ECLS Att A-2 Spring 1 R Materials v31 (1)

Welcome back to the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! Earlier this year, approximately 850 schools and 18,000 children across the country participated in the ECLS-K:2024. We enjoyed meeting school staff and working with their students.

The study is now gearing up for its next phase, occurring in the spring of 2025, when most of the selected students will be in first grade. To prepare for our next school visit, we need updated information on your school, teachers, and the participating students.

If you are new to the study or want to refresh yourself on the ECLS-K:2024 activities:

Refer to the attached ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview and School Coordinator Responsibilities Checklist.
Log on to the ECLS-K:2024 website at MyECLS (MyECLS.ed.gov). You will be prompted to enter the PIN that you will receive in an email in the next few days. If you cannot find the PIN, please contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

An ECLS-K:2024 team member will be contacting you in the next few weeks to review the list of participating students with you, set a date for our spring study activities visit, and discuss reserving a space for the assessments.

What you need to do before the call with the ECLS-K:2024 representative:

Go to the MyECLS website.
Review the provided information for each sampled student, their teachers, and your school.
Note any updates that are needed, so you can discuss them with the ECLS-K:2024 representative during your call.

If any of the selected students have left the school, please communicate details about the child’s new school to the ECLS-K:2024 representative.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

We look forward to working with you and your school this school year!

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments

ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview

School Coordinator Responsibilities Checklist

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is authorized to conduct the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). The data are being collected for NCES by Westat, a U.S.-based research organization. All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). The collected information will be combined across respondents to produce statistical reports.

School Coordinator Responsibilities Checklist
Fall 2024

U.S. Department of Education

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)

School Coordinator Responsibilities Checklist

Overview

As the school coordinator, your efforts and support are crucial to the success of the ECLS-K:2024. Thank you in advance for your help preparing for this important study! If you are a returning School Coordinator, THANK YOU for agreeing to serve in this role again this school year. While some of the tasks described below are the same as what you may have completed last school year, there will be less for you to do in preparation for the spring 2025 study activities.

Leading up to the visit to your school, you will be responsible for:

Reviewing child and teacher information (fall 2024 and spring 2025).

You will receive an email informing you that the selected children and their information are again available to view on the MyECLS.ed.gov website. Please review the child and teacher information and note any changes in advance of the fall 2024 and spring 2025 study activities calls with the ECLS-K:2024 representative. In the event that you have questions about the eligibility of selected children, identify children who are no longer enrolled in your school, or if you have learned of a parent/guardian or teacher who no longer wants to participate, be sure to let the ECLS-K:2024 representative know.

Participating in a study activities call with the ECLS-K:2024 representative (fall 2024 and spring 2025).

The ECLS-K:2024 representative assigned to your school will contact you to go over the study tasks, discuss child and school staff participation, and work with you to arrange logistics for the school visit such as arranging a room for the child sessions and determining where ECLS-K:2024 staff should park when they arrive at the school. The representative can field any questions you may have about any of the ECLS-K:2024 procedures.

Receiving and checking the ECLS-K:2024 study activities package (spring 2025).

You will receive a FedEx package with the following materials:

School administrator packet,
Parent/guardian packets,
Teacher packets, and
A cover letter with a list of included materials.

The parent/guardian and staff materials include welcome letters for the newest phase of the ECLS-K:2024 with instructions for using the MyECLS.ed.gov website to complete study activities, informational fact sheets, and the monetary tokens of appreciation (included for school staff only if allowed by the school and district). Please ensure that there are parent/guardian and teacher packets for each selected child.

Notifying parents/guardians and school staff and distributing survey information (spring 2025).

You are responsible for distributing the parent/guardian and school staff packets that will be included in your study activities package.

You will receive email survey reminder templates (and text reminder templates if requested) for you to send to selected school staff and parents/guardians to notify them about the ECLS-K:2024. When emailing or texting school administrators, teachers, and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages or, if you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

Encouraging participation from parents/guardians and school staff and updating status on MyECLS.ed.gov (spring 2025).

The success of the study relies on children, parents/guardians, teachers, and the school administrator. Please encourage them to participate and notify the ECLS-K:2024 representative as soon as possible about any problems affecting participation in your school. You can check the completion of surveys on the School, Teacher, and Parent Information pages in the MyECLS.ed.gov website. Please check the website regularly throughout the study period to determine which parents/guardians and school staff need prompting to complete their surveys.

Reserving space for the child sessions (spring 2025).

Three to four study team members will need approximately 2-3 consecutive days to assess all participating students. (Less time is needed if only one or two children are participating.) Please reserve space for the ECLS-K:2024 team to conduct the sessions with children. The sessions can take place in one large room with separate tables or in smaller rooms that accommodate only one or two pairs of ECLS study staff member and child. The space should be well-lit, quiet, with minimal distractions, and have two chairs and a table for each member of the study team. The goal is to arrange a space that is comfortable and safe for participating children. Internet access is not required.

On the ECLS-K:2024 school visit days, you will be responsible for:

Working with the ECLS-K:2024 team and providing support, as needed (spring 2025).

Please plan to meet with the ECLS-K:2024 team before the first child session each day the study team is in your school in order to walk through the plan for the day. Show the reserved study location to the team and make sure that they are introduced to all relevant staff members and, if possible, to the children involved in the study. You should also make sure that the procedure for getting children to and from class is clear. If you are unable to meet with the team on any of the school visit days, please designate an alternate staff member to take your place.

Debriefing with the ECLS-K:2024 representative and returning any completed paper surveys (spring 2025).

At the end of each day ECLS-K:2024 staff are in your school, please plan to meet with the ECLS-K:2024 representative for 5–10 minutes to debrief about the day’s activities. The ECLS-K:2024 representative will provide you with any paper surveys that have been requested for you to distribute to school staff. Please then return any completed surveys back to the ECLS-K:2024 representative.

After the ECLS-K:2024 school visit, you will be responsible for:

Storing the ECLS-K:2024 materials in the red storage envelope until June 30, 2025.

Please securely store the materials until June 30, 2025 in the red storage envelope provided by the ECLS-K:2024 representative. After that date, the materials should be shredded.

Thank you for your help with the ECLS-K:2024 study activities!

Email Providing MyECLS PIN to School Coordinators
Fall 2024

SUBJECT: Important ECLS-K:2024 Information

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>:

Please use this PIN to access the secure study website. This is your personal PIN; please keep it confidential.

PIN: <PIN>

When you first log in to the website using your PIN, you will be prompted to enter your email address and create a password to securely access the website in the future. You will no longer need this PIN once you have created a password.

Your password must be at least 8 characters in length and must contain a combination of 3 of the following 4 types:

upper case letters
lower case letters
numbers
special characters

If you need technical assistance at any time, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Follow-up Email after Study Activities Call
Fall 2024

SUBJECT: Follow-up from our ECLS-K:2024 call

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>:

Thank you for talking to me about the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). We are looking forward to working with you this spring.

As we discussed, the school visit has been planned from <SCHOOL VISIT START DATE> through <SCHOOL VISIT END DATE>. If you need to change the dates, please let us know and we will reschedule the visit.

If you have not had a chance to do so, please reserve space for the study activities. The ideal location would be one large room like the gymnasium, music room, or library or media center, where several sessions could be conducted simultaneously. The space should be well-lit, quiet, and have two chairs and a table for each member of the ECLS-K:2024 team.

You will soon receive a mailing containing postcards to distribute to parents/guardians of the selected children, asking them to update their contact information on the MyECLS website. Please send these postcards home to the parents/guardians in the selected children’s backpacks.

We will be in touch with you in a few months to discuss contacting the school staff and parents/guardians about the study and distributing their spring study information packages.

If you have any questions, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

School Coordinator Parent/Guardian Postcard Cover Letter
Fall 2024

Fall 2024

[SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME]

[SCHOOL NAME]

[ADDRESS]

[CITY], [STATE] [ZIP CODE]

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>:

Thank you again for your help with the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024).

Enclosed are postcards for the parents/guardians of the participating children. Each postcard asks them to log on to the study’s MyECLS.ed.gov website to update their contact information. Providing this information is voluntary; parents/guardians do not need to provide any contact information to the study if they do not wish to do so, but having current contact information allows us to keep them updated on study activities.

Please send these postcards home in the children’s backpacks at your earliest convenience. If any of the selected children are no longer attending your school, please let your ECLS-K:2024 representative know prior to the school visit.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Updating Contact Information Parent/Guardian Postcard (English)
Fall 2024

FRONT COVER LABELED WITH “Parent/Guardian of CHILD NAME” and TEACHER NAME)

INSIDE:

Thank you again for your participation in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). We hope you and your child are doing well!

We need your help in preparing for the next phase of the study, occurring in the spring of 2025.

Please log on to the MyECLS.ed.gov website to provide updated contact information. Providing your contact information is voluntary, but it will allow us to provide you with study notifications and reminders. We will not use the information for any other purpose or share it with anyone else.

This is your personal PIN to log on to the website; please keep it confidential.

PIN: <PIN>

When you first log in using your PIN, you will be asked to enter your email address and create a password. Your password must be at least 8 characters in length and include 3 of the following 4 types of characters:

upper case letters
lower case letters
numbers
special characters

If you need help, please call 1-855-898-2018 or send an email to ECLS@westat.com.

Thank you and we look forward to continuing the study activities this spring!

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Updating Contact Information Parent/Guardian Postcard (Spanish)
Fall 2024

FRONT COVER LABELED WITH “Parent/Guardian of CHILD NAME” and TEACHER NAME)

INSIDE:

Gracias de nuevo por participar en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. ¡Esperamos que usted y su niño(a) se encuentren bien!

Necesitamos su ayuda en la preparación de la parte siguiente del estudio que tendrá lugar en la primavera del 2025.

Por favor, ingrese en Internet a la página de MyECLS.ed.gov para actualizar su información de contacto. Proporcionar su información de contacto es voluntario, pero si lo hace, nos permitirá enviarle notificaciones y recordatorios sobre el estudio. No usaremos la información para ningún otro propósito ni la compartiremos con nadie.

Este es su número de PIN personal para ingresar a la página de Internet. ¡Por favor, no lo comparta con nadie!

PIN: <PIN>

La primera vez que ingrese a la página de Internet usando su PIN, se le pedirá que ponga su correo electrónico y deberá crear una contraseña. Su contraseña deberá tener al menos 8 caracteres de longitud y deberá incluir 3 de los siguientes 4 tipos de caracteres:

letras mayúsculas
letras minúsculas
números
caracteres especiales

Si necesita ayuda, por favor, llame al 1-855-898-2018 o envíe un correo electrónico a ECLS@westat.com.

¡Gracias y esperamos con gusto continuar con las actividades del estudio esta primavera!

El equipo de ECLS-K:2024

El ECLS-K:2024 es llevado a cabo el Centro Nacional para Estadísticas de Educación (NCES por sus siglas en inglés), dentro del Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación (IES por sus siglas en inglés), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.

El Centro Nacional de Estadísticas de Educación (NCES por sus siglas en inglés) está autorizado a hacer el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia (ECLS por sus siglas en inglés) por el Acta de la Reforma de las Ciencias de la Educación de 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). La recolección de datos la está llevando a cabo en nombre de NCES la firma Westat, una organización que realiza estudios y está basada en los Estados Unidos. Toda la información que usted proporcione podrá usarse solamente para propósitos estadísticos y no podrá divulgarse ni usarse de manera que permita identificar a los participantes para ningún otro propósito a menos que lo exija alguna ley (20 U.S.C. §9573 y 6 U.S.C. §151). La información recopilada de múltiples participantes se combinará para producir reportes estadísticos.

New District Recruitment Letter
Fall 2024/Spring 2025

[SUPERINTENDENT NAME]

[DISTRICT NAME/DIOCESE]

[ADDRESS]

[ADDRESS2]

[CITY, STATE ZIP]

Dear <Superintendent name>:

The U.S. Department of Education is currently conducting the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). I am writing to inform you that one or more students who are participating in the ECLS-K:2024 have transferred to your district. I ask for your district’s support of this national study and to encourage the participation of the selected school(s).

