Celia J. Gomez

Big Lift Participation and School Entry Indicators: Early Findings

The Big LiftTM (Big Lift) is a preschool–third grade collective impact initiative in San Mateo County, California, launched in 2012 by the County of San Mateo, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), and the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE). The initiative aims to boost third-grade reading proficiency through a set of coordinated activities, called “pillars”: (1) High-Quality Preschool; (2) Summer Learning; (3) School Attendance; and (4) Family Engagement. The RAND Corporation is conducting a multiphase independent evaluation of Big Lift. This brief summarizes results from RAND’s descriptive analysis of participation rates and school readiness outcomes for children served in the first year of the initiative by two of the four pillars for which data were available: High-Quality Preschool and Summer Learning. The study specifically examined three topics for the first cohort of entering kindergartners to experience Big Lift services: participation rates in Big Lift services in the prior year, kindergarten readiness indicators overall, and differences in readiness based on the type of early learning experience they had. The ongoing evaluation will build upon this baseline study to provide additional information on the reach and effectiveness of the Big Lift pillars and help community stakeholders make informed decisions as the initiative matures.

The Big Lift Descriptive Analyses: Kindergarten Readiness and Elementary School Reading Outcomes for the 2016–2017 and 2017–2018 Kindergarten Classes

In 2012, the County of San Mateo, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) launched The Big LiftTM, a collective impact collaborative of more than 300 community organizations committed to boosting reading proficiency among the children of San Mateo County, California. The collaborative, which is led by SMCOE, the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the County of San Mateo, decided on four programmatic pillars to improve third-grade reading proficiency in the county, targeting 11 school districts with third-grade reading levels below the county average.1 The four pillars of the Big Lift initiative (hereafter referred to as Big Lift) are as follows: 1. High-Quality Preschool: A comprehensive schoolreadiness strategy focused on high-quality preschool for threeand four-year-olds 2. Summer Learning: Inspiring summer learning opportunities for rising kindergartners, first-graders, and secondgraders that enable children to maintain their academic and developmental gains from high-quality preschool through third grade 3. Attendance: A focus on reducing chronic absenteeism from preschool through third grade through interventions using evidence-based attendance reminders for families 4. Family Engagement: Strengthening family engagement through strategies that promote home literacy practices. Through two rounds of a competitive review process, Big Lift selected seven of the 11 targeted school districts to be a part of two cohorts to implement Big Lift programs. In the spring of 2015, grants were awarded to four districts making up the first cohort (Cohort 1): Cabrillo Unified School District, La Honda-Pescadero Unified School District, Jefferson ElemenC O R P O R A T I O N

Big Lift Participation and School Entry Indicators: Findings for the 2016–2017 Kindergarten Class

• When comparing demographically similar children, Big Lift preschoolers were more likely to be kindergartenready than children who did not go to preschool at all. Big Lift and non–Big Lift preschoolers were equally likely to start school kindergarten-ready. Key findings San Mateo County, California, is a largely affluent, highly educated community that is known for being home to the technology industry—Silicon Valley—and prestigious universities. However, based on a statewide assessment of student achievement, approximately 45 percent of third-graders in the county are not reading at a proficient level (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, undated). Children who do not read proficiently by third grade, compared with their peers who read proficiently at grade level, are significantly more likely to perform below reading grade level at later ages and to eventually drop out of high school (Hernandez, 2011). In an effort to improve student achievement, the County of San Mateo, Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF), and the San Mateo County Office of Education (SMCOE) launched The Big LiftTM (referred to hereafter as Big Lift) in 2012 to boost children’s reading proficiency in San Mateo County. Big Lift is a collective impact collaborative led by three lead organizations and more than 300 community organizations committed to developing and implementing four programmatic pillars to improve third-grade reading proficiency, particularly in 11 school districts with third-grade reading levels below the county average.1 The four pillars of the initiative, which we explain in detail later in the report, are: