This study primarily explored the perceptions of dyslexia held by early childhood educators teaching in Head Start centers. A secondary purpose was to investigate how early childhood educators in Head Start centers perceive the notion of risk for dyslexia and how they identify at-risk students in ways that are consist with the results of a…

The COVID-19 pandemic's impact on preschool children's school readiness skills remains understudied. This research investigates Head Start preschool children's early numeracy, literacy, and executive function outcomes during a pandemic-affected school year, using a novel virtual assessment methodology. Study children (N = 336; mean age = 51…

SciMath-DLL is a preschool professional development (PD) model including STEM instructional offerings that aims to improve the quality of instruction for all children, including dual language learners (DLLs). The purpose of the PD model is to create practical and authentic STEM and DLL supports for early childhood educators, who are generally not…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2016 describes New Jersey's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies New Jersey will implement to address those challenges. The cross agency RTT-ELC team has continued to implement the eleven projects that the federal partners have…

The Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program, authorized by Congress in 2011, is designed to improve the quality of early learning and development programs for children from birth through age 5. This discretionary grant program is administered jointly by the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services…

This Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2015 describes New Jersey's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies New Jersey will implement to address those challenges. New Jersey's remarkable progress in increasing participation in their tiered quality rating and improvement…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in New Jersey, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

The evidence is clear that high quality early care and education works to improve child outcomes. New Jersey preschoolers participating in state-funded programs are already demonstrating gains over time on state and national standardized tests; a testament to their participation in programs designed to increase school readiness. But not all of New…

Investments in early childhood programs are widely viewed as a promising strategy to improve the future educational achievement of disadvantaged young children. However, it can be difficult for teachers to maintain program quality if children in the classroom display challenging behaviors. For example, when some children act out aggressively or…

The New Jersey Department of Education has been stressing the value of early childhood education for the past 12 years. Research has clearly demonstrated the value of high-quality preschool programs for preparing children for school and even later life. Particularly in light of the Core Curriculum Content Standards and elementary curriculum, which…

Since 1980, the number of state pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs has more than doubled, with 38 states enrolling more than one million children in 2006 alone. This study evaluates how five state pre-K programs affected children's receptive vocabulary, math, and print awareness skills. Taking advantage of states' strict enrollment policies…

As Universal Pre-K efforts sweep the nation, so does the development of state standards that define the skills and the knowledge that young children should be developing. The goal of these standards is to ensure the school readiness of all students. While the goals mentioned in this article are taken from the New Jersey Department of Education's…

This report presents results from the Newark, New Jersey, site of the Foundations of Learning (FOL) Demonstration, an intervention and random assignment evaluation of a curriculum designed to target children's behavior and emotional adjustment through the training of preschool teachers. The demonstration adopted the model used by CSRP (formerly…

This report presents results from the Newark, New Jersey, site of the Foundations of Learning (FOL) Demonstration, an intervention and random assignment evaluation of a curriculum designed to target children's behavior and emotional adjustment through the training of preschool teachers. The demonstration adopted the model used by CSRP (formerly…

The growth in public preschool education is based on research that shows high-quality prekindergarten has a positive effect on children's chances of succeeding in school and life. Beneath the surface of this growth, however, lies a troubling lag in preschool education participation by the nation's largest, fastest growing and yet most…