The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the highest unemployment that the U.S. has seen since the Great Depression, with particularly heavy job losses for Black, Hispanic, and Native American workers. In this set of studies commissioned by Lumina Foundation, the authors examine actions that states and community colleges can take to address the needs of…

Professional development (PD) for early childhood educators has received increased attention as a means of bolstering young children's learning and development. Theory and research indicate that educators' characteristics play roles in both their own learning and that of children; however, little research has explored who participates in PD. This…

Reflecting the growing momentum in support of quality rating and improvement systems (QRISs) as a key strategy to improve early care and education quality, significant amounts of public dollars have been devoted to their development and implementation. In this brief, the authors report on their investigation of both quality rating and improvement…

Improving teacher quality in early education is a major part of ensuring young children's school readiness and closing the achievement gap. This is the book decision-makers and administrators need to begin developing coordinated, effective teacher quality systems--ones that not only get teachers ready for the classroom, but also promote continuous…