Our services
For more than 50 years, we’ve helped early childhood professionals achieve the best outcomes for children and families. We work with nonprofit, private, and government organizations, providing services tailored to their unique needs. Our clients come to us with complex questions related to early childhood and the workforce that supports young children and their families. Whether it's providing preschool classroom observations for a state quality assurance program, helping a company roll out a new professional development program, or designing a research study of policy implications, no two of our projects are exactly alike. Get in touch with us to discover how we can partner with you to advance your organization's goals.
Opportunities for students
Are you an undergraduate or graduate student at the University of Minnesota? We offer opportunities to gain early childhood research experience.
Consultation
We develop and implement evidence-based solutions that support early learning. We give clients the tools and data they need to address challenging issues in early education. Drawing on the latest research, we collaborate with teams and organizations to identify goals for change and strategies to meet them.
Available consultation services
- Classroom quality, including the Environmental Ratings Scales and CLASS®
- Data-driven program improvement
- Curriculum development
- Training program development
- Evaluation design
- Research design
Consultation case study: Training researchers to collect video data
Georgetown University researchers studied the rollout of a new training program for home visitors. The program introduced a curriculum called Facilitating Attuned Interactions (FAN). The goal of FAN is to help early childhood professionals build better relationships with parents.
The home visitors in the program received reflective supervision. The Georgetown team wanted to know whether FAN training changed the conversations between reflective supervisors and home visitors. They got in touch with us for help. CEED research staff provided training on gathering objective, quantitative data from video recordings of reflective supervision sessions using the RIOS tool. This allowed Georgetown researchers to measure how reflective supervision sessions changed after FAN was introduced.
Observation
We conduct classroom observations for multiple research, evaluation, and professional development projects in Minnesota. We use the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) and Environmental Rating Scale (ERS). Our staff observe to the highest standards of reliability in the field, which ensures they conduct observations the same way each time. To maximize program understanding and professional development, our observers also co-observe with program observers to compare scores and maintain adherence to the selected tool.
Observation case study: Supporting Parent Aware through observations and coaching
CEED personnel, in partnership with the UMN Department of Applied Economics, is conducting a rigorous, mixed-methods evaluation of how state the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) payment policies and practices in Minnesota support the program’s goals of supporting both family economic self-sufficiency and child development. The project integrates quantitative data analysis and qualitative methods to support a rigorous and comprehensive study to evaluate how provider payment policies and practices in Minnesota affect equitable access to higher quality early care and education. We collaborate closely with the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF: Minnesota’s CCDF Lead Agency) as well. This project is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation.
Evaluation
Our evaluation services are driven by project, client, and stakeholder needs. They focus on identifying key performance measures to capture program effectiveness. We provide a research-based, objective way to determine program effectiveness through external program evaluations. Our approach is client-centered and adheres to the highest research standards and data management strategies.
We’ve conducted program evaluations for federal and state agencies, private foundations, school districts, and nonprofit organizations. Process and outcome evaluations range from specific program elements to large-scale, multi-site evaluations.
Available evaluation services
- Evaluation planning, development, and design
- Development and selection of quantitative and qualitative instruments and data collection strategies
- Analyzing and interpreting data
- Training and technical assistance to develop, access, manage, and interpret performance measure systems
- Report writing and infographic development to communicate findings to multiple audiences and stakeholders
Evaluation case study: Evaluating child care subsidies in Minnesota
For 17 years, CEED’s program quality team has supported Parent Aware, Minnesota’s quality rating and improvement system for child care programs. Parent Aware gives child care providers a star rating (from one to four stars). The star rating is based on classroom observations. Programs can opt into classroom observations to receive a star rating as well as coaching and other benefits.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families enlisted our highly trained and reliable team of observers to conduct Parent Aware observations. We rate classrooms on quality using the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) tool. The CLASS is an observation tool that measures the quality of teacher-child interactions, focusing on three domains: Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. The CLASS assesses the impact of these domains on children's learning and development. Our team also trains Parent Aware coaches. Coaches help staff of participating child care programs maintain or improve their star rating.
Want to know more?
Get in touch to learn more about our areas of expertise and ways we can support your organization. We look forward to hearing from you.