Harrisburg Preschool Project Key Leader Results

1
The Harrisburg Preschool Program Evaluation
Findings Mark Greenberg, Ph.D. Celene
Domitrovich, Ph.D. Prevention Research
Center Pennsylvania State University www.preventio
n.psu.edu Funded by the Kellogg Foundation
2
High Quality Preschool is Valuable

• Poverty contributes to child underachievement and
  puts children at risk for later mental health and
  social adjustment problems.
• Children who enter kindergarten with low school
  readiness often continue to have problems into
  elementary school (reading problems, academic
  underachievement and behavior problems) and in
  adolescence.
• Children with parents who are more involved in
  their childrens education do better in school.

3
High Quality Preschool is A Good Investment

• Original High/Scope children followed through
  age 29
• Less need for special-ed
• Higher test scores
• Went further in school
• Fewer arrests
• Higher income
• More likely to own home
• Benefits far outweighed costs (see graph)

4
Harrisburg Preschool Program (HPP) A
Collaboration between Harrisburg School District
and Capital Area Head Start

• Mission Statement
• To pursue excellence in early learning and
  development for Harrisburgs children in
  collaboration with families and the community

5
The Model

• Teaching pairs - HSD ECE certified /CAHS teacher
  
• 16 students/classroom
• Full Day Program (800-100), 5 days/week
• 3 home visits/2 parent-teacher conferences
• Wrap around childcare before/after instruction
• High Scope Foundation supported by Everyday
  Math/PATHS/Balanced Literacy

6
Question Number 1 Does the Harrisburg Preschool
Program work? Answer Yes, children who attended
HPP have better outcomes in Kindergarten compared
to those who did not participate.
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Stronger Vocabulary
8
Better Letter Recognition
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Stronger Math Skills
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Summary
Children who participated in the Harrisburg
Preschool Program completed kindergarten with
significantly stronger early literacy
(vocabulary, letter recognition) and math skills
compared to students who were not in the program.
11
Question Number 2 Does more time in the
Harrisburg Preschool Program leads to better
academic achievement? Answer Yes, at 1st grade
those with two years in the program are doing
better than those with just one year.
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Stronger Vocabulary
13
Better Writing Abilities
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Stronger Math Skills
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Summary

• Benefits of two years in the preschool program
  were present at Kindergarten and continue to be
  evident in 1st grade.
• At 1st grade, Children with two years in the
  program had stronger vocabulary skills, more
  advanced writing ability, and better math skills
  compared to children with only one year in the
  program.