Key details:

Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students.

<INSERT QR CODE>

The ECLS-K:2024 began in the 2023-24 school year when the selected students were in kindergarten. Study activities are underway for the spring of 2025 collection, when most of the students are in their first-grade year. Current plans are to revisit study participants again in spring 2027, when most of the students will be in third grade.
Study activities include one-on-one child assessments conducted by trained ECLS-K:2024 staff (with parent/guardian consent), web surveys completed by school administrators and teachers, and web or phone surveys completed by parents/guardians.
If allowed by your district, we provide monetary tokens of appreciation to participating schools and staff. Parents/guardians will also receive monetary tokens of appreciation. Details are on the back of this letter.

Please see the enclosed ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview for more information.

Importance of participation:

For more than 20 years, the ECLS program has helped educators, families, researchers, and policymakers improve children’s educational experiences. The ECLS-K:2024 is particularly meaningful, as it will provide insights into the experiences of children whose early lives were shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the study is voluntary, by permitting our staff to contact selected schools and encouraging those schools to participate, you will help ensure the data continue to be useful. The participation of selected schools is essential for ensuring the data accurately reflect the changing landscape of education for students in the United States.

Next steps:

Study staff will be contacting you soon about the participation of selected schools in your district. <To help ensure that our study clearance request packages are properly developed and submitted for your district’s formal review process, I ask you to designate a staff person who can serve as our central point of contact.>

The following school(s) in your district have been selected for the study and would be contacted to discuss participation.

(over)

More information about the ECLS-K:2024 is available on the NCES website, nces.ed.gov/ecls, as well as a website for study participants, MyECLS.ed.gov.

If you have questions or need assistance, please call 1-855-898-2018 or email ECLS@westat.com. You may also reach the ECLS Study Director, Jill McCarroll, at 202-304-2920 or jill.mccarroll@ed.gov.

Thank you for your time and for supporting this important national education research study.

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Commissioner or other title]

National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

Enclosed:

ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview

ECLS-K:2024 tokens of appreciation

If district policy permits, after each spring phase of the study each school community will receive the following to recognize the time spent participating in the ECLS-K:2024:

Schools will periodically receive a newsletter with study and other educational news<, as well as their choice of $300 or $250 plus a magazine subscription.>
School administrators will receive $25.
In schools with four or more participating study students, school coordinators will receive $35.
Teachers of sampled students will receive $20 for a survey they complete about themselves and $7 for each survey they complete for participating students. Teachers will also receive the quarterly newsletter.
School administrators, school coordinators, and teachers will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of their efforts to support the study.
Participating families will receive a $15 prepaid Mastercard® and a children’s book, as well as a yearly study newsletter.

About the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

NCES was established in 1867 to collect and provide to Congress and the public information on the condition of the education system in the United States. NCES, part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), is the sole Federal statistical agency responsible for meeting Congressional mandates to collect, analyze, and report information on the condition of education in the United States.

NCES needs the support of all involved in the education process to complete the studies it conducts related to these mandates for information about education in the country as a whole. The longitudinal studies, including those in the ECLS program, collect nationally representative data from students and from their families, teachers, schools, and school systems. These data provide rich information that can be used to study how students’ backgrounds and school experiences are related to education and life outcomes. The studies are comprehensive in approach, covering an expansive array of research and policy issues central to education.

NCES has produced some of the most widely used and cited longitudinal studies on education in the United States. NCES data are used not only by government agencies but also by policy institutes and researchers at leading universities from across the country. NCES also produces resources for teachers and families. For example, the nces.ed.gov/nceskids website is a resource for children to learn more about education in the United States and to play fun educational games.

All data collections conducted by NCES are reviewed and approved by the Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure minimal burden on the part of the public and to prevent duplicate data collections by multiple Federal agencies.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES). NCES is working with Westat, a U.S.-based research organization, to conduct this voluntary study.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is authorized to conduct the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). The data are being collected for NCES by Westat, a U.S.-based research organization. All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). The collected information will be combined across respondents to produce statistical reports.

New School Recruitment Letter
Fall 2024/Spring 2024

<Addressee’s Name

School

Address

Address 2

City, State, ZIP>

Dear <School Administrator>:

I am writing to invite your school to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). The ECLS-K:2024 began in the 2023-24 school year with approximately 18,000 children in about 850 schools across the country. We are inviting your school to participate because one or more students who are participating in the study have transferred to your school. <<<District approver’s name> at your district’s office/Your district office> has been notified about this study and is aware that your school is being asked to participate.>

Key details:

Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students.

<INSERT QR CODE>

The ECLS-K:2024 began when the selected students were in kindergarten. Study activities are underway for the spring of 2025 collection, when most of the students are in their first-grade year. Current plans are to revisit study participants again in spring 2027, when most of the students will be in third grade.
Study activities for children include one-on-one, age-appropriate, and engaging child assessments in math, reading, and memory skills (conducted with parent/guardian consent). You, as well as parents/guardians and teachers, will be asked to complete web surveys.

If allowed by your district, these schools, as well as school staff, will be provided with monetary tokens of appreciation in recognition of the time spent participating in the study. Parents/guardians are also provided with a monetary token of appreciation. More details are provided on the back of this letter.

Why is it important to participate?

For more than 20 years, the ECLS program has helped educators, families, researchers, and policymakers improve children’s educational experiences. While the study is voluntary, your participation is essential for ensuring the data can be used at the local, state, and national levels to guide practice and policies that increase every child’s chances of doing well in school. The ECLS-K:2024 will be particularly meaningful, as it will provide insights into the experiences of children whose early lives were shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Questions?

Please see the attached ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview for more details. A study representative will also contact you about the study within the next few days. You can also contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com, or learn more at MyECLS.ed.gov.

I encourage you and your school to participate in the ECLS-K:2024. Thank you for your support of this important study!

Sincerely,

[Name]

[Commissioner or other title]

National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

Enclosed:

ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview

(over)

ECLS-K:2024 tokens of appreciation

If district policy permits, in each phase of the study, your school community will receive the following to recognize the time spent participating in the study:

The school will periodically receive a newsletter with study and other educational information<, as well as their choice of $300 or $250 plus a magazine subscription.>
School administrators will receive $25.
In schools with four or more participating study students, school coordinators will receive $35.
Teachers of sampled students will also receive the newsletter, as well as $20 for a survey they complete about themselves and $7 for each survey they complete for participating students. Teachers will also receive the quarterly newsletter.
School administrators, school coordinators, and teachers will also receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of their efforts to support the study.
Participating families will receive a $15 prepaid Mastercard® and a children’s book, as well as a yearly study newsletter.

The ECLS-K:2024 is the fourth cohort in the series of early childhood longitudinal studies that make up the ECLS program. For more than 20 years, the ECLS program has helped educators, families, researchers, and policymakers better understand and improve children’s knowledge and skills from birth through elementary school. For more details about the ECLS program, visit nces.ed.gov/ecls.

The ECLS is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES). NCES is working with Westat, a U.S.-based research organization, to conduct this voluntary study.

Cooperating District with New School Recruitment Email
Fall 2024/Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Students transferring schools for ECLS-K:2024

Dear <Superintendent/name of district approver>:

We are very pleased that schools in your district are participating in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). Thank you for helping make their participation possible. I am writing to inform you that one or more students who are participating in the ECLS-K:2024 have transferred to a school in your district that was not previously part of the study.

As a reminder:

The ECLS-K:2024 began in the 2023-24 school year when the selected students were in kindergarten. Study activities are underway for the spring of 2025 collection, when most of the students are in their first-grade year. Current plans are to revisit study participants again in spring 2027, when most of the students will be in third grade.
Study activities include one-on-one child assessments conducted by trained ECLS-K:2024 staff (with parents’/guardians’ consent), web surveys completed by school administrators and teachers, and web or phone surveys completed by parents/guardians. The enclosed ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview provides more detail about what is involved for the participants.
- Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students at MyECLS.ed.gov.
If allowed by your district, these schools, as well as school staff, will be provided with monetary tokens of appreciation in recognition of the time spent participating in the study. Parents/guardians will also receive monetary tokens of appreciation.

Next steps:

ECLS-K:2024 staff will be contacting the school(s) in your district that the study’s students attend. Participation in this study is voluntary; however, we ask for your district’s continued support of the ECLS-K:2024 in the schools in your district.

More information about the ECLS-K:2024 is available on the NCES website, nces.ed.gov/ecls, as well as a website for study participants, MyECLS.ed.gov. If you have questions or need assistance, please call 1-855-898-2018 or email ECLS@westat.com. You may also reach the ECLS Study Director, Jill McCarroll, at 202-304-2920 or jill.mccarroll@ed.gov.

Thank you for your time and for supporting this important national education research study.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat

Attached:

ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview

Cooperating School with Transfer Student Recruitment Email
Fall 2024/Spring 2025

Dear <School Administrator>:

Thank you for your continued support of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). We are very pleased that your selected school staff, students, and parents/guardians are participating. I am writing to inform you that one or more students who have been participating in the study at a different school have transferred to your school, and we would like to complete study activities with these transfer students along with the other students who have participated in your school in the past.

As a reminder:

The ECLS-K:2024 began in the 2023-24 school year when the selected students were in kindergarten. Study activities are underway for the spring of 2025 collection, when most of the students are in their first-grade year. Current plans are to revisit study participants again in spring 2027, when most of the students will be in third grade.
As with the other participating students at your school, these additional students will complete one-on-one assessments with trained ECLS-K:2024 staff (with parent/guardian consent).

If you have questions or need assistance, please call 1-855-898-2018 or email ECLS@westat.com.

Thank you again for your time and for supporting this important national education research study.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat

First-Grade (Spring 2025)

Respondent Materials

Study Reminder Email for School Coordinators
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Upcoming ECLS-K:2024 Study Activities in Your School

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>:

We are now preparing for the next phase of ECLS-K:2024 study activities. We plan to visit your school from <SCHOOL VISIT START DATE> through <SCHOOL VISIT END DATE> to complete the spring activities. Please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com if those dates no longer work for your school.

We need your help in preparing for the study activities.

Notify parents/guardians and school staff about the next phase of the study. Emails are attached for you to use; if you would prefer to use text messages for this purpose, please let your study representative know.

When sending notifications, please help us to maintain confidentiality by sending individual messages and not revealing the names of study participants. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

Be on the lookout for an ECLS-K:2024 package that will be mailed to you in the next few weeks. The package includes a letter and spring study materials for you, as well as the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians of study students. <The package also includes our monetary tokens of appreciation for <you and> the participants.>

When the package arrives, check that you have received a parent/guardian packet for each study student and all of the expected teacher packets. Distribute the packets to the school administrator and appropriate teachers and parents/guardians. The package cover letter will contain detailed instructions.

Reserve space for the ECLS-K:2024 team to conduct the child assessment sessions with participating children. The ideal location would be one large room like the gymnasium, music room, or library or media center, where several sessions could be conducted simultaneously. The space should be well-lit, quiet, and have two chairs and a table for each member of the ECLS-K:2024 team.

What’s next?

We will call you a week or two before the school visit to discuss the upcoming study arrangements in more detail.

Log on to the MyECLS website and review the provided information for each study student. Note any updates to the information that are needed, so you can discuss with the ECLS-K:2024 representative the needed changes during your call.

Review the School Information page on MyECLS and note any needed changes to provide the ECLS-K:2024 representative.

<<To thank you for your help in this phase of the study, you will receive $35. In addition,> T/the school administrator and selected teachers will receive a monetary token of appreciation and newsletters with study and other educational information.><Your school will also receive their choice of $300 or $250 plus a magazine subscription.>

We look forward to working with you and your school this spring.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments

School Adminstrator and Teacher Notification Email

Parent/guardian Notification Email

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

School Administrator and Teacher Notification Email
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Participation in the U.S. Department of Education’s ECLS-K:2024

Dear Colleague:

As you may know, our school is proud to have accepted an invitation from the U.S. Department of Education to participate in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). Results from the ECLS-K:2024 will provide parents/guardians, teachers, and policymakers with valuable information that can be used to improve children’s elementary education and experiences.

