In 2014, New Jersey was one of the 18 states awarded a federal grant aimed to enhance state preschool programs, improve quality and serve more eligible children in high-quality settings. This "Preschool Development Grant" (PDG) promised to provide the state with $17.5 million per year for four years, beginning on January 1, 2015 through…

In 2014, New Jersey was one of 18 states awarded a federal grant aimed to enhance state preschool programs, improve quality and serve more eligible children in high-quality settings. This "Preschool Development Grant" (PDG) promised to provide the state with $17.5 million per year for four years, beginning on January 1, 2015 through…

Two decades ago, the New Jersey Supreme Court in "Abbott v. Burke" mandated that the state establish high quality preschool education in the 31 highest-poverty school districts. New Jersey created a pre-K program with high standards and a continuous improvement system that transformed a patchwork of private and public programs into a…

This publication is part of the Leading by Exemplar project, a multi-year study conducted by Bellwether Education Partners. In this project, every aspect of the Head Start exemplars' program design and practice was closely examined in an effort to understand each program's "secret sauce." Leading by Exemplar has three goals: (1) to…

This publication is part of the "Leading by Exemplar" project, a multi-year study conducted by Bellwether Education Partners. In this project, every aspect of the Head Start exemplars' program design and practice was closely examined in an effort to understand each program's "secret sauce." Leading by Exemplar has three goals:…

For more than 20 years, United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey (United Way) has made high-quality early care and education a cornerstone priority of its investment strategy. United Way has also been a longtime champion of school readiness for the youngest children in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 1996, the organization joined…

This i3 scale-up study examined the implementation and effectiveness of a 3-year literacy intervention developed by the Children's Literacy Initiative (CLI). The study was a school-level cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 55 elementary schools from four states. Implementation results showed a high level of fidelity of intervention…

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 Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) annual performance report for the year 2014 describes New Jersey's accomplishments, lessons learned, challenges, and strategies New Jersey will implement to address those challenges. In December 2013, New Jersey was awarded $44.3 million to implement the Race to the Top-Early Learning…

The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) reviewed data on 21 states' principal licensure requirements, conducted structured interviews with experts on principal preparation and professional development in 7 states, and spoke with staff at the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Institute for School…

New Jersey's Abbott Preschool program is of broad national and international interest because the Abbott program provides a model for building a high-quality system of universal pre-K through public-private partnerships that transform the existing system. The program offers high-quality pre-K to all children in 31 New Jersey communities with high…

It's fairly well known that high-quality preschool programs can have life-altering impacts on disadvantaged children, including reductions in school dropout and crime, and increased earnings. Not as well known is that terrific preschool programs have important academic and social benefits for middle-class children too. Decades of research indicate…

At first glance, Hunterdon County Polytech Career Academy (HCP) in Flemington, New Jersey, looks like a dream school. This shared-time career academy is an autonomous school district located in Hunterdon County--a county with one of the highest per-capita incomes in the United States--and is 60 miles from both New York City and Philadelphia. HCP…