#  The Early Learning Journey: Connecting Preschool Data to Elementary Outcomes 

 



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 **Date:** 10/15/2026 

 

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The **Early Learning Journey** is a collaboration between the Strategic Data Project and representatives from Boston Public Schools, the California Department of Education, Chicago Public Schools, the D.C. Office of the State Superintendent of Education, and the Washington State Education Research and Data Center. It is supported by the Gates Foundation.

Longitudinal data helps agencies understand how preschool experiences shape elementary outcomes. The shared goal: ensure that PreK investments translate into meaningful, measurable improvements in children’s learning and development over time.

The Strategic Data Project (SDP), an initiative of the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University, trained the education leaders on data-driven decision-making in a two-year Strategic Data Project Fellowship. The SDP Fellows worked on data projects for their state and local education agencies and met regularly as a working group to solve problems and codify best practices in the toolkit.

The authors extend their gratitude to the organization above for their generous support.

**Contributors to this paper include:** Sarah Whitman Blank, Robert Carr, Miriam Greenberg, Alison Guerriero, Paige Kaliski, Lydia Killos, Liz McCrocklin, Kate McGovern, Melissa Nelson, Rachel Tropp, Melinda Wengrin, Yuzhu Xia

**View the full toolkit at** [**sdp.cepr.harvard.edu/early-learning-journey.**](https://sdp.cepr.harvard.edu/early-learning-journey)



 

 

 See also:- [ PreK-2 Outcomes ](/tags/prek-2-outcomes)
- [ Early Education ](/topics/early-education)