Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs provide skills needed for successful kindergarten strides, especially for students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. While Florida's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program currently serves most four-year-olds, some educators have questioned the program's quality. The purpose of this study was to…

Research on how COVID-19 school closures impacted the learning of young children is still sparse, and the broader implications of these findings have yet to be fully explored. In this study, we examine the impacts of COVID-19 school closures on language and literacy development in a state-funded pre-K program in a Florida school district. Using…

This study examined selected parameters of two newly developed measures called AEPS-3 Ready-Set and Ready-Set Family Assessment of Children's Skills (FACS). Ready-Set is a school readiness measure designed to gather information from teachers or other professionals on children's kindergarten school readiness skills across important developmental…

Self-regulation, an increasingly focus of social-emotional learning curriculums for over twenty years according to Zimmerman (2008), provides students with the ability of "setting goals, selecting strategies, and self-monitoring their effectiveness" as opposed to waiting for others to redirect their behavior (p. 166). Prekindergarten…

This study used covariate adjusted regression techniques to compare the third-grade outcomes of low-income Latinx children who attended Montessori pre-K programs (n = 161) with those who graduated from more conventional programs (n = 4975) in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Children who experienced one year of Montessori education demonstrated…

Currently, the most widely used direct assessment of motivation orientation for preschoolers has little to no research on its reliability and validity. This study examined the test-retest reliability and concurrent and predictive validity of this direct assessment. Results highlight potential limitations of this measure in capturing motivation…

While the COVID-19 vaccines bring hope about the end of pandemic-related closures, leaders worldwide recognize that a fundamental shift has occurred in the way we work, live, and learn. Though we will always need brick-and-mortar schools, our "new normal" must include hybrid and virtual education options for students who do not have…

The start of kindergarten signifies the beginning of elementary school and everything that may come with it: a new building, new teachers, new expectations, and a different routine and culture. These new students transition into kindergarten from different settings, bringing with them a variety of assets and experiences. From a holistic…

In this report I share the results of a document-based, comparative case study aimed at increasing our understanding about the potential utility of state kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) to provide evidence of English learner (EL) kindergartners' knowledge and skills and, in turn, inform kindergarten teachers' instruction. Using a sample of 9…

The rapid expansion of public-school preschool programs significantly challenges America's school administrators, teachers, and school professionals. The complex issues of preschool mental health needs, expulsion, and suspension are at the forefront. In the United States, schools are reporting rapidly increasing numbers of preschool programs,…

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…

Accreditation is a widely accepted indicator of quality in early education and includes many of the components cited in broad conceptualizations of quality. The purpose of this study was to examine whether kindergarten readiness rates differed between Florida child care facilities that were and were not accredited by any relevant national…

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) submits this report to the House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions pursuant to section 649(l)(3) of the Head Start Act (the Act). This report contains findings based on data collected on the U.S. Department of…

The present study was designed to explore the association between preschool academic skills and Grade 3 achievement among a sample of ethnically diverse children from low-income families. Data were collected from a sample of 1,442 low-income, ethnically diverse children in preschool and associated with Grade 3 achievement in reading and…

The "Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale" (PreBERS) is a standardized, norm-referenced instrument that assesses emotional and behavioral strengths of preschool children. This study investigated whether the PreBERS four-factor structure (i.e., emotional regulation, school readiness, social confidence, and family involvement)…