Public charter schools increasingly are part of both the national conversation about education policy and the local urban scene in America. Previous studies of public charter schools have examined their achievement effects focused on both the state and metropolitan levels, and funding disparities focused on the state levels. This is the first…

The federal Early Head Start (EHS) program was created in 1994 to address the comprehensive needs of children under age 3 in low-income families and vulnerable low-income pregnant women. In addition to early learning opportunities, EHS's comprehensive early childhood development programs provide children and families with access to a range of…

Despite long-term and ongoing efforts to close the achievement gap between disadvantaged and advantaged students, low-income students continue to perform at considerably lower levels than their higher-income peers in reading and mathematics. Research has shown that students' skills and knowledge often deteriorate during the summer months, with…

This paper presents several facts about the early care and education in Minnesota. These facts are organized according to the following topics: (1) Children age 5 and younger in Minnesota; (2) Number of early care and education programs and providers; (3) Children ages 0-2 and 3-5 enrolled in quality early childhood programs; (4) Number of…

In the 2008-2009 school year, about 2,000 for-profit schools received almost $24 billion in grants and loans provided to students under federal student aid programs. In the early 1990s, Congress was concerned that some for-profit schools receiving federal student aid were recruiting students who were not ready for higher education. Many of these…

During the past 20 years, afterschool programs have become an increasingly vital part of most American communities. Today, some 6.5 million children across the nation participate in these programs. Another 15 million children would participate if a program were available to them, according to their parents. These numbers tell at least two…

Results of a study of the costs of providing day care services are presented. The sections of the report are as follows: 1. Introduction; 2. Issues in Day Care Cost Analysis--use of cost information, cost structure, classification of day care types, organizational level to be addressed, total vs. per-child costs, economies of scale, diversity of…

This technical assistance guide contains information on sources to fund a comprehensive literacy component in an employment and training program. The section on public funding addresses federal and state funding, funding processes, and strictures on public funding. A section on private funding focuses on the two largest sources--foundations and…