Executive functions (EFs) develop rapidly in preschoolers and lay an important foundation for school readiness. One potential method of supporting EF development is through mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs). Whereas studies with older children and adults have supported this approach, research with young children has been more limited. In the…

The purpose of this study evaluates the work completed in the "Jefferson County Public Schools" (JCPS) project, "Making Time for What Matters Most", aiming to improve student achievement, narrow achievement gaps, strengthen students' college readiness skills, and increase the percentages of students who graduate and go on to…

Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids (SPARK) is a school readiness program for children ages three to five that assists families with preparing their children for kindergarten in the areas of reading, language, and social skills. Program completion is determined by the presentation and facilitation of a minimum of eight lessons taught…

Project Enlightenment, part of the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), has been providing services to children ages birth through 5 years, their parents, and teachers in childcare and preschool settings since 1969. With a local and grant funded budget of just over 2 million dollars, staff members served about 2,400 children in 2011-12. The…

Developed in 2003 by the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Canton with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, "Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids" ("SPARK Ohio") is a family-centered kindergarten readiness program that works with families, schools, and the community. From its initial sites in Stark County, "SPARK…

The Texas Literacy Initiative (TLI) was first implemented in Austin Independent School District during the 2012-2013 school. This report summarizes responses from teachers at TLI campuses.

Over the last two decades there have been a number of efforts to catalogue and determine how much is spent on federal education programs. However, because education programs are administered by agencies throughout the federal government, and there is no standard definition of a federal education program, there currently is no single source that…

The Louisiana State-Funded Program for High-Risk Four-Year-Olds (SPHF) works to improve the readiness of preschool children eligible to enter kindergarten the following year who are at risk of being insufficiently prepared. This interim report qualitatively and quantitatively evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of the SPHF. Sixty-two…

Austin Independent School District provided full-day prekindergarten to 5,196 4-year-olds in 2008-2009 at 66 schools. Seventy percent or more of students made measureable gains on a test of receptive vocabulary, and average gains showed growth about two times greater than that expected for 4-year-olds after a 7-month period.

The Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children at Risk of Academic Failure was a grant program for public school districts to enhance growth and development of children ages 3 to 5 who are at risk of academic failure. The program has experienced significant growth since its initial implementation, and the number of participating projects…

A 5-year longitudinal study, still in progress, was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of prekindergarten programs in Texas. The components of the study include a statewide survey of school districts, a case study of 10 schools' prekindergarten programs, and a longitudinal study of 2,000 students enrolled in prekindergarten during the 1989-90…

Act 619 of the 1984 Louisiana legislative session initiated the State-Funded Program for High-Risk Four-Year-Olds, which is intended to improve the school readiness of preschool students. This document is the program evaluation report for 1990 and 1991. Part 1 of the report is a comprehensive program description which provides information on: (1)…