Parents, Families & Communities
Educators and Professionals


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U. S. Department of Education
President Obama has established a goal that, by 2020, the United States will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. Meeting this goal is vital to our long-term economic security and to preparing young people and adults to be active citizens. Reaching the President's goal will require comprehensive education reforms from cradle to career, beginning with children at birth, supporting them through high school and postsecondary education, and helping them to succeed as lifelong learners who can adapt to the constant changes in the demands of the global economy. To monitor the Country's progress towards reaching our goal, the U.S. Department of Education presents the United States Education Dashboard. The Dashboard is intended to spur and inform conversations about how to improve educational results.

United States Education Dashboard

Head Start Information and Publication Center

Provides direct links to reports, guidebooks, and other online publications on child care partnerships and collaboration.

http://www.headstartinfo.org/infocenter/guides/cc_repor.htm
 

The Carolina Abecedarian Project

A carefully controlled scientific study on the potential benefits of early childhood education for low-income children.

http://www.highscope.org/search.asp?client=my_frontend&proxystylesheet=my_frontend&output=
xml_no_dtd&site=default_collection&q=The+Carolina+
Abecedarian+Project&proxyreload=1
 

Children's Defense Fund – State Developments in Child Care, Early Education and School-Age Care 2001

Published, in 2000, this update on state actions involving child care and early education issues examines changes in funding, eligibility, payment rates, quality initiatives, licensing, pre-kindergarten and Head Start programs.

http://www.childrensdefense.org/site/DocServer/statedevelopments01
.pdf?docID=911

 
Child Trends Research Brief "School Readiness: Helping Communities Get Children Ready for School and Schools Ready for Children"

Summarizes recommendations from the National Education Goals Panel for defining and assessing school readiness, and presents a framework for community investments based on an ecological view of child development. This brief updates an earlier version that Child Trends published in 2000.

http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2000_12_01_FR_ReadinessReview.pdf


The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study

Perhaps the most well known research from High/Scope, this study examines the lives of 123 young African Americans born in poverty from 1962 to 1967. The subjects were randomly divided into two groups: One group attended quality preschool based on High/Scope's active learning approach; the other group did not attend preschool. Ninety-five percent of the study participants were interviewed at age 27.

http://www.highscope.org/search.asp?client=my_frontend&proxystylesheet=my_frontend&output=xml_no_
dtd&site=default_collection&q=Perry+Preschool+Study&proxyreload=
1&btnSearch=Search
 

The Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin at Madison "Child Care Quality: Does It Matter and Does It Need to be Improved?"

An analysis of research provided by the Institute for Research on Poverty (University of Wisconsin at Madison) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This report discusses the economic justification for public intervention in order to improve the quality of non-parental child care, especially for children of lower-income families.

http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/ccquality00/ccqual.htm#intro
 

The Institute for Women's Policy Research "Building a Stronger Child Care Workforce: A Review of Studies of the Effectiveness of Public Compensation Initiatives"

Informs policymakers and the public on current initiatives that link professional development to increases in compensation for early childhood educators.

http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/CCW.pdf
 

National Association for the Education of Young Children Position Statements

A statement by the Governing Board to cite the Association's position on issues related to early childhood education practice, policy, and/or professional development.

http://naeyc.org/about/positions.asp

 
National Center for Early Development and Learning "Cost, Quality and Outcomes Study"

Examines the influence of typical center-based child care on childrenâ??s development during their preschool years and as they moved into formal elementary education.

http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~ncedl/PDFs/CQO-tr.pdf
 

The National Institute for Early Education Research "Learning In Mixed Company: Study Shows Low-Income Preschoolers Learn Better, Faster Alongside More Affluent Peers"

A study by St. Joseph College in West Hartford has found that low-income children attending preschool alongside more affluent children learned vocabulary and language skills six times faster than if they were schooled exclusively with other low-income children.

http://nieer.org/news/index.php?NewsID=141
 

Ounce of Prevention Fund and the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy Studies "Invest in the Very Young"

Dr. James J. Heckman, Nobel Laureate in Economic Sciences, explores the assumptions and foundations of current policies toward skill formation in young children. He emphasizes the importance of using available funds to improve the quality of early learning.

