The goal of this project is to help early education and care providers in Massachusetts understand and learn how to use the CLASS tool to improve both teacher quality and prekindergarten children’s development. Dr. Robeson and her team have done this through communication, training, and work with 21 school districts that are grantees of the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative, which aims to provide 3- and 4-year-olds with equitable access to high-quality preschool.

The Classroom Assessment System® (CLASS®) is a tool made up of three domains related to supporting young children’s development. The assessment is completed by a trained and reliable rater or observer. The scores derived from the assessment can be used to help formulate professional development for individual educators or for entire programs. The scores also help coaches focus on areas in need of improvement.

Dr. Robeson and her team provided online sessions covering the domains and dimensions of the CLASS tool, facilitated training sessions conducted by developers of the CLASS tool, and offered the service of coaches that help improve classroom CLASS scores through practice-based coaching methods. Dr. Robeson and her team also created a website so that leaders, coaches, educators, and others could learn about the trainings offered, and facilitated Professional Learning Communities via Zoom.