Currently, study activities are planned for several phases. The first two phases occurred last school year when the selected students were in kindergarten. The next phase occurs this spring, when most of the selected students are in first grade.

What you need to know:

Each participating student (with parent/guardian consent) will take part in an assessment that is expected to take about 1 hour. The study activities are conducted by trained ECLS-K:2024 staff, so there is nothing that you will need to do to administer the sessions. The ECLS-K:2024 staff will work with our school to make sure children participate in the study activities at convenient times.
You will be asked to complete brief web surveys about yourself <( 23/30 minutes)>. Teachers, you will also be asked to complete surveys about your participating students <(about 14 minutes each)>.
- Please complete your surveys by June 27.
As a thank you for your time and effort, you will periodically receive a newsletter with study and other educational information<, as well as a check for $20 for the survey on your background survey as well as $7 for each survey about a participating child/ a check for $25>. At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of your efforts to support the study.
Parents/guardians are also asked to complete a web or telephone survey for their child to provide important contextual data on children’s home learning environments.
The study is voluntary, but I encourage you to participate. <There is no penalty for not participating.>

I will soon provide you with a packet of study information. If you have questions, you may contact me directly or the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018. You can also visit the ECLS-K:2024 website at MyECLS (MyECLS.ed.gov). If any parents/guardians ask you about the study, please encourage them to participate and direct them to me if they have any questions or concerns.

Thank you for your time and for supporting this important study.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Parent/Guardian Notification Email (English)
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Participation in the U.S. Department of Education’s ECLS-K:2024

Dear Parent/Guardian:

As you may remember, last year our school participated in U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). We are looking forward to hosting the next phase of the study in our school this spring.

What you need to know:

This spring, participating children will again answer age-appropriate math-, reading-, and memory skills-related questions during an approximately 1-hour one-on-one session with a trained ECLS-K:2024 staff member. The ECLS-K:2024 staff will work with teachers to make sure the participating children do not miss important lessons or activities.
You will be asked to complete a new <45-minute> web survey to provide a more complete picture of your child’s learning and development.
- Please complete your survey by June 27. You may receive a phone call sooner than the due date to complete your survey with an interviewer.
The study is voluntary, but I encourage you to participate. You will receive a monetary token of appreciation to thank you for your time. <There is no penalty for not participating.>

I will be sending an ECLS-K:2024 information packet home with your child this week. Please watch for it.

Our school supports the goals of this valuable study, and we are hopeful that every selected child, parent/guardian, and teacher from our school will continue to participate.

If you have questions, you may contact me directly or the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Parent/Guardian Notification Email (Spanish)
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Participación en el Estudio ECLS-K:2024, del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

Como recordará, el año pasado, su niño(a) y nuestra escuela participó en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. Esperamos con gusto la siguiente parte del estudio se lleve a cabo en nuestra escuela, esta primavera.

Qué necesita saber:

Esta primavera, los niños(as) participantes contestarán de nuevo preguntas relacionadas con matemáticas, lectura, y habilidades de memoria apropiadas para su edad, durante una sesión individual con un miembro entrenado del equipo del estudio ECLS-K:2024. El personal de ECLS-K:2024 trabajará con los maestros para asegurarse que los niños(as) participantes no pierdan importantes lecciones o actividades.
A usted se le pedirá que complete una nueva encuesta de <45-minutos> por Internet para proporcionar una imagen más completa del aprendizaje y desarrollo de su niño(a).
- Por favor, complete su encuesta antes del 27 de junio. Es posible que usted reciba una llamada telefónica antes de la fecha límite para que complete su encuesta con un(a) entrevistador(a).
El estudio es voluntario, pero nos gustaría que participe. Usted recibirá un pago por su tiempo. <No hay consecuencias negativas por no participar.>

Esta semana enviaré un paquete de información de ECLS-K:2024 a casa con su niño(a). Por favor, esté atento(a).

Nuestra escuela apoya los objetivos de este valioso estudio y esperamos que todos los niños, padres o madres/tutores o guardianes legales, y maestros seleccionados de nuestra escuela sigan participando.

Si tiene alguna pregunta, puede comunicarse conmigo directamente o con el equipo del estudio ECLS-K:2024 a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o al teléfono 1-855-898-2018.

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

El ECLS-K:2024 lo es llevado a cabo el Centro Nacional para Estadísticas de Educación (NCES por sus siglas en inglés), dentro del Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación (IES por sus siglas en inglés), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.

Postcard Providing MyECLS PIN to Parents/Guardians (English)
Spring 2025

FRONT COVER LABELED WITH PARENT ID AND Parent/Guardian of <CHILD’S NAME>

INSIDE:

Please use this PIN to log on to the secure study website and activate your $15 prepaid Mastercard®. This is your personal PIN; please keep it confidential.

PIN: <PIN>

When you first log in to the website using your PIN, you will be asked to enter your email address and create a password.

Your password must be at least 8 characters in length and include 3 of the following 4 types of characters:

upper case letters
lower case letters
numbers
special characters

If you need help, please call 1-855-898-2018 or send an email to ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Postcard Providing MyECLS PIN to Parents/Guardians (Spanish)
Spring 2025

FRONT COVER LABELED WITH PARENT ID AND Parent/Guardian of <CHILD’S NAME>

INSIDE:

Por favor, use este PIN para ingresar a la página de Internet segura del estudio y activar su tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15. Este número PIN es personal; por favor, no lo comparta con nadie.

PIN: <PIN>

La primera vez que ingrese a la página de Internet usando su PIN, se le pedirá que ponga su correo electrónico y deberá crear una contraseña.

Su contraseña deberá tener al menos 8 caracteres de longitud y deberá incluir 3 de los siguientes 4 tipos de caracteres:

letras mayúsculas
letras minúsculas
números
caracteres especiales

Si necesita ayuda, por favor, llame al 1-855-898-2018 o envíe un correo electrónico a ECLS@westat.com.

Atentamente,

El equipo de ECLS-K:2024

School Coordinator Study Activities Package Cover Letter
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

[SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME]

[SCHOOL NAME]

[ADDRESS]

[CITY], [STATE] [ZIP CODE]

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>:

Thank you again for your help with the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). Enclosed is the Study Activities Package for the next phase of the study.

Contents of this Package:

For you, the school coordinator, there is <a check for $35 to thank you for your time and effort and> a guide for encouraging the participation of teachers and parents/guardians.
Teacher Packets with a welcome letter <, a check for $20 for the teacher’s background survey plus $7 for each child-level survey the teacher is asked to complete,> and a fact sheet.
Parent/Guardian Packets with a welcome letter for the next study phase, a fact sheet, a $15 prepaid Mastercard®, a children’s book.
The School Administrator Packet for the head of the school contains a cover letter<, a check for $25,> and an ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview.

Instructions:

Ensure that you have received a parent/guardian packet and a teacher packet for each child selected for the study. Teachers who serve as both primary and special education teachers may have two packets.
Notify the school administrator and selected teachers and parents/guardians that you will be distributing study packets to them if you have not already done so. Use the emails that were attached to the recent email welcoming you to the spring phase of the study. (Text messages are also available for this purpose.)

When emailing or texting the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

Distribute the packets to the school administrator and selected teachers and parents /guardians.
Encourage the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians to participate by using the strategies in the enclosed guide. We will also provide you with reminder emails and text messages for this purpose.
Reserve space for the ECLS-K:2024 child assessment sessions if you have not already done so.

Shape3

Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students.

The success of the study relies on the participation of children, school staff, and parents/guardians. Please notify your ECLS-K:2024 representative as soon as possible about any issues affecting participation in your school. The team will be happy to assist you in following up with study participants about the completion of the surveys.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Enclosures

Guide for Encouraging Participation

School Administrator Packet

Teacher Packets

Parent/guardian Packets

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is authorized to conduct the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). The data are being collected for NCES by Westat, a U.S.-based research organization. All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). The collected information will be combined across respondents to produce statistical reports.

School Coordinator Guide for Encouraging Participation
Spring 2025

Guide for Encouraging Participation in the ECLS-K:2024

The following suggestions are helpful ideas for how you can encourage participation and ensure a successful study administration in your school. Remember, results from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) will provide information about children’s skills and development over time, and how these relate to factors at home and at school. The study will be particularly meaningful, as it will provide important information about the experiences of children whose early lives were shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The success of the study relies on the participation of children, parents/guardians, and school staff, as well as your assistance in securing their participation.

It is important that selected children participate in the ECLS-K:2024 because they represent many other children like them across the country.
Teachers provide information about the knowledge and skills of participating children to create a clearer picture of what our nation’s elementary-school-aged children know and can do.
Parents/Guardians contribute vital information about children’s home, early care, and preschool experiences, which helps us understand how those experiences are related to children’s skills during the early years of school.

Notify selected study participants about the study before you distribute their participation packets. Providing advanced notice increases the likelihood that they will pay attention to the printed materials. We have provided emails for you to use to complete this task.

When emailing or texting school staff and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

Remind the study participants on a regular basis to complete the surveys. We will provide email and text messages for you to use. Email reminders are especially helpful because participants can immediately access MyECLS.ed.gov and the web survey from a link provided in the messages. Again, please send individual emails/texts or blind-copy recipients.

Support parents/guardians and school staff by answering questions, as appropriate, about their participation in the study. Consider offering a time and space for parents/guardians to complete the web surveys at your school, especially for those who may not have convenient access to the Internet or a computer.

Emphasize the importance of the study and their contribution to it when communicating with parents/guardians and school staff. Talking points are provided on the back of this document.

Remember that the ECLS-K:2024 team is here to help! If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your ECLS-K:2024 representative directly, call 1-855-898-2018, or send an email to ECLS@westat.com.

Talking Points for Parents/Guardians

It is important that every selected child participates in the ECLS-K:2024 because each child represents many other children with similar characteristics across the country. Together, the participating children will demonstrate what children in the United States know and can do in elementary school.
By completing the online parent/guardian survey, you will help the study provide results about the relationship between children’s early learning experiences and their skills in school.
It will take you only about 45 minutes to complete the online parent/guardian survey.
It is important to be honest and accurate to ensure that the ECLS-K:2024 can provide valuable results. Your responses are confidential and are not shared with your child’s teachers or school principal.
Educators and policymakers can use the results of the ECLS-K:2024 to make informed decisions about how to improve education for future generations. ECLS studies are launched infrequently - about once each decade - and are used by educators, policymakers, and researchers trying to better understand child development.
Results from studies like this one help the U.S. Department of Education better support our teachers and families. For example, the website nces.ed.gov/nceskids was created as a place to learn more about recent developments in education and as a source of fun, educational games.

Talking Points for Teachers

By completing the web surveys, you help ensure that the ECLS-K:2024 can provide a more complete picture of what our country’s elementary-school-aged children know and can do in the early grades.
It will take approximately 25 minutes to complete the teacher survey and approximately 15 minutes to complete each child-level survey.
Teachers will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of their efforts to support the study.
Your responses are confidential and are not shared with our school’s principal, other school staff, or parents/guardians.

If district or school policy allows, to thank them for their time and effort, teachers will receive $20 for the teacher background survey plus an additional $7 for each child-level survey.

Educators and policymakers can use the ECLS-K:2024 results to make informed decisions about how to improve education for future generations. ECLS studies are launched infrequently - about once each decade - and are used by educators, policymakers, and researchers trying to better understand child development.

Results from studies like this one help the U.S. Department of Education better support our teachers and families. For example, the website nces.ed.gov/nceskids was created as a place to learn more about recent developments in education and as a source of fun, educational games.

