Project Enlightenment Evaluation, 2011-12. Eye on Evaluation. D&A Report No. 12.11

Wake County Public School System. 5625 Dillard Drive, Cary, NC 27518. Tel: 919-431-7215; Fax: 919-431-7193; e-mail: [email protected]; Web site: www.wcpss.net

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102

Public Schools; Child Care; Preschool Education; Program Evaluation; School Readiness; Prevention; Intervention; Services; Parent Teacher Conferences; Counseling; Workshops; Parents as Teachers; Parent Surveys; Teacher Surveys; Mixed Methods Research; Cohort Analysis; Kindergarten; Goal Orientation; Management Systems; Delivery Systems; Outreach Programs

Project Enlightenment, part of the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), has been providing services to children ages birth through 5 years, their parents, and teachers in childcare and preschool settings since 1969. With a local and grant funded budget of just over 2 million dollars, staff members served about 2,400 children in 2011-12. The number of children impacted increases considerably when siblings and students of the teachers served are included. The overall goal of Project Enlightenment is to prepare children to be successful in kindergarten. The prevention and intervention services available through Project Enlightenment are more comprehensive than those identified within other large school systems. All the districts that were contacted provide developmental screenings. Beyond this, Project Enlightenment provides teacher parent consultations and workshops, parent training via home visits, kindergarten readiness activities, and parent counseling. It also has an onsite parent teacher resource center and two preschool classrooms, one of which is a WCPSS Title I Pre-K classroom. Survey results show that parents and teachers are highly satisfied with the services provided. Analyses on small samples of children served suggest some short-term improvements in children's areas of need. The findings, which cannot be generalized due to the limited samples, also show some positive impact on their kindergarten success. Further evaluation is needed on the long-term success of the service components. Recommendations to staff include strengthening goal setting, adjusting data management systems, modifying service delivery as appropriate, and exploring new public outreach and screening opportunities. Appended are: (1) Wake County Public School System Free and Reduced Meal Benefits, 2011-12; (2) Qualitative Questions for District Comparative Analysis; and (3) WCPSS Project Enlightenment Survey, 2011-12.

As Provided

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2016

ED564398