Research in the United States (U.S.) documents that young Latino children whose families are characterized by demographic risk factors disproportionately lack the early literacy skills needed to successfully transition to kindergarten. Quantitative studies using comparative samples have found lower quality home learning environments and lower…

Universal screening for mental health in preschools provides the opportunity for early identification and early intervention, but guidance regarding which informants to use is needed. Preschoolers' (N = 535) parent and teacher reports across two screening forms were analyzed to determine similarities and discrepancies for classification results…

Young Hispanic children make up an increasing percentage of children enrolled in preschools; however, little is known about the effects of adversity on their preschool outcomes. This pilot study uses descriptive, correlational, and hierarchical multiple regression analyses to explore the relationship between cumulative adversity, teacher-rated and…

English Language Learners (ELLs) are the fastest growing segment of school population, especially in urban schools. The teaching workforce has relatively unchanged to match this fast growth. Data found no measurable difference in the percentages of teachers' ethnic backgrounds between 1999-2000 and 2007-2008. This mismatch creates the demand for…

Camden City School District is committed to identifying and serving students experiencing homelessness to ensure they receive a free, appropriate public education. It considers data from students enrolled in district schools at the conclusion of each of the 2014-15 to 2018-19 school years as well as publicly available data from other local…

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, HIPPY expanded geographically to provide services to parents of 601 children zoned to 114 elementary schools during the 2020--2021 academic year, compared to 105 schools during the previous year. Commencing in March 2020, the program was consistently delivered using a hybrid format (face-to-face and virtual), with…

Young children's emergent literacy skills, particularly phonological awareness (PA) and alphabet knowledge (AK), are two of the strongest predictors of future reading skill. There is limited research evaluating the effectiveness of emergent literacy interventions on the dual language PA and AK skills of at-risk Latino preschoolers who are Dual…

One of the most significant recent trends in the U.S. education system is that white students are no longer the majority. This trend is mainly driven by growth in both the number and percentage of Hispanic children. The share of Hispanic students among kindergarten children increased from 19 percent in 1998 to 24 percent in 2010 (ECLS-K,…

Contemporary perspectives on emergent literacy in preschool emphasize the importance of providing developmentally appropriate, authentic, early writing experiences and supporting students' home language and culture. The current study analyzed kindergarten outcomes for 82 linguistically diverse, low-income children (60% Black, 40% Latino) who…

In this single-case design study, we examined the effects of an adapted dialogic reading intervention on the oral language and vocabulary skills of four Latino preschool children who were at risk for English language delays. We used adapted dialogic reading strategies in English and two literacy games that included a rapid naming activity and…

The goal of this study was to examine the extent to which preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBP) can identify behaviors indicative of callous-unemotional (CU) traits among their peers. Participants for this study included 86 preschool children (69% boys; M[subscript age] = 5.07 years) with at-risk or clinically elevated levels of…

This study examined the relations between problem behaviors and early learning outcomes among 138 children in dual-language pre-K programs who were identified at the beginning of the school year to be at risk for difficulties in early language and literacy development. Children's expressive and receptive vocabulary, listening comprehension, and…

This brief focuses on Head Start children's developmental progress and kindergarten experiences, drawing on data from the 2009 cohort of the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES 2009). The focal population is children who entered Head Start for the first time in fall 2009, completed one or two years of the program, and were…

The preschool years are a critical time to identify and treat early emotional or behavioral problems. Universal screening can be used to identify emotional and behavioral risk in preschoolers and fits well within current service delivery frameworks. This criterion-related validity study examined the use of a brief teacher-rated screener, the…

Dual language learners, or DLLs, may have greater school readiness needs due to the key role English oral language skills play in the development of emerging literacy skills in English and their overall academic achievement. This especially can be the case if children's capacity to benefit from classroom instruction and interact with teachers and…