Below are resources for early childhood professionals and those serving the early childhood community.
Expanding curriculum and professional services to lower grades
Illustrative Mathematics (IM) announced it has received philanthropic funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to continue its work building freely available mathematics curriculum for PreK–12 classrooms. In service of it’s larger plan to release a full PreK–5 program as an Open Educational Resource (OER), IM will use the WKKF grant to construct a PreK–5 curriculum framework, Kindergarten curriculum modules, and professional learning supports. All materials will be based on early childhood learning research, standards for mathematics progressions, and best practices in supporting professional learning for elementary educators.
What policymakers need from implementation evaluations of early childhood development programs
As early childhood interventions move from small‐ to large‐scale programs, the partnerships among researchers, policymakers, communication experts, practitioners, and local communities become increasingly critical for successful implementation. The results from evaluations of programs need to guide policymakers so that they can make informed administrative and fiscal decisions. This commentary makes five recommendations for researchers to consider when designing early childhood programs for scale.
Case study: Early wins in early childhood
Southeast Virginia has long been home to numerous early care and education programs. However, traditionally in siloed, these programs were not seeing the results they desired. In 2016, Hampton Roads Community Foundation initiated a region-wide process involving nearly 100 stakeholders to scope and plan Minus 9 to 5, an initiative designed to unite previously disparate programs and people together for greater impact through systems change. This case study details the opportunities, highlights, and lessons learned in the first two years of the initiative.
Why and how do low-income Hispanic families search for Early Care and Education (ECE)?
This brief is part of an ongoing series aimed at better understanding the intersection of work and family dynamics for Hispanic households, with particular attention to children’s early care and education experiences. This brief uses data from the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE)—a set of four integrated, nationally representative surveys that describe the ECE landscape in the United States.
Protecting brains, stimulating minds: The early life roots of success in school
The early childhood space is in need of new ideas and thinking. What if we brought in some of the thinking coming out of the revolution in science? Center Director Jack P. Shonkoff, M.D. presented at the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Askwith Forum on April 2, 2018. His presentation, “Protecting Brains, Stimulating Minds: The Early Life Roots of Success in School” discussed reducing structural inequities, advancing personalized learning, and protecting kids from toxic stress.
