Purpose: This paper describes the rationale and key aspects of how one school-university partnership leveraged resources to create, implement and refine an innovative professional pathway called the Early Childhood Certificate (ECC) program which reflects the National Professional Development Schools (NAPDS) Essential Guideline 4: Reflection and…

Following a high-quality early care and pre-K experience, the kindergarten-through-third-grade years set the foundation upon which future learning builds; and strengthening this continuum creates opportunities for later success. Key components of a quality experience in K-3 include school readiness and transitions, kindergarten requirements,…

Evidence suggests that participation in high quality early childhood education supports the school readiness of young children. Therefore, it is important to understand whether children from different geographic regions, such as urban and rural neighborhoods, have comparable access to high quality programs. This study explores whether neighborhood…

A primary goal of North Carolina's Quality Rating Improvement System is to encourage early childhood education sites to maintain and improve their programmatic and educational quality. Because higher quality sites can better support young children's school readiness, it is important for education leaders to understand the complex factors that may…

This appendix accompanies the report, "Are Neighborhood Factors Associated with the Quality of Early Childhood Education in North Carolina? REL 2021-034." It describes the study's primary and supplemental sample selection procedures, how eligible postsecondary institutions for the study were identified, geocoding procedures, how counts…

The dearth of attention to leadership in early care and education (ECE) undermines the field's capacity to deliver the high quality care that makes a difference for children and families most in need. Almost no opportunities or systems exist to develop and support ECE leadership for improvement and innovation. Unlike in many other professions,…

The Condition of Education is a congressionally mandated annual report summarizing important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The 2019 Condition of Education report presents 48 indicators on topics ranging from prekindergarten through postsecondary education, as well as labor force outcomes and international…