School Administrator Welcome Letter
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear School Administrator:

As you know, your school has agreed to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, or the ECLS-K:2024. For more than 20 years, the ECLS program has helped improve education for children from birth through elementary school. Results from the ECLS can be used to support students’ learning and development. The study helps answer the following types of questions:

What math and literacy skills do children have when they start school? How do they develop over time?
What educational activities do students do at home and with their families?
What support do parents/guardians and families need to be more involved in their child’s education?

The ECLS-K:2024 is particularly meaningful, as it will provide important information about the experiences of children whose early lives were shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What do you need to know:

Shape4

Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students.

Westat, the research organization collecting the data, will be working with your school coordinator to coordinate the study activities. Participation is voluntary, but I encourage you to take part in this important program. <There is no penalty for not participating.>

Child assessments will be conducted with participating (primarily first-grade) students in your school this spring over the course of 2 to 3 days. The activities will focus on students’ literacy, math, and memory skills. Accommodations are available to ensure that sampled students can participate as appropriate.
The study activities are conducted by trained ECLS-K:2024 staff, so there is nothing that the students’ teachers need to do to administer the sessions. The ECLS-K:2024 staff will work with your school to make sure children participate in the study activities at convenient times.
We are asking you, teachers, and parents/guardians of participating students to complete surveys.
If district policy permits, we will provide you and the participating teachers a monetary token of appreciation. You will also receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education to thank you for participating in the study. Parents/Guardians will receive a monetary token of appreciation for their efforts.

What you need to do:

Review the enclosed worksheet that provides information about the spring 2025 school administrator survey. You may decide to ask another school staff person to complete some of the survey sections on your behalf.
Log on to the study website (MyECLS.ed.gov) and complete your survey by June 27.

When you first log on to the website, enter the unique PIN that will be emailed to you directly from Westat. After you enter the PIN, enter your email address and a password to log on in the future. The log on process will keep your data secure each time you visit the website.
If you have identified someone else to answer sections of the school administrator survey, please forward the email you received with a second PIN to that person. This person should not be given your unique PIN, as that will allow him or her to access portions of the survey that should be completed only by you.

You can find more study information in the enclosed ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview. If you have any questions, please contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018. Thank you for your participation in the ECLS-K:2024.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat

Enclosures

ECLS-K:2024 Study Overview

School Administrator Survey Worksheet

School Administrator Survey Worksheet
Spring 2025

ECLS-K:2024 School Administrator Survey Worksheet

The ECLS-K:2024 school administrator web survey is designed to be completed by the principals/school administrators at participating schools. The survey includes a broad range of questions about the school setting, policies and practices at both the school level and in specific grades, and about the principal and the teaching staff. The survey is divided into seven separate sections, described below.

The ECLS-K:2024 anticipates that some school administrators will need help from other school staff to complete some of the sections. Each school administrator will receive a unique PIN to log in to the MyECLS.ed.gov website, create an account, and complete the web survey. If you need help completing any of the sections, we have provided you with a second PIN that should be given to your designee to log on to the study website and create their own account to complete survey sections. For security purposes, please do not share your PIN or account information (i.e., your username and a password you create) with anyone.

Instructions for Completing the School Administrator Survey

Review the survey section descriptions below to determine if you would like to assign a knowledgeable staff member (your designee) to complete any of the sections on your behalf. You can also ask your designee to complete only portions of sections, as needed. All sections except for Section G can be completed by your designee, if you choose to delegate them. Section G should be completed by you as it includes questions about your background, training, and job responsibilities; it is accessible on the MyECLS.ed.gov website only with your PIN or, once established, your password with your email address.

The survey asks for details that might require you to review your school’s records. For this reason, it may be easier to complete the survey while at school.
The individual survey sections can be completed in any order. The survey sections can be completed all at once or over the course of multiple sessions. Each section, with the exception of section G, can be completed entirely by you or your designee, or by both of you.

Log on to the study website, MyECLS.ed.gov, and enter your PIN. On your first visit, you will be asked to enter your email address and to create a password to ensure the security of your data.

If you would like someone else to answer certain sections of the survey, please provide him or her with the second PIN and instructions for logging on to the site.
While the survey may be completed on any device, we recommend using your desktop or laptop computer. Some of the questions are easier to read on a larger screen.

After logging on to the MyECLS.ed.gov website, indicate who will complete each of the survey sections. For sections A through F, you can indicate yourself, a designee, or both. This will make it clear to your designee the sections that each person is asked to complete.

Survey Section Descriptions

Section A – School Characteristics asks for basic school information and enrollment, a demographic breakdown of your student population, and information about your school’s participation in the USDA-reimbursable breakfast and lunch programs. The types of questions include the average daily attendance; the percentage of students in various racial/ethnic groups, with special needs, and eligible for select programs; and the number of children qualified to receive federally-reimbursable meals served.
Section B – School Facilities and Resources covers your school’s facilities, including the availability of dedicated rooms, such as a cafeteria or music room, as well as the availability of computers.
Section C – School-Family-Community Connections asks for information about the school’s interaction with parents/guardians, the neighborhood where the school is located, safety and emergency procedures, and problems that may be occurring within your school. Specific questions include the availability of programs or services for parents/guardians, methods used to communicate with parents/guardians, instances of crime in the surrounding community and within the school, and the frequency of emergency drill practice.
Section D – School Policies and Practices asks about practices and policies related to student promotion and retention, suspensions, and benchmarks for student success in various subject areas. Specific questions include the implementation of student-focused special programs, and the number of students assigned suspensions by gender and race/ethnicity.
Section E – School Programs for Particular Populations covers information about the school’s programs for various populations, including homeless students, English language learners, students with disabilities, and students in special education. Types of questions include the percentage of students who are English language learners (in the school and in first grade), and the percentage of first-graders with IEPs or receiving special/additional instruction.
Section F – Federal Programs asks questions pertaining to public schools including the use of Title I and Title III funds, actions taken in response to the need for improvement, and state assessments. Administrators from private schools will be asked one question in this section and then will be skipped out of the remainder of the questions in Section F.
Section G – School Administrator Characteristics asks questions about you, the designated school administrator, including your educational background, training, and time spent on various tasks. This section should not be completed by anyone else but you, the school administrator/principal, as it contains information that only you would know about yourself.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is authorized to conduct the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). The data are being collected for NCES by Westat, a U.S.-based research organization. All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). The collected information will be combined across respondents to produce statistical reports.

Teacher Welcome Letter
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear Teacher:

As you may know, our school and students are participating in an exciting study called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). I am proud that the U.S. Department of Education chose our school for this study.

For more than 20 years, the ECLS has helped improve education for children from birth through elementary school. We can use results from the ECLS-K:2024 to better understand children’s development and experiences related to learning, such as their:

Reading, math, and memory skills
Social skills such as self-control, communication, problem-solving, and peer relationships
Health and development
Educational opportunities at school and at home

The ECLS-K:2024 will be particularly meaningful, as it will provide important information about the experiences of children whose early lives were shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic.

What do you need to know:

Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students.

<INSERT QR CODE>

Some or all of your students are participating in the study, with consent from their parents/guardians. The first two phases occurred when the children were in kindergarten. The next phase occurs this spring, when most of the participating students are in first grade. Current plans are to revisit study participants again in spring 2027, when most of the students will be in third grade.

Your participating students will be asked to do engaging, age-appropriate activities during a single one-on-one session with a study team member.

The sessions will occur between <START SCHOOL VISIT DATE> and <END SCHOOL VISIT DATE>.
Each child’s session will last about 1 hour. The study team will work with you to make sure children participate in the study activities at convenient times.
The activities focus on students’ reading-, math-, and memory-related skills. Accommodations are available to ensure that students can participate as appropriate.
You will not need to conduct the student assessment sessions, but you can observe them if you like. Parents/guardians are also welcome to observe the study sessions with their child.
Visit our study website at MyECLS.ed.gov (accessible via the QR code below) to see examples of the study sessions being conducted with students. Children who participated in previous ECLS sessions reported enjoying the activities and the individual attention.

You will be asked to complete web surveys about your teaching practices and experiences <(about 23 minutes)>, as well as the skills and abilities of participating students <(about 14 minutes each)>.

Parents/guardians of participating children are also asked to complete a web survey and will receive a monetary token of appreciation for doing so.

The study aims to include all sampled families and offers different ways for families to participate, such as phone surveys for those without internet access and translated materials or interpreters for those who speak a language other than English.

The information you provide will be kept secure and combined with information from school staff, students, and parents/guardians to provide nationally representative results.
The ECLS-K:2024 is endorsed by more than 25 education organizations.
Participation is voluntary, but I encourage you to take part in this important study. <There is no penalty for not participating.>

See the back or next page for details about what you need to do.

What you need to do:

Please log on to MyECLS.ed.gov and complete your surveys by June 27.

In a few days, you will receive your PIN in an email from the ECLS-K:2024 team at Westat, the research organization conducting the study for the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.
Surveys may be completed at your convenience and do not have to be done all at once.

To thank you for participating in the study:

You and our school will periodically receive a newsletter with study and other educational information<, as well as a monetary token of appreciation to recognize the time spent participating in the study. Please find your check enclosed>. At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education.

You can find more information in the fact sheet I have enclosed. If you have any questions, please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018. You can also learn more at MyECLS.ed.gov.

Thank you in advance for participating!

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Enclosure

ECLS teacher fact sheet

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is authorized to conduct the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). The data are being collected for NCES by Westat, a U.S.-based research organization. All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). The collected information will be combined across respondents to produce statistical reports.

Parent/Guardian Welcome Letter (English)
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear Parent/Guardian:

As you may recall, last year your child began participating in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). The study provides important information about children’s reading and math skills, social skills such as problem-solving and self-control, health and development, and educational opportunities at school and at home.

It is now time to conduct the next phase of the study <.in our school. I am proud of our school’s participation, and I appreciate your support.>

What you need to know:

Learn more and watch a video to and see the study experience for children.

<INSERT QR CODE>

The ECLS-K:2024 team will <be visiting our school this spring to> conduct the study activities. Participating children will have the opportunity to do engaging, age-appropriate reading-, math-, and memory-related activities in a one-on-one session <at our school> with a study team member. The session will last approximately one hour.
- <You and/or school staff are welcome to be in the room during your child’s session.
- The ECLS-K:2024 team will work with teachers to make sure children do not miss important lessons or activities.>
You will be asked to complete a new <45-minute> web survey, at your convenience. Interviewers are available if you would prefer to complete the survey by telephone.
<Your child’s current teacher(s) will also be asked to complete web surveys about their teaching background, classroom lessons and activities, and the selected children they teach.>
The information that you provide will be kept secure and combined with information from other parents/guardians, students, and school staff to provide results for the nation as a whole.
The ECLS-K:2024 is endorsed by more than 25 education organizations.
The study is voluntary, but I encourage you to participate. <There is no penalty for not participating.>

What you need to do:

Please log on to MyECLS.ed.gov to complete your survey. Your PIN to log on to the website is in the sealed postcard provided in this packet. The latest we can accept a response is June 27, but you may receive a phone call sooner than the due date to complete your survey.

To thank you for participating in the study:

Enclosed is a $15 prepaid Mastercard® and a children’s book. The card will be activated after you log on to MyECLS.ed.gov, regardless of whether you complete the survey. You will also receive a yearly newsletter with study and other educational information.
<Schools and teachers will also receive newsletters with study and other educational information.> <Our teachers will also receive monetary tokens of appreciation for participating in the study.> <Our school will <also> receive a monetary token of appreciation for our efforts this spring.>

See the back or next page for more information.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES). NCES is working with Westat, a research organization, to conduct this voluntary study. If you have any questions, please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

Thank you for participating in this important study!

Sincerely,

<SCHOOL COORDINATOR: INSERT YOUR NAME HERE

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study>

<Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat>

Enclosure

ECLS parent fact sheet

Parent/Guardian Welcome Letter (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Primavera de 2025

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

Como recordará, el año pasado, su niño(a) participó en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten del 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. El estudio proporciona información importante sobre las habilidades de lectura y matemáticas de los niños, sus habilidades sociales tales como la resolución de problemas y el autocontrol, su salud y desarrollo, y sus oportunidades educativas en la escuela y el hogar.

