The National Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center was charged by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education Programs from October 2001 through September 2006 to develop, implement, and evaluate an approach to technical assistance (TA) that would result in sustainable systems change in state early intervention and…

The field of early care and education is continually seeking to determine factors that contribute to the overall quality of the education for young children. Individual characteristics of teachers, including education level, have been associated with classroom quality. Program demographics, including turnover rate for teachers, also have had…

In this article, the author talks about some of the challenges facing gifted education today. Here, he talks about some common misconceptions related to what just gifted education means. For example, it is generally thought that education for gifted children is a program separate from the rest of the curriculum. In other words, offerings in gifted…

Preparing students in the early childhood field to work with children both with and without disabilities and to collaborate with different professionals is an important endeavor for colleges and universities. The purpose of this paper is to articulate a unique model of program collaboration between early childhood special education and early…

A recent paper written by a research team at the FPG Child Development Institute, "Recognition and Response: An Early Intervening System for Young Children at Risk for Learning Disabilities," discusses a new systematic approach that can help early educators and parents ensure early school success for all children, including those at risk…

Governors recognize that promoting school readiness is a key strategy for preventing school failure and subsequent costs to society in the form of remedial education services, health and social services, criminal justice services, and lost tax revenue. Supporting the readiness of young children at risk for school failure is critical to the…

This article describes the Language Center Montessori School in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where students are learning in a language-immersion Montessori environment. The school offers a choice to parents--Spanish immersion or French immersion--but Montessori comes with both. The school's motivation for promoting bilingualism is to improve…

Supports for families of young children with disabilities--as provided by Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act--are vital, according to a study that assessed family outcomes at the end of early intervention near their child's third birthday. This report summarizes the main findings of the study in response to the five broad…

Materials found useful in the Infant Care Project of the University of North Carolina are listed in this annotated bibliography. The three sections of the bibliography are: for trainees on-the-job, before-the-job; for trainers learning, planning, teaching; and audio-visual materials for trainees and trainers. (DB)

Leading economists conclude that investments in young children may be the best way to stimulate economic growth, and investments in young children's social and emotional development may be the most productive of these investments. The science base for these conclusions comes from two independent streams of research: neuroscience and developmental…

Reply by the current author to the comments made by R. A. McWilliam, R. N. Roberts and Andy Gomm on the original article. All three commentaries are addressing a common theme that service coordination is not receiving the attention it deserves by state and local early intervention systems and programs. The responses contain a number of key points…

Noting that health benefits for children should be one of the principal goals of comprehensive early childhood initiatives, this Smart Start brochure provides information on "medical homes" and their importance to the overall health of children; the brochure also describes community strategies to help promote a medical home for all…

Smart Start is North Carolina's model early childhood initiative to help all North Carolina children enter school healthy and prepared for success. This resource guide, in Spanish and English versions, is designed to provide parents with information on infant and child development, health care, and resources for further assistance. Presented in an…

Describes North Carolina's efforts to develop a school readiness definition and assessment plan, focusing on differentiating readiness from eligibility and giving equal weight to schools' capacity to educate all children. Presents selected findings from the statewide assessment. Describes dilemmas faced by the state and their resolutions.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate timekeeping constructs of 4- and 5-year-old children in Campeche, Mexico, and North Carolina, United States, as well as the sociocultural conditions that shaped changes in their ideas about timekeeping (methods to mark and measure time) before, during, and after their kindergarten year.…