In 2018, state leaders in Maine determined that their efforts to support children and their families were hampered by the lack of coordination among key stakeholders--early education and care providers, public school educators, and health and social services providers. Addressing these challenges would require new forms of collaboration both among…

Early childhood educators have a unique opportunity to foster the development of cognitive, behavioral, and social skills. But the work is not easy. Effective educators need both a deep understanding of child development and mastery of a complex set of skills to meet the learning needs of young children. Accordingly, there is a growing demand…

By providing early access to education, early childhood and community-based programs are helping to close the achievement gap prevalent among children from impoverished homes.

New York is poised to take an important step to improve student achievement by expanding learning time for students attending high-poverty, low-performing schools. Recent district- and state-level investments in expanded learning time--a promising strategy to close achievement and opportunity gaps--will give students more time to learn core…

About 80,000 children enter kindergarten in Washington each year, and many lack basic language and behavioral skills--such as knowing letters and colors, following directions, getting along with others, and exhibiting impulse-control. In 2006, based on the recommendation of the Washington Learns Commission, Governor Christine Gregoire created the…

This report describes efforts to provide seamless transitions from early to elementary education. Specifically, it details SPARK (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids), a five-year initiative funded by the Kellogg Foundation, which has contributed a unique, community-based perspective to the national conversation on what it takes to…

This article describes the initiation of a statewide public-private partnership to expand and enhance services for infants, toddlers, and their families. It presents information regarding the initiation and implementation of the project; the program requirements, including those for professional development; and the design of a three-phase program…

This report describes the implementation and results of the Utah Community Partnership for Character Development, a 4-year grant funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The project was initiated in January 1996, in 50 schools from 4 school districts in Salt Lake City (Utah) and neighboring communities. The grant included more than 65 schools…

The mission of the Center of Families, Communities, Schools & Children's Learning is to conduct research, evaluation, and policy analyses aimed at increasing knowledge about how families, schools, and communities influence student motivation, learning, and development, as well as how to strengthen the connections between these three major…

This newsletter theme issue describes a state-local team partnership model for interagency transition efforts for young adults with deaf-blindness. Excepts from a presentation by Jane M. Everson identify key aspects and characteristics of effective state and local interagency partnerships. These include: (1) strategies for initiating and…

In 1999, South Carolina's First Steps to School Readiness was launched as a comprehensive early childhood initiative to improve childrens school readiness by improving the efficiency and coordination of existing services to children from birth to age 5 and their families, and by providing new services where gaps are identified. A legislatively…

This report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project designed to provide training and technical assistance to families and professionals working with children and youth with severe disabilities in developing and implementing effective educational programs in school and community environments. The project was implemented in collaboration…

Selected successful literacy coalitions were examined to identify key issues and trends in coalition building. The six key issues identified (focus and functions, funding, governance, membership, key figures, and evaluation) were used as a framework to review the early efforts, current activities, and future visions of literacy coalitions…

Since the passage of legislation (Public Act 85-283) requiring Illinois colleges to report every 3 years the progress made to increase the participation and advancement of underrepresented groups, the state's community colleges have used both special population grant funds and local college funds to address the needs of these groups. This report…

Based on interviews and document analysis, an evaluation of Year 3 of the Capital Area Education and Careers Partnership (CAECP) assessed its initiatives to help youth and young adults advance their educational and workplace achievements in pursuit of satisfying, productive careers. CAECP improved school-based learning activity objectives by…