Parents and guardians can be a powerful resource for teachers, but it takes skill and confidence to build partnerships, or parentships, and proactively engage in a positive way. Kyle Palmer draws from his experience as both a principal of a Model PLC at Work® school and a parent to offer practical strategies for including parents or guardians as…

California has a notable history of investing in educational leaders' professional learning. In 1983, the state launched the California School Leadership Academy (CSLA), which it funded until the academy was discontinued due to statewide budget cuts in 2003. Research showed that CSLA was a source of high-quality professional development. In 2019,…

Heterotopias are complex spaces characterized by the collision of the real (i.e., physical realm--who and what materials are present) and unreal (i.e., abstract realm--socially created meanings and understandings of the "real"; Foucault, 1986; Topinka, 2010). The early childhood classroom is a heterotopia in that it is a knowledge…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has made the assessment that COVID-19 (coronavirus) can be characterised as a pandemic and the virus has now spread to many countries and territories. While a lot is still unknown about the virus that causes COVID-19, we do know that it is transmitted through direct contact with respiratory droplets of an…

This revised Early Learning Framework is the culmination of a collaborative process that included early childhood educators, primary teachers, academics, Indigenous organizations, Elders, government, and other professionals. The first Early Learning Framework published in 2008 changed the landscape of early years practice in British Columbia. It…

Decades of research show that quality pre-kindergarten programs can make a critical difference in children's school readiness and their future educational success. Investments in early learning are proven to yield important short- and long-term benefits for students and school districts. Driven by this strong evidence, the movement to expand…

Focusing on creating community partnerships via collaboration to support the growth and development of children and families, this guide is intended to enhance the knowledge and skills Head Start staff need to be full collaborative partners in community efforts to help families develop, nurture their children, and experience success. Following an…

Although research shows that young children's life experiences impact their kindergarten readiness, there are differences between parents and educators as to what those experiences should be. Schools can help by developing a community-wide understanding of the most important skills and by providing information and education to help families and…

Support for publicly funded pre-kindergarten has increased tremendously in recent years as parents, educators and policy makers have come to recognize the many benefits of high-quality early education. As of 2008, 38 states and the District of Columbia invest in pre-k programs, and many school districts are doing so on their own with local and…

Describes application of a preschool education program in an Ortonville, Michigan, school district. The six programs are grouped in the same location, meet a variety of needs, and are part of a larger community cluster. Combining programs benefits both children and adults. (CJH)

Sustainability is a critical issue for the vast array of community initiatives that promote healthy children, strong families, and safe communities. Noting that sustaining an initiative over time requires maintaining sufficient fiscal resources as well as a combination of nonfiscal resources from the initiative itself and the broader community,…

The paper is a product of the 3-year project, "Functional Mainstreaming for Success," designed to develop a model for instructional mainstreaming of handicapped children (3-6 years old) in community settings. The paper reviews the literature defining "mainstreaming," notes that mainstreaming is not the wholesale return of exceptional students from…

Since its inception in 1965, Head Start has actively promoted using volunteers and community resources to expand and improve program operations. This document is a collection of policies regarding the use of volunteers and community resources for the benefit of Head Start children and families. It is designed for use by program managers, volunteer…

This packet, part of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), is intended to aid local agencies in forming local interagency councils and is based on experiences in Kentucky since 1983 in the development of Preschool Interagency Planning Councils (PIPCs). Section 1 provides an overview of the PIPC network, a group…

This study compiled descriptive information about what states are doing or planning to do with early intervention data systems, a component of early intervention systems as specified in Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The study examined the uses of data systems in eight states: Colorado, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts,…