http://www.ounceofprevention.org/includes/tiny_mce/plugins/
filemanager/files/Heckman%20Invest%20in%20the%20Very%20Young%20Final%20PDF.pdf


Ounce of Prevention Fund and Zero to Three "Starting Smart: How Early Experiences Affect Brain Development"

A child's ability to understand language, solve problems, and get along well with others is strongly influenced by what they experience as an infant. There is mounting evidence that while early experiences help the brain develop, poor early experiences can cause a genetically normal child to develop serious mental and emotional difficulties.

http://www.ounceofprevention.org/includes/tiny_mce/plugins/
filemanager/files/Starting_Smart.pdf

 
Ounce of Prevention Fund "Safe Start: How Early Experiences Can Help Reduce Violence"

There is strong evidence that the propensity for violent behavior is influenced by many factors in early childhood. Safe Start explores these factors, examines the evidence that early childhood programs work to reduce crime, and spotlights a number of promising interventions designed to support a child's healthy development while reducing the risk of later violent behavior. These interventions include voluntary home visiting, early childhood care and education, and community-based programs for children who witness or are victims of violence.

http://www.ounceofprevention.org/includes/tiny_mce/plugins/
filemanager/files/Safe%20Start.pdf

 
The Prevention Institute "First Steps: Taking Action Early to Prevent Violence"

Research shows that in order to be successful, violence prevention must start in the first five years of life. The First Steps report, funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, and done in collaboration with Action Alliance for Children and Fight Crime: Invest in Kids California, synthesizes this research, presents best practices, and offers a comprehensive strategy to start effective violence prevention efforts at an early age.

http://www.preventioninstitute.org/firststeps.html

 
Ounce of Prevention Fund "Toward the ABCs: Building a Healthy Social and Emotional Foundation for Learning and Living"

This article strengthens public understanding of the importance of healthy social and emotional development in the first few years of life, and raises awareness of the characteristics of young children experiencing behavioral difficulties. The publication identifies promotion, prevention, and targeted intervention strategies for addressing the unique mental health needs of children under five and also provides important policy recommendations.

http://www.ounceofprevention.org/includes/tiny_mce/plugins/
filemanager/files/Towards_the_ABCs.pdf


Southern Institute on Children and Families "Southern Regional Action Plan to Improve the Quality of Early Care and Education", October 2002

This Action Plan sets forth a "gold standard" that the Task Force feels every southern state should achieve on behalf of all children in early care and education. The Action Plan addresses child care for children from birth through age 12.

http://www.thesoutherninstitute.org/docs/publications


National Institute for Early Education Research "Better Teachers, Better Preschools: Student Achievement Linked to Teacher Qualifications"

While America's kindergarteners are taught by professionals with at least a 4-year college degree, fewer than half of preschool teachers hold a BA.

http://nieer.org/resources/policybriefs/2.pdf


American Educator "The Early Catastrophe –The 30 Million Word Gap by Age 3"
By age three, children from privileged families have heard 30 million more words than children from disadvantaged families. By kindergarten the gap is even greater. The consequences are catastrophic.

http://www.aft.org/pubs-reports/american_educator/spring2003/catastrophe.html
 

Fight Crime: Invest in Kids-Reports "America's Child Care Crisis: A Crime Prevention Tragedy"

This report shows that quality educational child care for preschool-aged children and after-school programs for older kids lead to lower rates of crime and higher rates of high school graduation.

http://www.fightcrime.org/reports/childcarereport.pdf
 

MDRC "Welfare Reform, Work, and Child Care - The Role of Informal Care in the Lives of Low-Income Women and Children"

This policy briefly examines the ways in which low-income parents rely on informal child care arrangements in their efforts to balance the dual demands of working and raising a family.

http://www.mdrc.org/publications/353/policybrief.html
 
Perry Preschool Project Lifetime Effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool Project

According to the Perry Preschool Study, low-income children who attend high-quality preschool are more likely than their peers to be high school graduates, have higher incomes as adults and engage in less criminal activity. Beginning in 1962, the Michigan study followed 123 African American students from the time they were three or four years old until they turned 40.

http://www.highscope.org/Content.asp?ContentId=219