The Institute works with early childhood organizations around the country to create and enhance comprehensive early childhood systems. The three primary dimensions of the institute's work - System building, public policy and communication, and innovation and implementation reinforce, intersect with, and converge with one another to form a comprehensive system of professional development.
Ultimately, the work of the Institute strives to:
Selections of our work illustrate our relationship to each of the three primary dimensions of PDI's work - System building, public policy and communication, and innovation and implementation, and the way that each initiative and project of the institute contributes to all of these goals.
The Institute works to enable New York State to institutionalize best practices, raise standards, and measure effectiveness by either building systems from the ground up, or finding ways to improve the existing systems that support and develop the early childhood workforce, and early child care and education.
We worked with early childhood higher education faculty across the state to implement the knowledge frameworkThe knowledge framework of foundational texts for New York:
At the institute, we determine key research questions, collect and analyze data to better understand the field, and recruit a talented and diverse group of thinkers to address these questions. We communicate findings and recommendations to policy makers and other key public figures, advocates and professionals in the field to affect lasting change.
We challenge existing conventions, experiment with new paradigms in professional development, implement well-researched and data-driven solutions and devise plans to ensure accountability.