Maryland's 24 school systems have made great strides in improving public education from pre-kindergarten through high school to ensure children are getting a high-quality education. This guide provides information and online links, including: (1) Maryland's state testing and reporting processes; (2) Programs available to support student…

The deluge of early child development research over the past 20 years has sparked an unprecedented public interest in the first years of children's lives. Research indicates that quality early education promotes the overall development of a healthy child. The Desired Results System, a standards-based accountability initiative of the California…

Making the transition from preschool to kindergarten is a milestone in a young child's life, and it does not always go smoothly. Consequently, the authors developed Shared Summer School, a unique approach to kindergarten transition, in which preschool and kindergarten teachers jointly taught children prior to their kindergarten entry. Shared…

This report traces the history and contributions of California's cooperative nursery schools (co-ops) within the context of the national growth in preschools. From the late 1870s through the 1920s, Froebel's ideas regarding the education of young children were evident in early nursery schools. By the late 1920s, nursery schools generally followed…

This book offers a comprehensive history of the parent cooperative preschool movement, a unique educational system that attained its peak in the 1950s and 1960s. The book uses interviews with pioneers and current members of parent cooperatives, official documents, periodicals, and scholarly publications to offer a history that weaves the…

Education policy makers identify access to quality pre-Kindergarten programs as a critical step in early childhood development. While most agree on access, definitions of quality vary widely. A new study by the National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL) finds that families define quality in broader terms than educators,…

The purpose of this study is to examine parent and early intervention professional perceptions and experiences of the legislative requirement of the parent participation and education component of Early Childhood Special Education. The study focuses on examination of reports of parent and early intervention professional experiences and analysis of…

This paper provides a historical and philosophical basis for parent involvement in the education of their children. It also furnishes a rationale for programs in Oregon which combine aspects of the classroom-oriented Standard Center-Based Model and the Home-Based Head Start Mode. Section One places Head Start development in Oregon in the…

The New York State experimental prekindergarten programs are interdisciplinary endeavors whose purpose is to improve the educational opportunities of disadvantaged 3- and 4-year-olds. Because the pupil services they offer are of central importance to these programs, the social worker is an integral member of the prekindergarten staff and has many…

Discusses ways of involving parents in school programs. (SB)

The article describes three preschool units for children with special educational needs and considers the problems in integrating them into the mainstream. They note that true integration must include involvement of parents and collaboration with teachers. (CL)

Evaluated level of parent involvement in early childhood special education program. Findings from 181 parents revealed that respondents were satisfied with their involvement and input in their child's educational program. Differences between parents' level of income, education, race, gender, and marital status and their subsequent level of…

This secondary analysis of the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project, a randomized study of program participation of children and families in Early Head Start (that is, enrolled in programming prior to children's first birthdays) investigated sociodemographic (race and ethnicity, income level, and maternal education level) and program…