Ahora ha llegado el momento de llevar a cabo la siguiente parte del estudio <.en nuestra escuela. Me enorgullece que nuestra escuela participe, y le agradezco su apoyo.>

Qué necesita saber:

Infórmese más y vea un video sobre la experiencia del estudio para los niños.

<INSERT QR CODE>

El equipo de ECLS-K:2024 visitará <nuestra escuela esta primavera> para llevar a cabo las actividades del estudio. Los niños que participen tendrán la oportunidad de hacer actividades interesantes relacionadas con lectura, matemáticas y memoria apropiadas para su edad, en una sesión individual <en nuestra escuela> con un miembro del equipo del estudio. La sesión durará aproximadamente una hora.
- <Usted y/o el personal de la escuela serán bienvenidos en la sala durante la sesión de su niño(a).
- El personal de ECLS-K:2024 trabajará con los maestros para asegurarse que los niños no pierdan importantes lecciones o actividades.>
A usted se le pedirá que complete una nueva encuesta de <45-minutos> por Internet, en el momento que le resulte conveniente. Tenemos entrevistadores disponibles si prefiere completar la encuesta por teléfono.
<También se le pedirá al maestro(a) actual de su niño(a) que complete encuestas por Internet sobre su experiencia docente, las clases y actividades que imparten, y sobre los niños seleccionados a los que enseñan.>
La información que usted proporcione se mantendrá segura y se combinará con información de otros padres/ madres/tutores o guardianes legales, estudiantes, y personal escolar para proporcionar resultados para toda la nación.
El ECLS-K:2024 está respaldado por más de 25 organizaciones educativas.
El estudio es voluntario pero nos gustaría que participe. <No hay consecuencias negativas por no participar.>

Qué necesita hacer:

Por favor, ingrese a MyECLS.ed.gov para completar su encuesta. Su PIN para ingresar a la página de Internet se encuentra en la tarjeta postal sellada proporcionada en este paquete. Aceptaremos encuestas completadas a más tardar el 27 de junio, pero es posible que usted reciba una llamada telefónica antes de la fecha límite para completar su encuesta.

Para agradecerle por participar:

Le estamos enviando junto con esta carta, una tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15 y un libro para niños. Después de que ingrese a MyECLS.ed.gov, la tarjeta se activará, ya sea que usted complete o no la encuesta. También recibirá un boletín anual con información del estudio y otros temas educativos.
<Las escuelas y los maestros(as) también recibirán boletines con información sobre el estudio y otros temas educativos.> <Nuestros maestros también recibirán un modesto pago como agradecimiento por participar en el estudio.> <Nuestra escuela <también> recibirá un modesto pago como agradecimiento por nuestros esfuerzos esta primavera.>

Vea al otro lado de la página o en la página siguiente más información.

ECLS-K:2024 es llevado a cabo por el Centro Nacional para Estadísticas de Educación (NCES por sus siglas en inglés), dentro del Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación (IES por sus siglas en inglés), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. NCES está trabajando con Westat, una firma que realiza estudios de investigación, para realizar este estudio. Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor, comuníquese con el equipo de ECLS-K:2024 a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o al teléfono 1-855-898-2018.

¡Gracias por participar en este importante estudio!

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

<Elizabeth Bissett

Directora del proyecto, ECLS-K:2024

Westat>

Anexo

Hoja de información de ECLS para padres y madres/tutores o guardianes legales

Parent/Guardian Welcome Letter (Mandarin)
Spring 2025

2025年春季

亲爱的家长/监护人：

您可能记得，去年您的孩子已经开始参与美国教育部的幼儿纵向研究，幼儿园2023-24班 (ECLS-K:2024)。这项研究将提供有关幼儿的阅读和数学能力、社交技能（例如解决问题和自我控制技能）、健康和发展、和在校与在家的教育机会的重要信息。

现在是<在我们的学校>进行研究下一阶段的时候。 < 我为我们学校的参与骄傲，我也感激您的支持。>

您需要知道什么：

您可以进一步了解并观看一个视频来观察孩子参与研究的经验。

<INSERT QR CODE>

ECLS-K:2024 的研究小组会 <在今年春季到我们的学校来> 进行此研究的活动。参与的孩子将有机会<在我们的学校>跟一位研究小组成员进行一对一的融入式、适龄的阅读、数字和记忆力相关的活动。活动维时大概一小时。

<在您孩子的研究活动进行期间，欢迎您和/或学校职员在房间内观摩。
ECLS-K:2024 研究小组将与老师合作，确保孩子不会错过重要的课程或活动。>

你将会受邀完成一个新的 <四十五分钟> 网上问卷，可以在您方便的时候回答。如果您更愿意通过电话完成问卷，我们的电话采访员也可以提供帮助。
<你孩子目前的老师也会受邀完成关于他们的教学背景、课室课程和活动、以及他们所教、并参与研究的学生的问卷。>
您提供的信息将被保密，并会与其他家长/监护人，学生、和学校职员的信息合并，提供全国性的综合报告。
ECLS-K:2024得到了超过25个教育机构的认可。
参加这项研究是自愿的，但我鼓励您参加。<不参加没有任何处分。>

您需要做什么:

请登陆MyECLS.ed.gov 完成您的问卷调查。在这个资料袋里面有张密封的明信片，上面有您的个人身份识别号码，可用来登陆网站。问卷的截止日期是6月27日，但您有可能在截止日期之前收到一个电话，可以在电话采访员的帮助下完成问卷。

为了感谢您的参与：

随函附上的是一张价值15美元的预付万事达卡®和一本儿童书。无论您是否完成调查，您的15 美元预付万事达卡将于您在MyECLS.ed.gov 上输入个人身份识别号码时激活。您也会收到一份包括研究和其他教育信息的年刊。
<学校和老师也会收到包括研究和其他教育信息的年刊。><我们的老师也会获得参与研究的酬金。> <我们的学校<也> 会获得为此研究努力的酬金。>

如要获得更多信息，请查看背页或下一页。.

ECLS-K:2024 由美国教育部教育科学研究所（IES）下属的国家教育统计中心(NCES)进行。 NCES 正在与研究机构Westat合作进行这项自愿研究。如果您有任何疑问，请发电邮至ECLS@westat.com 联系ECLS-K:2024 研究小组，或致电 1-855-898-2018。

感谢您参与这项重要的研究！

<SCHOOL COORDINATOR: INSERT YOUR NAME HERE

ECLS-K:2024 研究的学校协调员>

敬上

<Elizabeth Bissett

Westat ECLS-K:2024 项目总监>

附上

ECLS 家长说明书

国家教育研究中心（NCES）根据2002年教育科学改革法案 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543) 授权进行幼儿纵向研究（ECLS）。这些数据是由美国研究机构Westat 为NCES收集。您提供的所有信息只能用于统计目的，除非法律要求 (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151)，否则不得以可识别的形式披露或使用于任何其他目的。所收集的信息将与其他答复者合并，以编制统计报告。

Email Providing MyECLS PIN to School Administrators
and Teachers
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Important PIN Information for the ECLS-K:2024

Dear <SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR/TEACHER NAME>:

Please use this PIN to access the secure study website for [school coordinators / school administrators / teachers]. This is your personal PIN; please keep it confidential.

PIN: <PIN>

Your password must be at least 8 characters in length and must contain a combination of 3 of the following 4 types:

upper case letters
lower case letters
numbers
special characters

If you need technical assistance at any time, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Email Providing Secondary MyECLS PIN to School Administrators
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: ECLS-K:2024 Secondary Log-in Details

Dear <SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR NAME>:

If you have designated a school staff member to help you complete some sections of the School Administrator Survey, please forward this secondary PIN to that person. This PIN will allow that person to have limited access to the secure study website.

SECONDARY PIN: <PIN>

When your designee first logs in to the website using this PIN, this person will be prompted to enter an email address and create a password to securely access the website in the future. The designee will no longer need this PIN after creating a password.

The designee’s password must be at least 8 characters in length and must contain a combination of 3 of the following 4 types:

upper case letters
lower case letters
numbers
special characters

If you need technical assistance at any time, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Parent/Guardian Text Message Communications (English)
Spring 2025

SET appointment:

This is <FIRST AND LAST NAME>. Thank you <for your email/for talking with me>. I am looking forward to completing the ECLS-K:2024 survey with you. Would < DATE/TIME> work for you to <talk on the phone/meet in-person>? I, or a colleague, can be available at any date or time that is convenient for you. If you have any questions, please just let me know either by email (<EMAIL ADDRESS>) or text.

confirm appointment:

This is <FIRST AND LAST NAME>. Thank you <for your email/for talking with me>. I am looking forward to completing the ECLS-K:2024 survey with you on <APPOINTMENT DATE/TIME>. If you have any questions or need to reschedule our <call/visit>, please just let me know either by email (<EMAIL ADDRESS>) or text.

REMINDER OF appointment:

This is <FIRST AND LAST NAME>. Just a reminder that I will be <calling/visiting> you to complete the ECLS-K:2024 survey on <APPOINTMENT DATE/TIME>. If you have any questions or need to reschedule our <call/visit>, please just let me know either by email (<EMAIL ADDRESS>) or text.

EXPLAIN PURPOSE OF CALL ATTEMPTS:

The U.S. Department of Education needs your help. I’m <FIRST AND LAST NAME>, a field representative for the ECLS-K:2024. I have been calling you from this number to discuss the ECLS-K:2024 parent/guardian survey with you. Please let me know the best time to reach you or give me a call back at your convenience.

VERIFY LEGITIMACY:

Please contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018 to verify my employment. Visit MyECLS.ed.gov to learn about the ECLS-K:2024.

RESPOND TO PARENT WHO WANTS TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY VIA TEXT MESSAGE:

I cannot complete the survey over text message, but I can call or visit at a time convenient for you.

REMINDER TO PARENTS WHO WANT TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY THEMSELVES:

Thank you for letting me know you would prefer to complete the survey online. The survey is now available for you to complete. If you decide you would rather complete it with me over the telephone or in-person, please let me know. Thank you.

THANK THE RESPONDENT FOR PARTICIPATION, POST-SURVEY:

Thank you for taking the time to participate in our important survey. Your input is very valuable.

Parent/Guardian Text Message Communications (Spanish)
Spring 2025

SET appointment:

Mi nombre es <FIRST AND LAST NAME>, gracias <por su email/por hablar conmigo>. Con gusto completaré con usted la encuesta ECLS-K:2024. ¿Le resultaría conveniente el < DATE/TIME> para que <hablemos por teléfono/nos reunamos en persona>? Ya sea yo o uno de mis colegas podemos estar disponibles en cualquier fecha u hora que a usted le convenga. Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor, avíseme por email a (<EMAIL ADDRESS>) o por mensaje de texto.

confirm appointment:

Mi nombre es <FIRST AND LAST NAME>, gracias por <por su email/por hablar conmigo>. Con gusto completaré con usted la encuesta ECLS-K:2024 el <APPOINTMENT DATE/a las TIME>. Si tiene alguna pregunta o necesita cambiar la fecha o la hora de nuestra <llamada/visita>, por favor, avíseme ya sea por email (<EMAIL ADDRESS>) o por mensaje de texto.

REMINDER OF appointment:

Mi nombre es <FIRST AND LAST NAME>, este mensaje es solo para recordarle que le <llamaré/visitaré> el <APPOINTMENT DATE/a las TIME> para completar la encuesta ECLS-K:2024. Si tiene alguna pregunta o necesita cambiar la fecha o la hora de nuestra <llamada/visita>, por favor, avíseme ya sea por email (<EMAIL ADDRESS>) o por mensaje de texto.

