Teachers need comprehensive support to improve students' literacy. This Policy Update shares how state boards of education can provide this holistic support to improve through: (1) better teacher preparation standards in early literacy; (2) professional development guidance; (3) high-quality literacy coaches and other support professionals; and…

Although many districts and teachers have struggled to provide online learning, those who serve young children were perhaps least prepared. And although nearly all states have developed guidance and resources to support students and families since the pandemic started, they often lack an effective remote learning model for preK-3 that is rooted in…

States have often adopted broad bands for teacher certificates that cover grades K-5, K-6, or even K-8, which may offer more flexibility to district and school administrators but at the cost of ensuring adequate preparation for those who will be teaching in early grades. In order to better equip its teachers with developmentally appropriate…

State boards of education have authority endowed by state constitutions and statutes to position them as key players in improving early education. Recognizing the importance of early childhood education (ECE), federal and state governments have been investing billions of dollars to serve the nation's youngest children. Yet many children still…

The pandemic hit the already vulnerable early childhood education (ECE) workforce especially hard, causing almost 40 percent of child care providers to shut their doors and many teachers to lose their jobs. In 2021, enrollment in state-funded preschool also dropped for the first time in 20 years--a nearly 20 percent decline that erased a decade of…

Although children's earliest years are widely acknowledged as critical for achievement in school and in life, the bar for joining the US preschool workforce is low. One-third of preschool teachers in childcare centers or public school programs hold bachelor's degrees, and most preschoolers are likely to end up with a teacher who is not trained in…