The 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) program, funded through the U.S. Department of Education, provides academic enrichment opportunities outside of the regular school day to help students meet state and local performance standards in core academic subjects, such as reading and math. This report summarizes the 2019-2020…

This study describes the implementation and findings from a consultation process designed to enhance the professional development (PD) offered to teachers working in Virginia's state-funded preschool program. A PD Rubric was developed to translate research on effective PD (i.e., PD practices linked to positive changes in teacher practice and/or…

This brief examines the curricular policies and guidelines of the eighteen Preschool Development or Expansion Grantees. It explores how these states are addressing the curriculum-related requirements of the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program. This brief clarifies the PDG requirements, discusses aspects of curriculum, and presents a snapshot…

Preschool Development Grant (PDG) grantees and Head Start programs are funded to provide high-quality preschool education and comprehensive services to families meeting federal poverty guidelines. The overlap of program standards and services across these two programs provides unique opportunities for partnerships. This document provides examples…

An introductory section providing background information on the Virginia Department of Education's (VaDOE) pilot education project for 4-year-olds is followed by discussion of the project and its evaluation. Discussion also concerns the forms of collaboration that are likely to increase the use of data by three classes of information users,…

High-quality preschool programs are essential to improving children's outcomes in reading achievement and leveling language and literacy disparities among students from diverse backgrounds. Grounded in state-of-the-art research evidence, this practice-oriented book demonstrates how preschool professionals can create, evaluate, and sustain…

This paper presents a profile of Virginia's Star Quality Initiative prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators…

The program development guide describes the Fairfax County (Virginia) Noncategorical Early Childhood Program (NECP) which serves approximately 75 mildly and moderately handicapped children from 2 to 8 years of age with either a preschool home resource program, a class based preschool program, or a class based primary program. The guide is designed…

The project described here evaluated the extent to which the Alexandria (Virginia) Head Start program addresses the needs of preschool English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) and provided teachers with training to enhance their students' language development. While over 40 percent of the children spoke a language other than English as their first…