Partnerships, Action, and Collaboration, Together (PACT): A Community-Based Partnership Where Innovation, Collaboration, and Impact Reshape Stakeholders’ Vision

Abstract

Project PACT (Partnerships, Action, & Collaboration, Together) (a pseudonym) is a multi-stakeholder partnership that reflects multiple goals, commitments, and priorities for early childhood education. PACT was informed by the literature on community-based research (CBR) and a commitment by partners to strengthen P–3 education where stakeholder assets contributed to reciprocal learning experiences in early childhood education. PACT stakeholders transformed two early childhood education classrooms into Montessori classrooms within a district public school. As one in a series of investigations, this research specifically examined partner commitments to a unique collaboration, the emergence of roles and responsibilities over time, and manifestations of innovation within a traditional public school setting. Data illustrate how stakeholders established a collaboration that allowed for flexibility, perspective-taking, and the opportunity to work together to reconsider and strengthen P–3 education through a model typically reserved for children of affluence. Beyond the operational demands of a startup initiative, findings also reflect the power of a collective through flexibility and a stance that values the assets of a community. The impact of this work demonstrates the potential to successfully impact quality education in early childhood settings through equity and opportunity.