DPP’s Cristal Cisneros Shares Insights: Data-Driven Decision-Making in ECE

Denver Preschool Program’s Cristal Cisneros, Ed.D., Vice President of Evaluation and Learning, was among the leaders who recently shared insights in the webinar, STEP Forward with Data in Action: How Three Communities Are Using Data to Strengthen Early Childhood Systems.

Leaders shared how state and local early childhood partners are using data to answer critical questions about supply, access to services and system-level improvements. Joining Cisneros were: 

• Christina Krasov, Chief Data Officer, Illinois Department of Early Childhood
• Cassandra Kyriazis, Early Childhood Education Data Associate, City of Philadelphia
• Van-Kim Lin, Program Area Director, Early Childhood Development, Child Trends
• Dale Richards, Research Scholar, Early Childhood Systems Building, Child Trends

The webinar was led by the Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC) at Child Trends. ECDC helps states make better use of early care and education (ECE) data to support children, families and educators. It brings together tools, resources and shared learning to help policymakers better understand what’s working, identify opportunities for improvement and make more informed decisions about ECE programs and policies.

During the webinar, presenters shared real-world examples of how data is being used to answer important questions, unite partners, improve programs and make better decisions for children, families and the early childhood workforce. 

ECDC researchers also shared ways to use the STEP Forward with Data Framework and related tools to strengthen early childhood systems and support future funding opportunities, including the upcoming PDG B-5 SMART grants.

DPP’s Data Agreements and Data Mapping

When asked about the biggest data “learning” in terms of data and evaluation, Cisneros shared, “We’ve been doing this for 20 years, and we’ve received ongoing feedback from providers, families and partners to help improve our data and evaluation. Data sharing agreements were a big up and down as there are at least five funding streams in Denver, and we had to work closely to ensure we could share data and learn from each other.” 

Cisneros also shared the DPP Data Explorer, which provides neighborhood‑level data, early childhood programs and provider information across Denver. 

“We created this by focusing on a set time and date so we could get an accurate snapshot of data,” Cisneros said. “With data, it’s a delicate balance as we don’t want to put more of a burden on providers. Using data like enrollment gives us real-time information that doesn’t create a huge lift.” 

Learn more about DPP’s data and evaluation on our Impact page. And be sure to follow DPP on LinkedIn for upcoming webinars and conferences our team is participating in as we share our data and evaluation best practices.