EXPLAIN PURPOSE OF CALL ATTEMPTS:

El Departamento de Educación de los EE.UU., necesita su ayuda. Mi nombre es <FIRST AND LAST NAME>, soy un(a) representante de campo de ECLS-K:2024. Le he estado llamando desde este número de teléfono para que hablemos sobre la encuesta para padres y madres/tutores y guardianes legales ECLS-K:2024. Por favor dígame cuál es el mejor momento para comunicarme con usted, o por favor devuélvame la llamada cuando le resulte conveniente.

VERIFY LEGITIMACY:

Por favor comuníquese con nosotros escribiendo a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o llamando al 1-855-898-2018 para verificar la legitimidad de mi trabajo. Visite MyECLS.ed.gov para conocer más acerca de ECLS-K:2024.

RESPOND TO PARENT WHO WANTS TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY VIA TEXT MESSAGE:

No puedo completar la encuesta a través de un mensaje de texto, pero puedo llamarlo(a) o visitarlo(a) cuando le resulte conveniente.

REMINDER TO PARENTS WHO WANT TO COMPLETE THE SURVEY THEMSELVES:

Gracias por indicarme que le gustaría completar la encuesta por Internet. La encuesta ya está disponible. Si cambia de opinión y decide completarla conmigo, por teléfono o en persona, por favor dígamelo. Gracias.

THANK THE RESPONDENT FOR PARTICIPATION, POST-SURVEY:

Gracias por tomarse el tiempo para participar en nuestra encuesta tan importante. Su opinión es muy valiosa.

First Survey Completion Reminder Email
for School Coordinators
Spring 2025

Subject: Reminder: ECLS-K:2024 Survey Completion Check-In

Dear <School Coordinator name>:

Thank you for your work to ensure the ECLS-K:2024 study’s success in your school! It is time to check on the surveys that are being completed by parents/guardians and school staff.

Where to monitor the status of surveys:

Log on to MyECLS to review the completion status of surveys.

How to follow up with parents/guardians and school staff:

Review the completion status of the school administrator, teacher, and parent/guardian surveys. Note those participants who have not yet completed their surveys.
Use the email reminder templates attached to this email to contact the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians and remind them to complete the surveys. (A text message reminder template is also available upon request.) When emailing or texting the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

We are here to help!

Please email or call your ECLS-K:2024 representative to discuss how we can help make the study a success in your school.
You can also contact us at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

Thank you again for all you are doing to support the ECLS-K:2024.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments:

Survey Reminder Emails for Parents/guardians

Survey Reminder Email for Teachers and School Administrators

Guide for Encouraging Participation

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

First Survey Completion Reminder Email for
Parents/Guardians (attached to first SC email) (English)
Spring 2025

Subject: Reminder to complete your ECLS-K:2024 web survey!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Thank you for reviewing the materials I sent home about the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. Our school supports this study, and while all participation is voluntary, we hope that every selected child, parent/guardian, and teacher from our school will participate this spring.

What are parents/guardians being asked do?

Complete a new spring 2025 survey about your child and your family. If you have already completed the survey this spring, thank you! If you have not, the survey can be completed whenever is convenient for you and does not need to be completed all at once. By law, individual students, families, and schools will not be identified, and study data will not be shared with our school.

A prepaid Mastercard® card worth $15 upon activation and a children’s book were also included in the package to thank you for your time completing the survey. You will also receive a yearly newsletter with study and other educational information. Our school and teachers also receive tokens of appreciation.

How to complete the survey:

Log on to the MyECLS (MyECLS.ed.gov) website, using the PIN that was enclosed in the study materials I recently sent home.

The website contains a link to the survey you are being asked to complete.

Questions or need help?

The U.S. Department of Education is working with Westat, a U.S.-based research organization, to conduct the study. Please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.
You can also contact me if you have any questions about the study activities for you or your child.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

First Survey Completion Reminder Email for
Parents/Guardians (attached to first SC email) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Subject: ¡Recordatorio para completar su encuesta ECLS-K:2024 por Internet!

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

Gracias por revisar los materiales del Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia (ECLS-K:2024), clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), que está llevando a cabo el Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. y que le envié a su hogar. Nuestra escuela apoya los objetivos de este estudio, y aunque la participación es voluntaria, esperamos que todos los niños, padres o madres/tutores o guardianes legales, y maestros seleccionados de nuestra escuela participen en esta primavera.

¿Qué se les pide a los padres/madres/tutores o guardianes legales que hagan?

Completar una nueva encuesta de primavera 2025 sobre su niño(a) y su familia. Si usted ya ha completado la encuesta, ¡se lo agradecemos! Si no lo ha hecho, sepa que la encuesta se puede completar cuando a usted le resulte conveniente. No es necesario que la complete toda de una vez. Por ley, los estudiantes, las familias y las escuelas no serán identificados individualmente y los datos del estudio no se compartirán con nuestra escuela.

En el paquete se incluyeron una tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® con un valor de $15 una vez activada y un libro para niños para agradecerle a usted por el tiempo dedicado a contestar la encuesta. También recibirá un boletín anual con información del estudio y otros temas educativos. Nuestra escuela y los maestros también recibirán un modesto pago como muestra de agradecimiento.

¿Cómo completar la encuesta?

Ingrese a la página de Internet MyECLS (MyECLS.ed.gov), use el número de PIN que va incluido en los materiales del estudio que envié recientemente a su hogar.

La página de Internet contiene un enlace para la encuesta que se le pide que complete.

¿Tiene preguntas o necesita ayuda?

El Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU., está trabajando con Westat, una firma que realiza estudios de investigación y está basada en los Estados Unidos, para realizar el estudio. Por favor, comuníquese con el equipo de ECLS-K:2024 escribiendo a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o llamando al teléfono 1-855-898-2018.
También puede comunicarse conmigo si tiene alguna pregunta sobre las actividades del estudio para usted o su niño(a).

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

¿Por qué es tan importante el programa ECLS-K:2024? Nos ayuda a entender más sobre cómo los niños aprenden.

First Survey Completion Reminder Text Message for
Parents/Guardians (upon request) (English)
Spring 2025

Hello! We are excited that the next phase of the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) is starting in our school soon! Please complete your spring 2025 survey and activate your $15 prepaid Mastercard® on the MyECLS website. An information packet and email from our school have directions. For questions, please call the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018. Thank you!

First Survey Completion Reminder Text Message for
Parents/Guardians (upon request) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

¡Hola! ¡Estamos entusiasmados de que pronto comience en nuestra escuela la siguiente parte del Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.! Por favor, complete su encuesta de primavera 2025 y active su tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15 en la página MyECLS. Las instrucciones están en un paquete de información y un correo electrónico enviado por nuestra escuela. Si tiene preguntas, por favor, comuníquese con el equipo ECLS-K:2024 llamando al teléfono 1-855-898-2018. ¡Gracias!

First Survey Completion Reminder Email for Teachers and School Administrator (attached to first SC email)
Spring 2025

Subject: Reminder to complete your ECLS-K:2024 web survey!

Dear Colleague:

I am reaching out to ask that you please complete your activities for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education. While all ECLS-K:2024 participation is voluntary, I encourage you to participate.

What are school staff being asked to do?

Teachers:

Complete a survey about your background and classroom practices.
Complete surveys about each of the selected children.

School administrators:

Complete a survey about your background and the school.

How to complete the surveys:

Log on to the MyECLS (MyECLS.ed.gov) website.
- You will be prompted to enter the PIN you were provided in an email a few weeks ago. If you cannot find the PIN, please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

The website contains links to each of the surveys you are being asked to complete. Surveys can be completed at your convenience and do not have to be done all at once.
<To thank you for your help, your packet contained a monetary token of appreciation; you will also periodically receive newsletters with study and other educational information.> At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education.

Questions or need help?

The U.S. Department of Education is working with Westat, a U.S.-based research organization, to conduct the study. Please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.
You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Second Survey Completion Reminder Email for
School Coordinators
Spring 2025

Subject: Reminder: ECLS-K:2024 Survey Completion Check-In

Dear <School Coordinator name>:

Thank you for all you are doing to make the ECLS-K:2024 a success! Now that a couple of weeks have gone by, it is time to check again on the status of the study surveys.

What you need to do:

Review the MyECLS website to see whether the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians still need to complete their surveys.
Email the attached reminders to those participants who have not yet completed the survey. Text reminders for parents/guardians are also available upon request if you prefer to send texts. The last day for completing the surveys is Friday, June 27. When emailing or texting the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.
Please continue to update MyECLS as appropriate (for example, with child-specific information).

Our ECLS-K:2024 team members want to assist you in these efforts. Please email or call your ECLS-K:2024 representative to discuss how we can help follow up with parents/guardians and school staff.

Do your parents/guardians or school staff need help completing the survey?

Anyone who needs help can contact us at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018.

We want to hear from as many of your school staff and parents/guardians as possible! Thank you for helping us meet that goal.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments:

Survey Reminder Emails for Parents/Guardians

Survey Reminder Email for Teachers and School Administrators

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Second Survey Completion Reminder Email
for Parents/Guardians (attached to second SC email) (English)
Spring 2025

Subject: Reminder to complete your ECLS-K:2024 web survey!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

I appreciate your family’s participation in the U.S. Department of Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! With your help, the nation can learn more about what our country’s young students know and can do to better meet their needs in school.

Don’t forget:

Log on to the MyECLS website to complete the new spring 2025 parent/guardian survey if you have not done so already. Use the PIN that was in the study materials I recently sent home to access the secure website.
Detailed information about the study was provided in the materials I sent home a couple of weeks ago along with the $15 prepaid Mastercard® and a children’s book to thank you for your time and effort. You can activate your prepaid card on MyECLS. You will also receive a yearly newsletter with study and other educational information.
The last day to complete your survey is Friday, June 27. You may receive a phone call sooner than the due date to complete your survey with an interviewer.

Questions, need help, or forgot your log-in information?

Please email the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.
You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

More findings from previous ECLS studies and other U.S. Department of Education surveys are available on the MyECLS homepage.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Second Survey Completion Reminder Email
for Parents/Guardians (attached to second SC email) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Subject: ¡Recuerde completar su encuesta ECLS-K:2024 por Internet!

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

¡Agradezco la participación de su familia en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.! Con su ayuda, la nación podrá aprender más sobre qué saben y qué pueden hacer los estudiantes más jóvenes de nuestro país para satisfacer mejor sus necesidades en la escuela.

No olvide:

Ingresar a la página de Internet MyECLS para completar la nueva encuesta de primavera 2025, para padres/ madres/tutores o guardianes legales, si aún no lo ha hecho. Use el PIN que va incluido en los materiales del estudio que envié a su hogar recientemente.
Que hay información detallada sobre el estudio en los materiales que envié a su casa hace un par de semanas, junto con una tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15 y un libro para niños para agradecerle por su tiempo y su esfuerzo. Usted puede activar su tarjeta prepagada en MyECLS. También recibirá un boletín anual con información del estudio y otros temas educativos.
El último día para completar su encuesta en el viernes 27 de junio. Es posible que reciba una llamada telefónica antes de la fecha límite para completar su encuesta con un(a) entrevistador(a).

¿Tiene preguntas, necesita ayuda u olvidó su información para ingresar a la página?

Por favor, envíe un correo electrónico al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o llame al teléfono 1-855-898-2018.
También puede comunicarse conmigo si tiene alguna pregunta.

¿Por qué es tan importante el programa ECLS-K:2024? Nos ayuda a entender más sobre cómo los niños aprenden.

Puede encontrar más resultados de los estudios anteriores de ECLS y de otras encuestas del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. en la página principal de MyECLS.

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

Second Survey Completion Reminder Text Message
for Parents/Guardians (upon request) (English)
Spring 2025

Hello! Please don’t miss out on participating in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). The last day to complete your spring 2025 survey is June 27. Your information packet and email from our school have directions on how to log on to the MyECLS website to activate your $15 prepaid Mastercard® and complete the survey. Please let us know if you have any questions or call the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018.

