In recent years, North Carolina has engaged in efforts to improve the transition to kindergarten process for children, families, and teachers across the state. These efforts include the launch of North Carolina's Transition to Kindergarten Pilot project in 2018 and activities funded by the state's Preschool Development Grant Birth to Age 5 (NC's…

The North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education (DCDEE) contracted the American Institutes for Research® (AIR®) to help the state move toward a more equitable and adequate funding formula for North Carolina Prekindergarten (NC Pre-K). The NC Pre-K Program provides free Pre-K to 4-year-old children from families with incomes up…

Smart Start Illinois is a multiyear plan to provide every child with access to preschool, increase funding to child care providers to raise wages and quality, and reach more vulnerable families with early support. Launched with a $300 million investment in the fiscal year 2024 state budget, Smart Start Illinois has already yielded results. The…

The use of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) has grown dramatically over the past decade to support the skills and reflective capacity of adults who care for infants and young children birth to kindergarten entry. Research to date has shown promise for IECMHC to support children's social and emotional development.…

This quantitative study aimed to determine the growth of students who did and did not attend a state-funded pre-kindergarten program based on Measure of Academic Progress (MAP) reading achievement. The study occurred in a rural school district in the southeastern United States. The sample population consisted of one treatment group (n = 97) and…

The effect of public pre-kindergarten (pre-K) on the short-term outcomes of children from disadvantaged backgrounds is well established; however, the mechanisms for this effect are not well understood. Of the many factors that influence how pre-K participants progress during and after kindergarten, one understudied factor is the effect of pre-K…

Prior research has found that public investments in North Carolina's pre-kindergarten program--NC Pre-K--generated positive effects on student reading and math achievement through eighth grade (Bai et al., 2020). This study examined whether the effect of NC Pre-K funding exposure is moderated by the educational environments children subsequently…

Annually, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) prepares the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) and Head Start Saturation Study to analyze access to Washington's ECEAP and Head Start programs serving 3- and 4-year-olds. This study estimates the number of eligible children living within each school district…

Research has demonstrated the wide-ranging and positive benefits from high-quality publicly-funded prekindergarten education. Yet, access for families with young children remains uneven, with significant gaps across geography, income, race, and ethnicity. Over the last few decades, many states have worked to broaden access to prekindergarten…

Researchers have found that early math competencies are potent predictors of later student outcomes in math, reading, and executive functioning. This paper describes what early math instruction can look like and how some states have implemented evidence-backed strategies to teaching. Recommendations are given to State education leaders seeking to…

Background: The need for cross-sector collaborations to implement system-level improvements in early childhood care and education brings increased demand for comprehensive and practicable means of evaluating such collaborations. Objective: This mixed-methods study evaluates a statewide collaboration formed to develop a strategic plan for a…

The availability of early childhood education to students in poverty continues to grow across the United States. Pre-kindergarten programs provide intervention for four-year-old students to close early learning gaps and prepare students for kindergarten. Little research exists to show if pre-kindergarten programs in Texas achieve this goal. This…

A system of climate learning includes students, educators, administrators, educational leaders, community members, and others across different contexts and from diverse lived experiences. As people begin to foster climate learning within these systems, the work of drawing people together in this work can seem daunting. However, the lessons from…

In the United States, state-funded preschool is a critical component of both K-12 public education and the early childhood education and care system. In 2021, 44 states and the District of Columbia operated 63 school/center-based preschool programs serving over 1.3 million children. The vast majority of state-funded preschool programs require two…

In Washington state, the Working Connections subsidized child care program, along with the Seasonal Child Care and Child Welfare Child Care programs, supports children from low-income households, fostering their early learning and development while enabling families to maintain employment. Within these programs it is important to monitor patterns…