A Pilot Study of Quality Support Coaching in LAUP: Findings from the 2010-2011 Program Year

Los Angeles Universal Preschool (LAUP), funded by First 5 LA, sought to make voluntary, high-quality preschool available to every 4-year-old in Los Angeles County. To achieve high-quality preschools, LAUP provided a number of services, including coaching, to both the center-based and family child care (FCC) programs in its network. During the 2010–2011 program year, as part of Phase 4 of the Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS-4), Mathematica worked in close collaboration with First 5 LA and LAUP to learn more about the quality support coaching provided by LAUP. Quality support coaches worked with LAUP providers in centers and FCC programs in its network to review and discuss the results of the 5-Star Quality rating assessment and to jointly develop and then pursue a quality improvement plan for the year. This study addressed how the coaching model was interpreted and implemented during the 2010-2011 program year and served as a pilot for a year-long study occurring during the 2011–2012 program year, as part of UPCOS, Phase 5 (UPCOS-5).