Improving teacher quality in early education is a major part of ensuring young children's school readiness and closing the achievement gap. This is the book decision-makers and administrators need to begin developing coordinated, effective teacher quality systems--ones that not only get teachers ready for the classroom, but also promote continuous…

This short pamphlet provides brief descriptions of the history (including population served), mission, achievements, and future plans of the Office of Child Development since its creation in 1969. (ED)

Described is the Program in Early Childhood Development (PECD), a school-community project initially funded under Title III to provide identification, diagnostic, and intervention services for 3-to 5-year-old children in Evanston, Illinois prior to kindergarten entry. Two major sections deal with screening procedures (in such areas as…

Described are 77 programs that have evolved to train teaching assistants, youth service aides, counselors, recreation aides, physical therapy assistants, child care workers, group home supervisors, interpreters, and other types of paraprofessionals for special education and related fields. Provided in an initial section is a brief analysis of…

Intended as a guide for professionals and local administrators in initiating and developing early intervention programs for handicapped children, the volume provides descriptions of 10 models and techniques presently utilized in Pennsylvania. Included are reports with the following titles and authors: "A System of Open Learning" (P.…

Described is the Magic Kingdom preschool screening program designed to provide an efficient, low cost, and comprehensive means for identifying children with special needs. Sections address the following program components: target population; definition of terms such as accomodations (facilities), admission ticket (preschool screening report), and…

Realia are toys, articles and other three-dimensional objects that a child handles, manipulates or plays with to gain direct experience and information about his/her environment. Realia may include: models, toys, games, tools, puppets, costumes, and musical instruments. Children of all socioeconomic levels have the same developmental needs for…

Described is a program in which two special education teachers from the Austin Early Childhood Special Education Program served as helping teachers with mildly handicapped kindergarten and first grade children in regular classes. It is explained that the goals of these helping teachers were to identify children with learning and/or behavior…

Reviewed are the goals and activities of the therapy services in the Austin Early Childhood Special Education Program. Specific sections detail activities for speech therapy (such as diagnostic assessment, habilitation, consultation, and reporting procedures), occupational therapy (including identification and assessment, and services to children,…

Activities involved in coordinating community services for handicapped children in the Austin Early Childhood Special Education (AECSE) Program are reviewed. Needs are explained to be identified through records review and appraisal of the health screening programs. Establishing priorities and developing cooperation between parents, staff, and the…

Described is the development and implementation of a competency based training program in special education administration. The historical development and components (including individualized and field-centered instruction) of the Special Education Administration Training Program (SEATP) are reviewed. Implementation of such a model is seen to…

Intended as a guide for school administrators, teachers, parents, and physicians interested in the education of the exceptional child, the manual lists and briefly outlines services available to handicapped and academically talented students in the Washoe County (Nevada) Schools. Among the topics covered are the philosophy of special education;…

Provided in the manual is descriptive and evaluative information on 67 instructional materials or programs frequently used with exceptional children in Alberta schools. A flow chart describes the three methods of using the manual: l) to obtain descriptive and evaluative information of an instruction program in the manual 2) to classify and record…

Reviewed is the practice of using children to teach other children; and described is an organized approach, Peer Assisted Learning, designed to assist the regular class placement of mildly handicapped students through peer involvement. Outlined are such steps as recruiting participants, delineating responsibilities, tutor training, implementation…

As part of a series of publications reporting the promising practices gleaned from pre-elementary Right to Read programs, this guidebook introduces its readers to the format used to describe the promising practices, provides statistical and descriptive information about the pre-elementary Right to Read programs, and describes each of the four…