Head Start monitoring assesses recipients' compliance with requirements governing Head Start programs, including those specified in the Head Start Act (original authorizing legislation in 1965 and its subsequent amendments, most recently in 2007); HSPPS; and other applicable federal, state, and local regulations. HSPPS include provisions…

Research Findings: In recent years, several initiatives have been put into place both federally and state-wide to expand access to high-quality early education programs. At the center of these efforts are the tools that measure program or classroom quality. The present study compares the psychometrics of two such tools used in Michigan, the…

Quality in early care and education (ECE) has been widely studied across several decades. There is not one standard definition of quality across ECE contexts. However, classroom quality often encompasses both structural features of quality, such as teacher-child ratios and teachers' qualifications, and process features of quality, such as…

Research Findings: We examined whether Head Start teachers' depressive symptoms are associated with their engagement in high-quality conversations with children, and we considered the extent to which this association is consistent across classroom contexts and activities. Observations of Head Start teachers' conversations with children were…

Objective: Data demonstrate that children in the USA eat below the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables, which has been linked with increased risk of obesity and low weight. Previous school-based interventions promoting healthy eating and enjoyment of food have yielded outcomes such as improved weight and children's willingness to try novel…

Research Findings: Preschool teachers' relationships with children are a critical component of classroom quality. We draw from a sample of N = 2,114 children attending Head Start to examine child-centered profiles of experiences across two dimensions of classroom interaction quality that are often considered separately: individual teacher-child…

Research Findings: Better understanding the correlates of teacher stress is critical to develop effective, targeted prevention and intervention efforts to decrease early childhood educator stress and ultimately improve outcomes for educators and young children. Previous studies of early childhood educator stress have mostly focused on teacher…

Detrimental circumstances (e.g., poverty, homelessness) may affect parents, parenting, and children. These circumstances may lead to children being labeled "at risk" for school failure. To ameliorate this risk, more school and school earlier (e.g., Head Start) is offered. To improve child outcomes, Head Start teachers are expected to…

Usage-based theories of language development underscore the importance of children using language to learn language. Few investigations have applied usage-based theories to dual language learners (DLLs), who comprise a growing share of children attending early education programs in the U.S. Three studies were carried out to investigate the role of…

Professional learning for teachers has become a staple in today's education continuous improvement system. Federal programs such as the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Program (RTTT), Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015, Elementary and Secondary Education Act and others have supported funds over the years to account for developing…

Children's Approaches to Learning (AtL) represents how children seek learning opportunities in their classrooms. It can include children's persistence, attention, and initiative. It has often been studied using a composite of a teacher-rated scale. However, person-centered approaches may account for heterogeneity in children's learning approaches,…

Early Head Start is a comprehensive, two-generation federal initiative for low-income pregnant women and families who have infants and toddlers ages 3 or younger. The Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) require center-based and family child care Early Head Start programs to "provide responsive care, effective teaching, and an…

Assuring the quality of early childhood education (ECE) settings is a fundamental consideration for supporting young children's learning and development. Head Start programs serve children and families living in poverty, highlighting the need for equitable and high-quality learning opportunities for these vulnerable populations, and the ECE…

This study involved a pilot implementation of an evidence based school readiness intervention in new community contexts. The Head Start Research Based, Developmentally Informed (REDI) program was implemented in preschools on and near a Native American reservation with both indigenous and non-indigenous students and teachers. The REDI curriculum…

Historic notions of academic rigor usually follow from critiques of the system--we often define our goals for academically rigorous work through the lens of our shortcomings. This chapter discusses how the Truman Commission in 1947 and the Spellings Commission in 2006 shaped the way we think about academic rigor in today's context.