Projects, Publications, and Presentations

PEER has published two articles exploring the development of research-practice partnerships, include setting a research agenda.

• Meyer, J.L., Waterman, C., Coleman, G.A., & Strambler, M.J. (2023). Whose agenda is it? Navigating the politics of setting the research agenda in education research-practice partnerships. Educational Policy, 37(1), 122-146. https://doi.org/10.1177/08959048221131567.
• Strambler, M.J., Meyer, J.L., Irwin, C.W., Coleman, G. (2021). Seeking Questions from the Field: Connecticut Partnership for Early Education Research (PEER). The Future of Children, 31(1), 21-38. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27074985.

• Project website
• Blog post: Evaluation of Connecticut CCDF subsidy payment policies completes second year and produces initial reports
• Blog post: OPRE awards planning grant to design a coordinated evaluation of CCDF policies and initiatives in Connecticut
• Blog post: OPRE awards CCDF evaluation implementation grant to Connecticut team

• Blog post: PEER communities launch new home visiting partnerships
• Blog Post: PEER collaborates with Stamford partners to promote continuous improvement of home visiting services for the families of young children

• Executive Summary
• Study Report
• Appendices
• Blog post: PEER releases final report from Early Childhood Education Workforce Pipeline Pilot program evaluation

• PDG Evaluation Overview
• Report
• Appendices
• Blog post: PEER collaborates with Connecticut Office of Early Childhood to evaluate Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program
• Blog post: PEER releases evaluation report on Connecticut’s Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program

• Dual Language Learners/English Learners Project Overview

PEER produced this series of research briefs examines best practices for supporting multilingual learners in preschool and the early elementary years. This work was supported by the Spencer Foundation’s Research-Practice Partnership grant program.

• Introductory brief that provides context related to multilingual learners and their families
• Instruction brief focused on effective teaching practices and learning environments for multilingual learners
  • Appendix
• Assessment brief focused on measuring the development of multilingual learners
• Family engagement resource list for Connecticut organizations that wish to partner more effectively with the families of multilingual learners.

• Initial Research Projects Overview

These briefs resulted from PEER's initial research projects, which focus on understanding the experiences of preschool children in the southwest region of Connecticut and the factors that are associated with kindergarten readiness and kindergarten performance. This research was funded by grant R305H140142 from the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

• Assessment use in early childhood classrooms: A study of public and private center-based classrooms in southwest Connecticut
• PEER Early Childhood Assessment Survey
• Assessment use in early childhood classrooms in southwest Connecticut: Alignment between reported uses and intended uses
• Assessing Kindergarten Entry Skills in Connecticut: The Kindergarten Entrance Inventory, 2010-2013
• Kindergarten performance in early literacy: student, teacher, and classroom factors
• Appendices

PEER supported BECSELI as an evaluation partner.

• Blog post: PEER Supports Bridgeport Early Childhood Social-Emotional Learning Initiative

PEER partnered with Maritime Odyssey Preschool and The Maritime Aquarium to support the use data to guide decision-making, examine the program’s effectiveness, and identify areas for growth.

• STEM Early Learning Evaluation Overview
• Blog post: PEER concludes initial evaluation of Maritime Odyssey Preschool’s early STEM education model

PEER developed the COVID-19 Family Needs Assessment Survey and the parallel COVID-19 Teacher/Staff Needs Assessment Survey in April 2020, early in the COVID-19 pandemic. PEER created these tools in collaboration with one of our research partners, Maritime Odyssey Preschool in Norwalk, Connecticut, which was looking for a systematic way to learn about the needs of their students, families, and teachers during the public health crisis and resulting program closures.

• PEER COVID-19 ECE Family Survey (English) (Spanish)
• PEER COVID-19 ECE Teacher/Staff Survey (English) (Spanish)

PEER partnered with Stamford Public Schools and Stamford Cradle to Career to support efforts to improve communication between preschool teachers and elementary schools.

