Our Center started in October 2012 and as we sunset our efforts we are reflecting on how our projects provided impact focused on four major goals:
- Increasing the capacity of SEAs to lead sustained improvements in early learning policy, Birth-3rd Grade.
- Increasing leadership and organizational capacity to implement effective programs and policy.
- Increasing effective use of data to improve programs and instruction.
- Increasing capacity to produce data on costs and financing to increase access and quality of early childhood programs.
These objectives were aligned with, and amplified, our original vision and purpose. To accomplish this challenging work, we deployed materials, tools and projects that were focused and timely.
To learn more, please take a look at the projects on CEELO’s homepage.
As one of 22 Comprehensive Centers funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) was designed to strengthen the capacity of State Education Agencies (SEAs) to lead sustained improvements in early learning opportunities and outcomes. This work was accomplished through strategic and responsive technical assistance, working with SEAs, state and local early childhood leaders, and other federal and national technical assistance (TA) providers to promote innovation and accountability.
An action-oriented partnership among CEELO staff, senior SEA early childhood managers, and other key early education policy leaders guided all of CEELO’s staff, along with the following principles in order to achieve results:
- Ground Policy and Practice in Research—supporting SEAs application of research and promising practices as they set policies and build systems to manage and improve programs for young children.
- Promote Sustainable Change—encouraging effective organizational structures within SEAs to align state early childhood policies and systems across sectors and improve implementation of state initiatives in diverse local school districts and community-based early childhood programs.
- Foster Innovation and Results-Focused Approaches—creating opportunities for states to incubate new ideas for achieving measurable improvements in children’s early learning outcomes and support efforts to pilot, evaluate, implement, scale up, and sustain these initiatives.
- Reflect and Respect Diversity—addressing the cultural, linguistic, and economic diversity of children, as well as being responsive to the varied geography, demography, political context, and past history of public and private sector early childhood programs and initiatives in states.
To reach these goals, CEELO engaged in the following strategic and responsive technical assistance strategies to serve SEAs:
- Responsive Technical Assistance—CEELO provided targeted support and consultation to states by deploying a strong team of TA providers assigned to each state.
- Strategic Technical Assistance—CEELO engaged in multiple efforts supporting all 50 states and territories in sustained initiatives addressing CEELO’s focus areas. All activities were designed to build capacity and promote SEA policy and leadership development. These included in-person meetings such as the Annual Roundtable, and national webinars focused on key areas of interest in the states. You can view our Strategic Projects on the CEELO homepage.
- Information Resources—CEELO produced numerous publications aimed at securing best practices and enhancing child outcomes. These include policy briefs and quick reads – rapid response documents that answer common queries received from state leaders. Search our Resource Library by content area, author, date, and publication type.
- Technology-based Technical Assistance—In addition to the CEELO website and periodic webinars, the Center met regularly with key constituents through online meetings and conference calls, and through the CEELO Impact E-News and NIEER Preschool Matters blog .
For a more in-depth look at select technical assistance pieces, check out CEELO’s Impact E-News.
