The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), the federal stimulus package, will over the next two years provide all states with federal funding to support early learning opportunities for 3- and 4-year-olds. This investment clearly reflects Washington's acknowledgement of the link between high-quality early education and the nation's…

The Association for Children of New Jersey (ACNJ) conducted interviews with teachers in one of the Abbott districts to identify the major barriers in the licensing process and identify needed policy changes. The district chosen was identified in another report by Ryan and Ackerman (2004a) as being in jeopardy of losing a significant percentage of…

In 1999-2000, over one-third of all students in the 30 Abbott districts spoke a native language other than English, and more than one-tenth were considered limited English proficient (LEP). The proportions of LEP students varied considerably across the districts, but they comprised between 5% and 29% of total enrollments in 18 of the districts.…

The goal of this guide is to provide information, support and practical tools that may help educators design, implement, and evaluate their school's standards-based education program. In order to work, a comprehensive, standards-based educational program must, by definition, be the organizing structure upon which the school program operates.…