For more than 20 years, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (United Way) has made high-quality early care and education a cornerstone priority of its investment strategy. United Way has also been a longtime champion of school readiness for the youngest children in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 1996, the organization joined…

Aim: The development of a trauma-informed approach to closing the poverty-related attainment gap called Readiness for Learning (R4L). This is a project funded by the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC). This paper reports on a strand of the intervention that took place in two Primary One classrooms over the academic session 2017/18. Method: This…

Federal policy changes for Head Start (HS) elevate the importance of measured academic performance over other traditional program aims, particularly those associated with the social-emotional development of children. Concerned about the possible effects of these changes on children, based on observations and interviews, detailed portraits of…

This report provides a summary of the Home Instruction of Parents with Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) program activities and its effectiveness for HISD student participants. A total of 577 students and their parents participated in the Houston Independent School District (HISD) HIPPY program during the 2013-2014 academic year, which was more than…

Preschool experience plays a role in children's development. However, for programs with language and early literacy goals, the question remains whether preschool instructional experiences are sufficiently effective to achieve these goals for all children. In a multisite study, the authors conducted a process-product description of preschool…

Described here is a study on the efficacy of a digital media-rich curriculum based on the idea that children can learn best from "media synergy", that is, when children have opportunities to learn skills by engaging in repeated practice with them in many different formats and media (Neuman, 1995). The study is part of the "Ready to…

Project Early Kindergarten (PEK) aims to improve the school-readiness of Saint Paul children and help close the achievement gap through offering high-quality educational experiences for preschool children. This report comes at the conclusion of the sixth year of PEK. Following an initial planning year (2004-05), PEK has served children through the…

The Saint Paul Public Schools' Project Early Kindergarten program aims to improve the school readiness of Saint Paul children. The program offers a rigorous academic approach and targets children who are English Language Learners, come from low-income families, or need Special Education services. Ultimately, the program intends to help close Saint…

In February 2007, First 5 LA contracted with Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) and its subcontractors, Juarez and Associates, American Institutes for Research (AIR), and Berkeley Evaluation and Assessment Research (BEAR) Center, to conduct the First 5 LA/LAUP Universal Preschool Child Outcomes Study (UPCOS). The authors conducted the study…

This introductory packet discusses early development and learning, and summarizes the research base for early childhood interventions. The packet also examines implications for school readiness, identifies good practice to promote healthy early development and address barriers, and presents resources and references. The packet's introductory…

Research shows that many primary grade students need extra-year options and benefit from them as they start their schooling. This book provides information about school readiness and transition programs in the United States, documenting the need for and success of such programs as a countermeasure to grade retention, as well as the negative…