Second Survey Completion Reminder Text Message
for Parents/Guardians (upon request) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

¡Hola! Por favor, no se pierda la oportunidad de participar en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU. El último día para completar su encuesta de primavera 2025 es el 27 de junio. Su paquete de información y el correo electrónico que le envió nuestra escuela tienen instrucciones sobre cómo visitar la página de Internet MyECLS para activar su tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15 y completar la encuesta. Por favor, díganos si tiene alguna pregunta o llame al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 al 1-855-898-2018.

Second Survey Completion Reminder Email for Teachers
and School Administrators
(attached to second SC email)
Spring 2025

Subject: Reminder to complete your ECLS-K:2024 web survey(s)!

Dear Colleague:

I appreciate your willingness to participate in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! This is a friendly reminder to complete your web survey(s).

How to complete the surveys:

Log on to the MyECLS website.
- You will be prompted to enter the PIN you were provided in an email a few weeks ago. If you cannot find the PIN, please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

The website contains links to each of the surveys you are being asked to complete. Please log on to the website and complete the survey(s) by Friday, June 27.
<To thank you for your help, you received a monetary token of appreciation; you will <also> periodically receive a newsletter with study and other educational information.> At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of your efforts to support the study.

Questions or need help?

Please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.
You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.
If parents/guardians ask you about the study, please encourage them to participate and direct them to me if they have any questions.

Thank you again!

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Third Survey Completion Reminder Email for School Coordinators
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024—Survey Completion Reminder

Dear <School Coordinator name>:

We do not have much longer until the current phase of the ECLS-K:2024 ends. Please help us obtain as many complete surveys as possible from your school’s parents/guardians and staff.

What you need to do:

Review the MyECLS website to see which parents/guardians and school staff still need to complete their surveys.
Email the attached reminders to those parents/guardians and teachers who have not yet completed the survey. Text reminders for parents/guardians are available upon request if you prefer texting.
The last day for completing the surveys is Friday, June 27.

Our ECLS-K:2024 team members want to assist you in these efforts. Please email or call your ECLS-K:2024 representative to discuss how we can help follow up with parents/guardians and school staff.

Do parents/guardians or school staff need help completing the survey?

Anyone who needs help can contact us at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018.

We want to hear from as many of your school staff and parents/guardians as possible! Thank you for helping us meet this goal.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments:

Survey Reminder Emails for Parents/Guardians

Survey Reminder Email for Teachers and School Administrators

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Third Survey Completion Reminder Email for Parents/Guardians
(attached to third SC email) (English)
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024 spring 2025 survey ending soon!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Thanks again for participating in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)!

I know you are very busy, but the last day to complete your survey is quickly approaching. We would like to have all surveys completed by Friday, June 27. You may receive a phone call sooner than the due date to complete your survey with an interviewer.

To participate: Log on to the MyECLS website to complete your survey if you have not done so already. Details about the study were provided in the materials I sent home several weeks ago along with a prepaid Mastercard® worth $15 upon activation and a children’s book to thank you for your time and effort. You will also receive a yearly newsletter with study and other educational information.

Questions, need help, or forgot your log-in information? Please email the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018. You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Third Survey Completion Reminder Email for Parents/Guardians
(attached to third SC email) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Subject: ¡Ya pronto termina la encuesta de primavera 2025 de ECLS-K:2024!

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

¡Gracias de nuevo por participar en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.!

Sé que está muy ocupado(a), pero el último día para completar su encuesta se acerca rápidamente. Nos gustaría que todas las encuestas se completaran antes del viernes 27 de junio. Es posible que reciba una llamada telefónica antes de la fecha límite para completar su encuesta con un(a) entrevistador(a).

Para participar: Ingrese a la página de Internet MyECLS para completar la encuesta, si aún no lo ha hecho. Se proporcionaron detalles sobre el estudio en los materiales que envié a su casa hace varias semanas, junto con una tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15 y un libro para niños para agradecerle por su tiempo y esfuerzo. También recibirá un boletín anual con información del estudio y otros temas educativos.

¿Tiene preguntas, necesita ayuda u olvidó su información para ingresar a la página? Por favor, envíe un correo electrónico al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o llame al teléfono 1-855-898-2018. También puede comunicarse conmigo si tiene alguna pregunta.

¿Por qué es tan importante el programa ECLS-K:2024? Nos ayuda a entender más sobre cómo los niños aprenden.

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

Third Survey Reminder Text Message for Parents/Guardians
(upon request) (English)
Spring 2025

We know you are very busy, but the last day to complete your Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) survey is June 27. Please log on to the MyECLS website to complete your survey, if you have not already done so. Please contact our school or call the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018 if you have any questions.

Third Survey Reminder Text Message for Parents/Guardians
(upon request) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Sabemos que está muy ocupado(a), pero el último día para completar su encuesta del Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) es el 27 de junio. Por favor, ingrese a la página de Internet MyECLS para completar su encuesta, si aún no lo ha hecho. Por favor, contacte a nuestra escuela o llame al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 al 1-855-898-2018 si tiene alguna pregunta.

Third Survey Completion Reminder Email for Teachers
and School Administrators
(attached to third SC email)
Spring 2025

Subject: Current phase of ECLS-K:2024 ending soon!

Dear Colleague:

I know you are very busy, but the last day to complete the ECLS-K:2024 survey(s) is June 27. Your participation would go a long way toward helping the study provide valuable information for parents/guardians, schools, researchers, and policymakers.

How to complete the surveys:

Log on to the MyECLS website to complete the survey(s) if you have not done so already.

<To thank you for your help, you received a monetary token of appreciation.> At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of your efforts to support the study.

Questions or need help?

Please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018.
You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.
If parents/guardians ask you about the study, please encourage them to participate and direct them to me if they have any questions.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Fourth Survey Completion Reminder Email for School Coordinators
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024—One Last Survey Reminder

Dear <School Coordinator name>:

Thank you for all you have done to make the ECLS-K:2024 a success in your school!

This is the final reminder to check on the completion of this spring’s parent/guardian and school staff surveys. If any parents/guardians and school staff still need to complete their surveys, please remind them that the last day is Friday, June 27.

Email reminder templates are attached for you to send. (A text message reminder template is also available upon request.) When emailing or texting the school administrator, teachers, and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

If you have any questions, please contact the us at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments

Survey Reminder Emails for Parents/Guardians

Survey Reminder Emails for Teachers and School Administrators

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Fourth Survey Completion Reminder Email for Parents/Guardians
(attached to fourth SC email) (English)
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024—One Last Survey Reminder

Dear Parent/Guardian:

We are making every effort to finish strong for the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! If you have not already completed your spring survey, please do so by Friday, June 27. You may receive a phone call sooner than the due date to complete your survey with an interviewer. We are really counting on your participation!

To participate: Log on to the MyECLS website to complete your survey. Details about the study were provided in the materials I sent home several weeks ago along with a prepaid Mastercard® worth $15 upon activation and a children’s book to thank you for your time and effort. You will also receive a yearly newsletter with study and other educational information.

Questions, need help, or forgot your log-in information? For any questions, please email the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018. You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Fourth Survey Completion Reminder Email for Parents/Guardians
(attached to fourth SC email) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024—Último recordatorio para la encuesta

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

¡Estamos haciendo todo lo posible para terminar con éxito el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.! Si aún no ha completado su encuesta de primavera, por favor, hágalo antes del viernes 27 de junio. Es posible que reciba una llamada telefónica antes de la fecha límite para completar su encuesta con un(a) entrevistador(a). ¡Realmente estamos contando con su participación!

Para participar: Ingrese a la página de Internet MyECLS para completar su encuesta. Se proporcionaron detalles sobre el estudio en los materiales que envié a su casa hace varias semanas, junto con una tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® con un valor de $15 una vez activada y un libro para niños para agradecerle por su tiempo y su esfuerzo. También recibirá un boletín anual con información del estudio y otros temas educativos.

¿Tiene preguntas, necesita ayuda, u olvidó su información para ingresar a la página? Para cualquier pregunta, por favor, envíe un correo electrónico al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o llame al teléfono 1-855-898-2018. También puede comunicarse conmigo si tiene alguna pregunta.

¿Por qué es tan importante el programa ECLS-K:2024? Nos ayuda a entender más sobre cómo los niños aprenden.

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

Fourth Survey Completion Reminder Text for Parents/Guardians
(upon request) (English)
Spring 2025

We are making every effort to finish strong for the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! If you have not already completed your survey, please do so today by logging on to the MyECLS website. We are really counting on your participation! Please contact our school or call the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018 if you have any questions. Thank you!

Fourth Survey Completion Reminder Text for Parents/Guardians
(upon request) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

¡Estamos haciendo todo lo posible para terminar con éxito el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU! Si aún no ha completado su encuesta, por favor, hágalo hoy mismo, visitando la página de Internet MyECLS. ¡Realmente estamos contando con su participación! Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor, comuníquese con nuestra escuela, o llame al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 al 1-855-898-2018. ¡Gracias!

Fourth Survey Completion Reminder Email for Teachers and
School Administrators
(attached to fourth SC email)
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024—One Last Survey Reminder

Dear Colleague:

We are making every effort to finish strong for the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! If you have not already completed your survey(s), please do so today. We are really counting on your participation!

How to complete the surveys:

Log on to the MyECLS website. The website contains links to each of the surveys you are being asked to complete. <To thank you for your help, you received a monetary token of appreciation.> At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of your efforts to support the study.

Questions or need help?

Please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Final Survey Completion Reminder Email for School Coordinators
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024 survey deadline extended till <DATE>!

Dear <School Coordinator name>:

We are making every effort to collect as much data as possible for the ECLS-K:2024 so the survey deadline is being extended until <DATE>.

An Email reminder templates are attached for you to send. (A text message reminder template is also available upon request.) When emailing or texting teachers and parents/guardians, please help us to maintain confidentiality by not revealing the names of study participants. We encourage you to send individual messages. If you choose to send a group message, please be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses or phone numbers of others included on the message.

If you have any questions, please contact us at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018.

Thank you!

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachments

Reminder Emails for Parents/Guardians

Reminder Emails for Teachers

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Final Survey Completion Reminder Email for Parents/Guardians
(attached to final SC email) (English)
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024 survey deadline extended until <DATE>!

Dear Parent/Guardian:

Your response is so important to us that we’ve extended the due date to make sure you have a chance to reply. Please respond to your ECLS-K:2024 survey until <DATE>. If you have not already completed your survey, please do so today. We are really counting on your participation!

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Final Survey Completion Reminder Email for Parents/Guardians
(attached to final SC email) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Subject: ¡El plazo para completar la encuesta ECLS-K:2024 se extendió hasta el <DATE>!

Estimado(a) padre o madre/tutor(a) o guardián(a) legal:

Su respuesta es tan importante para nosotros que hemos extendido el plazo para completar la encuesta, para asegurarnos de que tenga la oportunidad de participar. Por favor, complete su encuesta ECLS-K:2024; tiene hasta el <DATE> para hacerlo. Si aún no ha completado su encuesta, por favor, hágalo hoy mismo. ¡Realmente estamos contando con su participación!

Para participar: Ingrese a la página de Internet MyECLS para completar la encuesta. Se proporcionaron detalles sobre el estudio en los materiales que envié a su casa hace varias semanas junto con una tarjeta prepagada Mastercard® de $15 y un libro para niños para agradecerle por su tiempo y su esfuerzo. También recibirá un boletín anual con información del estudio y otros temas educativos.

¿Tiene preguntas, necesita ayuda u olvidó su información para ingresar a la página? Para cualquier pregunta, por favor, envíe un correo electrónico al equipo de ECLS-K:2024 a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com o llame al teléfono 1-855-898-2018. También puede comunicarse conmigo si tiene alguna pregunta.

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

Final Survey Completion Reminder Text for Parents/Guardians
(upon request) (English)
Spring 2025

We have extended the deadline until <DATE> to complete your survey for the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024)! If you have not already completed your survey, please do so today by logging on to the MyECLS website. Please contact our school or call the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018 if you have any questions. Thank you!