• Blog post: Supporting Stamford’s efforts to strengthen communication across the kindergarten transition

• Meyer, J.L., Strambler, M.J., & Ferguson, M.M. Mobilizing an RPP to Respond to Pressing Questions in Education: PEER's Collaborative Evaluation of Connecticut's Early Childhood Educator Workforce Pipeline Pilot Program. Presentation at the Annual Forum of the National Network of Education Research Practice Partnerships (NNERPP), Richmond, VA, July 2023.
• Strambler, M.J., Meyer, J.L., & Grant, N. Increasing Access to Home Visiting to Promote Early Child Development: A Continuous Quality Improvement Project. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), Washington, D.C., September 2022.
• Strambler, M.J. Zieher, A., Meyer, J.L., & Genovese, M. Measuring Social and Emotional Learning Implementation Practices. Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), San Francisco, CA. [Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic; scheduled for April 2020].
• Strambler, M.J., Irwin, C.W., Coleman, G.A., & Meyer, J.L. Developing a Collaborative Research Agenda among Three Connecticut Communities. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), Washington, D.C., March 2018.
• Strambler, M.J., Coleman, G.A., Meyer, J.L., & Irwin, C.W. Partnership for Early Education Research (PEER): A Connecticut based Research-Practice Partnership. Presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), New York, NY, April 2018.
• Preliminary Results of IES Project 2. Leir Center, Ridgefield, CT, May 2017.
• Preliminary Results of IES Project 1. Leir Center, Ridgefield, CT, May 2017.
• Presentation at PEER Conference. University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT, May 2016.
• Presentation at U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences Principal Investigator Meeting. Washington, D.C., December 2015.
• Presentation at Connecticut Association of Boards of Education/Connecticut Association of Public School Superintendents Conference. Groton, CT, November 2015.
• Research Agenda Work Session. Norwalk Community College, Norwalk, CT, October 2015.
• Research Agenda Workshop. Leir Center, Ridgefield, CT, June 2015.

• Building a Culture of Family Engagement: Drawing on the Strengths of Children, Parents and Families. Dr. Vivian L. Gadsden, University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. October 2019 at The Leir Center in Ridgefield, CT.
• Why I Think that Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs) Can Improve Education Research, Practice, and Policy. Dr. John Q. Easton, University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. November 2018 at The Leir Center in Ridgefield, CT.
• Strengthening Family Engagement and Program Quality for Young Children’s School Readiness: A University---District Partnership in Support of Pre-K for All. Dr. Pamela A. Morris, New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development. May 2017 at The Leir Center in Ridgefield, CT.
• The Changing Face of America: Supporting Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Children. Dr. Michael López, Abt Associates. May 2016 at University of Bridgeport in Bridgeport, CT.
• The Context of Research-Practice Partnerships. Jill Weber, Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC). June 2015 at Leir Center in Ridgefield, CT.

• Connecticut’s StriveTogether Partnerships: Using Collective Impact to Improve Outcomes for Children. Anthony Allison, Norwalk ACTS; Merle Berke-Schlessel, Bridgeport Prospers; Lori Hart, Waterbury Bridge to Success; and Mara Siladi, Stamford Cradle to Career.
• Neag PK3 Leadership Program. Dr. Karen List, UConn Neag School of Education.
• Partnering to Promote Learning and Development: Using the CT ELDS with Families. Michelle Levy, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood. Handout: OEC Guide for Families
• Examining Quality in Family Child Care: An Evaluation of All Our Kin Erica Phillips, Kayla Reiman, and Christina Nelson, All Our Kin. Handout: Evaluation Report
• Head Start: Who we are, what do we do and how can we do it better together? Marina Winkler, Office of Head Start, Administration for Children and Families; Dr. Andrea Brinnel, Connecticut Office of Early Childhood; Monette Ferguson, Action for Bridgeport Community Development, Inc. (ABCD); and Imelda D’Luc, Childcare Learning Centers (CLC).
• Literacy and Academic Success for English Learners through Science (LASErS): Supporting STEM Learning for Young Children. Jess Gropen and Jacqueline Bourassa, Education Development Center, Inc. Handouts: LASErS overview and Early STEM Learning at EDC

If you would like to join PEER's mailing list, please sign up here.

Please contact PEER@yale.edu with any questions.