean of the Office of Early Childhood Initiatives (OECI) and Executive Director of the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (Institute) went before the CUNY Board of Trustees to request pilot funding for the first year of the scholarship with an assurance that a successful pilot would result in state funding in the following year. This report explores that findings of this initiative.

To understand the impact of COVID-19 on New York’s early childhood workforce, the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute and Bank Street College of Education partnered to administer a survey with members of the Aspire Registry. The survey strives to capture the perspectives of early childhood program leaders, teachers, and family child care providers about their experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic to inform policy and practice. In this report, we highlight descriptive data pertaining to our study participants, their current program status, remote instruction approaches, employment status, and personal well-being. We conclude with a discussion that contextualizes the findings and raises opportunity to inform ongoing discussion with stakeholders from across the field.

Coaching – individualized professional development grounded in the daily practice of the early childhood classroom – is one of the most effective strategies to equip our workforce for success (Kraft, Blazar, & Hogan, 2018). In this brief, we discuss:

1. why we should expand access to coaching,
2. what makes coaching effective in a birth-to-five context, and
3. what steps New York State has taken to create a coaching infrastructure.

Our policy briefs contain research-based policy recommendations for making positive change in the field of early childhood care and education.

The New York State Early Childhood Advisory Council and the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute are pleased to announce the release of the results of the first-ever comparative analysis of performance data on programs participating in QUALITYstarsNY, New York State’s early childhood quality rating and improvement system.

To develop a profile of the workforce, we surveyed directors, teachers, and assistant teachers in licensed community- and school-based early childhood centers in New York serving children birth to five years old

A needs assessment conducted by the New York Early Childhood Professional Development Institute.

Produced by our Leadership Initiative, this periodic newsletter provides updates, recommended resources and profiles of membes of the Leadership Initiative.

Produced by our ACS/CUNY Informal Family Child Care project, this periodic newsletter provides information and activities specifically aimed at the work of family child care providers.

Early Childhood News was a periodic publication produced by the institute from 2008 to 2012. Each issue included news from the field, news from the Institute, as well as activities, advice and assistance for early childhood professionals.