Final Survey Completion Reminder Text for Parents/Guardians
(upon request) (Spanish)
Spring 2025

¡Hemos extendido hasta el <DATE> el plazo para completar su encuesta del Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024), del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU.! Si aún no ha completado su encuesta, por favor, hágalo hoy mismo, ingresando a la página de Internet MyECLS. Si tiene alguna pregunta, por favor, comuníquese con nuestra escuela, o llame al equipo del estudio ECLS-K:2024 al 1-855-898-2018. ¡Gracias!

Final Survey Completion Reminder Email for School Staff
(attached to final SC email)
Spring 2025

Subject: ECLS-K:2024 survey deadline extended until <DATE>!

Dear Colleague:

Your response is so important to us that we’ve extended the due date to make sure you have a chance to reply. Please respond to your ECLS-K:2024 survey until <DATE>. If you have not already completed your survey(s), please do so today. We are really counting on your participation!

How to complete the survey(s):

Log on to the MyECLS website. The website contains links to each of the surveys you are being asked to complete. <To thank you for your help, you received a monetary token of appreciation.> At the end of the school year, you will receive a Certificate of Contribution from the U.S. Department of Education in recognition of your efforts to support the study.

Questions or need help?

Please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or call 1-855-898-2018.

You can also reach out to me if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

Why is the ECLS-K:2024 program so important? It helps us better understand how children learn.

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

SC Cover Letter for the Abbreviated Parent/

Guardian Survey Letter
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear School Coordinator:

In order to collect information from as many parents/guardians as possible, we created a brief ECLS-K:2024 parent/guardian paper survey, in addition to the longer survey we have been administering this spring.

Enclosed in this package you will find envelopes that each contain a brief parent/guardian paper survey. These are for the parents or guardians of participating children for whom we do not yet have a completed web survey. Although this survey is voluntary, we hope that each parent or guardian will complete and return it to the ECLS-K:2024 team using the enclosed business reply envelope. Each envelope is labeled with a study child’s name and their teacher's name. Please ask these teachers to place the survey envelope in the named child's backpack to take home to their parent/guardian.

If you would like assistance distributing these envelopes, please contact the ECLS representative working with your school. You may also contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at ECLS@westat.com or 1-855-898-2018, or visit MyECLS.ed.gov.

Thank you again for your time and for supporting this important national education research study.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat

Abbreviated Parent/Guardian Survey Letter
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear Parent/Guardian:

A few weeks ago we sent home materials for your participation in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). We are nearing completion of the spring 2025 phase of the ECLS-K:2024 and we would really like to hear from you! Please take a few minutes to complete this short survey about your child.

We know how busy you are so this survey should only take 5 minutes to complete.

To participate:

The survey should be filled out about your child named on the envelope that contained this letter.
Complete the front and back of survey.
Return the survey to Westat, the data collection contractor for the ECLS-K:2024, in the enclosed, postage-paid envelope.

As a thank you for your time and efforts, we previously sent you a Mastercard worth $15. To activate the card, visit the study website at http://myecls.ed.gov and enter the unique PIN that was enclosed in the study materials sent home to you several weeks ago, along with a children’s book. If you can no longer find the PIN, please contact the study team at 1-855-898-2018.

By completing this short survey, you will help provide context for the thousands of child assessments and school staff surveys that have already been completed across the country this year as a part of the ECLS-K:2024. If you decide that you would like to provide more information by completing the full parent/guardian survey, which takes approximately 45 minutes, please contact the study team at 1-855-898-2018.

Thank you in advance for your participation in this important study.

Shape9

Learn more and watch a video to see the study experience for students.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat

Abbreviated Parent/Guardian Survey Letter (Spanish)
Spring 2025

Primavera de 2025

Estimado(a) padre, madre o tutor(a):

Hace algunas semanas le enviamos a su hogar unos materiales para que participe en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, Clase de kindergarten 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). Se acerca el final de la etapa de primavera de 2025 del estudio ECLS-K:2024 y nos gustaría mucho saber de usted. Por favor tómese unos minutos para completar esta breve encuesta acerca de su niño(a).

Dado que sabemos que usted está muy ocupado(a), completar esta encuesta tomará solamente unos 5 minutos.

Para participar:

La encuesta debe completarse con referencia a su niño(a) cuyo nombre aparece en el sobre en que vino esta carta.
Complete la parte de adelante y de atrás de la encuesta.
Utilice el sobre prepagado que aquí le enviamos para devolver la encuesta a Westat, la compañía que tiene el contrato para la recopilación de datos de ECLS-K:2024.

Como agradecimiento por su tiempo y su esfuerzo, le habíamos enviado anteriormente una tarjeta Mastercard con valor de $15. Para activar la tarjeta, visite la página del estudio en Internet, en http://myecls.ed.gov. e ingrese su PIN único que le enviamos con los materiales del estudio que mandamos a su casa hace varias semanas, junto con un libro para niños. Si no puede encontrar su PIN, por favor, contacte al equipo del estudio llamando al 1-855-898-2018.

Al completar esta breve encuesta, nos ayudará a entender el contexto de las miles de evaluaciones de niños y encuestas del personal escolar que ya se han completado este año en todo el país como parte de ECLS-K:2024. Si decide que le gustaría dar más información respondiendo a la encuesta para padres/guardián en su totalidad, lo cual toma unos 45 minutos, por favor, contacte al equipo del estudio al teléfono 1-855-898-2018.

Shape10

Infórmese más y vea un video para ver cómo es la experiencia del estudio para los estudiantes.

Gracias de antemano por su participación en este importante estudio.

Atentamente,

Elizabeth Bissett

Project Director, ECLS-K:2024

Westat

El ECLS-K:2024 lo está llevando a cabo el Centro Nacional para Estadísticas de Educación (NCES por sus siglas en inglés), dentro del Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación (IES por sus siglas en inglés), del Departamento de Educación de los EE.UU.

El Centro Nacional para Estadísticas de Educación (NCES) está autorizado a hacer el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia (ECLS por sus siglas en inglés) por el Acta de Reforma de las Ciencias de la Educación de 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). La firma Westat, una organización que realiza estudios y está basada en los Estados Unidos, está recopilando los datos para NCES. Toda la información que usted proporcione podrá usarse solamente para propósitos estadísticos y no podrá divulgarse ni usarse de manera que permita identificar a los participantes para ningún otro propósito, salvo que lo requiera la ley (20 U.S.C. §9573 y 6 U.S.C. §151). Se combinará la información recopilada de todos los participantes para producir reportes estadísticos.

School Coordinator Thank You Letter Distribution
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>,

Thank you for all of your work in coordinating the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) at your school. Enclosed is a Certificate of Contribution to recognize your support of our study.

Also enclosed please find materials for the school staff who participated in this study, thanking them for their efforts in making the study a success. Please distribute them at your convenience. <Note that the materials for your school’s principal include a $300/$250 check and a magazine subscription for the school as a token of our appreciation.> We will also send you an email with a thank you message to send to the parents/guardians of the selected children.

You can find further information about the study and our progress at nces.ed.gov/ecls/.

Thank you again for your support of the ECLS-K:2024 this year. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

School Administrator and Teacher Thank You Letter
Spring 2025

Spring 2025

Dear <NAME>,

Thank you for participating in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K:2024). The study has been very successful thus far because of the cooperation and participation of the children, parents/guardians, teachers, school administrators, and schools selected to take part. You can find further information about the study and our progress at nces.ed.gov/ecls/.

<TEXT FOR SPRING 2025:

TEACHERS: Enclosed is a Certificate of Contribution as a token of our appreciation for your participation.

SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS: Enclosed is <a check for $300/$250 and a magazine subscription for the school as a token of our appreciation for your school’s participation. We have also included> a Certificate of Contribution to recognize your participation in the study.>

Thank you again for your support of the ECLS-K:2024 this year. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Thank You Email for School Coordinators
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Thank you from the ECLS-K:2024!

Dear <SCHOOL COORDINATOR NAME>:

Thank you again for all your help in coordinating the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) at your school. We truly couldn’t have done it without you!

We hope you will give our thanks to the participating children, parents/guardians, and school staff. An email for parents/guardians is attached for you to distribute. Please help us to maintain confidentiality by sending this email individually or, if sending a group message, be sure to blind-copy recipients so that they cannot see the names and email addresses of others included on the message.

Thank you letters and Certificates of Contribution for the school staff were mailed to you for distribution.

You can find further information about the study at nces.ed.gov/ecls/. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Thank you again for your support of the ECLS-K:2024 this year!

Sincerely,

The ECLS-K:2024 Team

Attachment

Thank You Email Template for Parents/Guardians

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Thank You Email for Parents/Guardians (English)
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: Thank you for participating in the ECLS-K:2024!

Dear Parents/Guardians:

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education, our school, and our students, I want to thank you for your continuing participation in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). The study results will help educators and policymakers learn more about what children in our nation’s schools know and how their school experience can be improved. We look forward to working with you again in the spring of 2027 when we conduct the next phase of the study..

You can find further information about the study at nces.ed.gov/ecls/. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the ECLS-K:2024 team at 1-855-898-2018 or ECLS@westat.com.

Thank you again for your support of this important study!

Sincerely,

School Coordinator for the ECLS-K:2024 Study

The ECLS-K:2024 is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

Thank You Email for Parents/Guardians (Spanish)
Spring 2025

SUBJECT: ¡Gracias por participar en ECLS-K:2024!

Estimados padres, madres y tutores/guardianes legales:

En nombre del Departamento de Educación de los EE. UU, de nuestra escuela y de nuestros estudiantes, quiero darles las gracias por su continua participación en el Estudio Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia, clase de kindergarten de 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024). Los resultados del estudio ayudarán a los educadores y legisladores a aprender más sobre qué saben los niños de las escuelas de nuestro país y de qué manera se pueden mejorar sus experiencias en la escuela. Esperamos con gusto continuar con la próxima parte de las actividades del estudio planeadas, en la primavera del 2027.

Puede encontrar más información sobre el estudio en nces.ed.gov/ecls/. Si tiene alguna pregunta o inquietud, por favor, comuníquese con el equipo de ECLS-K:2024 al número de teléfono 1-855-898-2018 o a la dirección electrónica ECLS@westat.com.

¡Gracias, de nuevo, por su apoyo a este importante estudio!

Atentamente,

Coordinador(a) escolar para el estudio ECLS-K:2024

Certification of Contribution
Spring 2025

PAGE WILL BE LANDSCAPE. TOP OF THE PAGE MAY CONTAIN THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION LOGO, AS ON THE STUDY LETTERHEAD. THE STUDY NAME WILL NOT BE USED.

[ED, IES, and/or NCES logo]

[RESPONDENT NAME]

The United States Department of Education recognizes and thanks you for your contributions.

By participating in our education study, you have given back to your community and the national educational system. Your support will help educators, families, and researchers improve schools and classrooms for future generations of students in this country. Thank you again for your interest and help with our study!

__________________________

[Name][Commissioner or other title]

National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences

U.S. Department of Education

Birthday Card
Fall 2024 and Spring/Summer 2025

Updated ECLS-K:2024 Letterhead
(As needed)

[ECLS study letterhead branding/logo]

Study Hyperlinks
Spring 2025

Various email and web addresses are used in the respondent materials contained in this attachment. As appropriate and feasible, the addresses have been hyperlinked where they appear. The table below summarizes each of these hyperlinked addresses for reference. To be taken to the specific web or email address, click on the link in the table below.

Email or web address	Description of address
nces.ed.gov/ecls	NCES’ ECLS website
MyECLS.ed.gov	The ECLS-K:2024 website for study respondents
ECLS@westat.com	The email address for the study’s help desk
jill.mccarroll@ed.gov	The email address for the ECLS Study Director

File Type	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
File Modified	0000-00-00
File Created	2024-09-13

ECLS Att A-2 Spring 1 R Materials v31 (1)

ECLS Att A-2 Spring 1 R Materials v31.docx

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) August 2024 Materials Revision Request