The Ready for School, Ready for Life initiative in Guilford County, North Carolina, aims to support interconnected programs and services for young children and their families with the goal of having children enter kindergarten ready for learning. The initiative aims to strengthen connections among existing programs in Guilford County and provide…

Background/Context: In 2010, Reading Recovery was awarded a $55 million Investing in Innovation (i3) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This five-year grant supported the expansion of Reading Recovery in more than 1,400 schools in over 30 states, and provided intervention to over 80,000 students. Although a multi-site randomized…

In this dissertation, I examine how two major social programs in Kentucky--state-funded preK and Family Resource and Youth Service Centers--impact children's outcomes across the state, including racial, ethnic, and economic equity through elementary school. In each chapter, I will analyze how early childhood opportunities relate to outcomes…

Based on growing evidence of the long-term benefits of enriched early childhood experiences, we evaluate the potential for addressing gender disparities in elementary school through early care and education programs. Specifically, we explore the community-wide effects of two statewide initiatives in North Carolina on gender differences in academic…

Two decades ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court in "Abbott v. Burke" mandated that the state establish high quality preschool education in the 31 highest-poverty school districts. New Jersey created a pre-K program with high standards and a continuous improvement system that transformed a patchwork of private and public programs into a…

The purpose of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) and Head Start Collaborative programs is to share the responsibility for closing the achievement gap between economically-disadvantaged children and their more affluent peers. HISD collaborates with the following four Head Start agencies: AVANCE-Houston, Inc. (AVANCE), Gulf Coast…

The Houston Independent School District (HISD) currently offers free, full-day prekindergarten programs to all eligible students within the district's attendance boundaries. This evaluation compares the academic achievement of third-grade students who were previously enrolled in HISD prekindergarten programs during the 2012-2013 school year to…

This study examines the community-wide effects of investments in two early childhood initiatives in North Carolina (Smart Start and More at Four) on the likelihood of a student being placed into special education. We take advantage of variation across North Carolina counties and years in the timing of the introduction and funding levels of the two…

Requirements of No Child Left Behind have caused tremendous interest in the effectiveness of preschool education programs. Intervention programs such as Head Start have existed for children with academic, social, or emotional delays. These programs provided services to help remediate deficits that are often observed in children from less…

This study hypothesized that HISD prekindergarten participation consistently correlated with better educational outcomes for students. Taking into account students' age differences through kindergarten enrollment, propensity score matching controlled for students' background characteristics. Three cohorts of students in this study were eligible or…

Due to No Child Left Behind legislation, state education officials are increasing programs and funding for early childhood interventions. Missouri's Parents as Teachers Program (PAT) is one such program that works to increase students' academic achievement in school and on standardized tests. This study explored one Missouri school district's…

In 2007 Georgia instituted a flexibility policy through which school districts enter into performance contracts with the state, receiving waivers from state rules, provisions, and guidelines in exchange for agreeing to meet annual accountability targets. The performance contracts are intended to incentivize innovations that increase achievement…

These are the appendixes for the report, "District Changes in Student Achievement and Local Practice under Georgia's District and School Flexibility Policy." Five appendixes are included in the document: (1) About the study; (2) Data and methods; (3) Supporting analysis; (4) Survey instrument; and (5) Interview protocol. [For the full…

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the Home Improvement for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program on school performance during the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th grades. The study employed a quasi-experimental, post-hoc design using existing data on children who participated in the HIPPY program as 3-, 4-, or 5-year-olds, including:…

This qualitative study used an ethnographic method to investigate teachers' perceptions of reading interventions delivered in a state-funded early intervention program (EIP). Academically at-risk students struggle to meet grade-level standards year after year, even with interventions involving small group, targeted assistance. Teacher perceptions…