This report explains the work that has taken place over the last decade in Boston to not only improve pre-K, but to build on the successes of pre-K through reform of classroom environments, instructional practices, and curricula in pre-K, kindergarten, and, more recently, in first and second grade. It is a story of reforming from the bottom up, of…

In the earliest days of American education, leaders in educational theory and practice believed that the curriculum should revolve around the child's lived experiences. Geography, therefore, should hold a prominent place in the curriculum since it is through geographic concepts that children first experience the world around them. Reading and…

The traditional kindergarten program often reflected a rich but generic approach with creative contexts for typical kindergartners organized around materials (manipulatives or dramatic play) or a developmental area (fine motor or language). The purpose of kindergarten reflected beliefs about how children learn, specialized training for…