Below are resources for early childhood professionals and those serving the early childhood community.
Illinois Longitudinal Data System (ILDS): Work continues on the ILDS towards the eventual access to integrated data sets as well as an inventory of existing resources such as IECAM and standard reports from state agencies. ILDS will continue to evolve as a resource to serve the needs of early childhood researchers and policymakers. You can explore the website with this link.
Researchers stumped by preschool fade-out: Researchers are about to tackle one of the largest issues plaguing preschool education – fade-out. In study after study, city after city, preschool has kids testing well ahead of peers entering kindergarten but having almost the same scores within a few years. (Plain Dealer, January 30).
First Five Years Fund (FFYF) developed a toolkit for early learning advocates about the relevant provisions in ESSA, in particular the revised Preschool Development Program.
The BUILD Initiative released chapter 8 of its e-book Rising to the Challenge: Building Effective Systems for Young Children and Families titled “Impact of the Early Learning Challenge on State Quality Rating and Improvement Systems.”
Institute of Medicine: A new online mapping tool along with an accompanying discussion guide was created to support and facilitate implementation of the recommendations from the Institute of Medicine’s “Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: A Unifying Foundation” report released last year.
“Arts Integration: A Promising Approach to Improving Early Learning.“ The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts offers professional development to early childhood teachers built on the philosophy that dance, music, and drama can help young children master skills across a range of subjects. This brief builds on the results of a randomized-controlled trial of Wolf Trap’s Early Childhood Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Through the Arts program, conducted in northern Virginia between 2010 and 2014. Findings from the study show that the program had a significant positive impact on the participating teachers as well as their prekindergarten and kindergarten students. (Source: American Institutes for Research).
