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Sustaining preschool gains:
New research project looks for strategies to address
the "fade-out" effect
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Credit: EdSource
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Can a high-quality
pre
school program, reinforced by system-wide alignment of instruction into elementary school, create positive outcomes for
young chil
dren on a range of skills that persist through the 3rd grade?
A new issue brief from nonprofit research organization MDRC introduces an important three-part research project called the ExCEL study, being conducted in partnership with the Boston Public Schools, the University of Michigan, and the Harvard Graduate School of Education which will explore that question and try to identify strategies for addressing the "fade-out" effect in gains from early learning observed in some studies.
The study will test several hypotheses about how to sustain positive gains from preschool. These include better alignment between preschools and elementary schools, the effects of different types of literacy teaching, and teaching from specific curricula that reinforce preschool learning. It will also explore whether there are lasting impacts from high-quality preschool, such as improved critical thinking and problem solving, that are not being adequately measured in program evaluations.
The six-year study will collect data on students from preschool through 3rd grade to examine the initial impact of a proven Boston preschool program, and the extent to which impacts are carried forward into elementary school. Two related research projects will focus on teacher training and the impact of summer enrichment programs.
Click here to read more about the project.
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The
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Credit: EdSource
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number of children living in poverty in the U.S. dropped a percentage point to 20 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to a new report, and fewer children were classified as living with food insecurity.
The annual study of child health and well-being
is from the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. The report, "
America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being" tracks more than 40 benchmarks in children's education, family supports, health, safety, and behavior for the nation's more than 73.6 million children from birth to age 17.
The report also found increases in the educational support that parents provide for young children, even in families in poverty. More than 70 percent of preschool-age children whose parents had not graduated from college read with their families at least three times a week in 2012, an increase from 60 percent in 2007.
A snapshot view of America's children is available at
this link, or to read more about the full study go
here.
A study from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, its annual Kids Count report, found California's child poverty rate to be 21 percent.
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Credit: Lillian Mongeau, EdSource
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Children born to low-income, first-time mothers who received home nursing visits showed increased mental health, stronger social and emotional development and academic gains, according to leading researchers who analyzed the impact of the Nurse-Family Partnership program, one of the largest home visiting programs in the country.
The researchers, led by Nobel Laureate
James Heckman, also found the program reduces anxiety and improves the parenting skills of mothers. It also has a positive impact on home environments and behavior skills in children, researchers found. Researchers said the benefits of the program "warrant continued and increased investment."
Go here to read more about the study. For more information about California's extensive home visiting program,
go here. Or read about it in EdSource
here.
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Self-control. Taking others' perspectives. Sharing and being kind. No longer the exclusive purview of preschool circle time, nurturing these skills in students is now a priority of the K-12 system -- and California is asking schools to improve the way they meet the emotional, as well as academic, needs of students.
Among the strategies is what's known as
social and emotional learning, which refers to an organized method of teaching students behavioral expectations, self-management and relationship skills.
A new EdSource FAQ by Jane Meredith Adams explains what social and emotional learning is, why schools say it matters and which school districts are paying the most attention to the concept. It includes links to a guide for preschool and elementary level social and emotional learning programs.
Go here to read more.
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Credit: Salvation Army USA West/flickr
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In a commentary for EdSource, Deborah Kong, acting executive director of Early Edge California points to
a new study by the American Institutes for Research that shows impressive results for dual language learners
--
a third of all kindergartners in California --
who participate in the state's Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program.
She writes, "Dual language learners,
both children who are learning two or more languages at the same time and those learning a second language while developing their home language, bring enormous assets to our schools, our communities, and our state. At the same time, they face an achievement gap compared to their English-only peers when they enter kindergarten. The study found clear advantages for English learners in Transitional Kindergarten over similar children who did not attend TK."
Go here to read more of Kong's commentary.
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As part of their
series of posts on early education in California, nonprofit think-tank New America points to California as a "leader" in improving access to and funding for early education, saying the state is "beating the national average when it comes to access to pre-K. Nationally, 32 percent of four-year-olds and 5 percent of three-year-olds are enrolled in state-funded pre-K. In California, however, that number jumps to 35 percent of four-year-olds and 9 percent of three-year-olds."
In a column for
U.S. News and World report, Katharine B. Stevens, a research fellow in education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute writes that there is "no evidence that kindergartners' scores on tests of basic academic skills correlates with -- much less causes -- children's well-being and success, in school or beyond. In fact, a handful of little-noted studies indicate that early non-academic skills may be much more important to children's long-term success."
"Pain points" in early education system leads to closure of respected Colorado child care center
When Clayton Early Learning in Denver, part of the national Educare network of child care centers serving at-risk children, announced it was closing, parents had to scramble to line up new child care arrangements. Behind the scenes, early childhood
advocates decried the budget shortfalls and funding cutbacks from multiple sources that caused the center's closure. Said Clayton's president and CEO Charlotte Brantley, "The industry runs on an absolute shoestring budget."
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