Parent engagement is one approach to decrease the opportunity gap for Black, American Indian, and all children of color. This report from the field describes the use of the World Café participatory approach to support parent engagement in five early childhood, culturally embedded Montessori programs. Serving the Whole Child (SWC) is a…

Until recently, Indiana was one of only a few states in the nation without a state-funded pre-K program. Recently, however, The Hoosier State has slowly begun to build pre-K offerings by investing in pilot programs in a handful of counties throughout the state. Now, Indiana lawmakers are looking ahead to a 2017 legislative session in which…

About one in five Minnesota children under age 8 has a parent who speaks a language other than English at home. These Dual Language Learners (DLLs), who numbered 136,000 in 2011-15, come from a wide array of national, linguistic, and cultural backgrounds--a reflection of Minnesota's sizeable refugee communities from East Africa and Southeast Asia…

This resource was prepared in response to a request for information about the innovations and lessons learned as the result of the investments States have made in transforming their workforce using their Race to the Top -- Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) grants. These strategies and accomplishments will be helpful to other States as they…

This article details a strategic planning model and concurrent 3-year research study focusing on the benefits of preK-16 professional development school learning communities for the participating preK-16 educational leaders in a midwestern school-university partnership network. Results of the study, along with the strategic plan's success at…

This project worked to help community programs and interagency groups develop fluid organizational structures and better assist staff and parents in the provision of family-centered, community-based early intervention services for young children with disabilities and their families. Highlights of the service model include transdisciplinary…

This overview report of the site visit evaluations for the Minnesota Council on Quality Education (CQE) Early Childhood and Family Education programs provides an aggregate picture of the total CQE effort. The purpose of the evaluation effort was to judge the quality of the CQE programs. The first part of this report presents the results of those…

This document reports on the development and functioning of the Child Development Associate (CDA) Pilot Project at Bemidji State University (BSU), Benudji, Minnesota. Section I addresses the following aspects of the BSU pilot: geographic setting, the training population, program response, beginning the pilot project, organizational structure,…

Over a decade ago, the Minnesota state legislature funded the Council on Quality Education to create nine exemplary and experimental pilot programs to support young children and their families. One of the early models was a family-oriented, structured preschool activity that featured weekly 2-hour sessions during which parents of 4-year-olds…

This report first outlines the status of early childhood care and education in Minnesota, including the effects of an inadequate child care system on families and society. Issues of quality, cost, and availability of care are then addressed and are the basis of the recommendations for a coordinated child care system. Recommendation 1…

This report presents a study of policy issues related to the provision of early childhood and family education services in Minnesota. Chapter One consists of an executive summary and recommendations. Chapters Two and Three overview the concept, rationale and implementation of Minnesota's early childhood and family education pilot programs.…

This report describes Minnesota's thirteen Council on Quality Education (CQE) Early Childhood/Family Education programs from the perspective of external evaluation researchers. Data were obtained from personal on-site interviews with 40 program staff members; personal interviews with 40 local program Advisory Board participants and local school…

This curriculum guide outlines 10 inservice training courses for group day care and nursery school personnel. Each course outline presents a list of learning experiences and related resources from which the instructor can choose to meet the needs of his/her students. Materials are designed to meet the Minnesota Department of Public Welfare…

In 2003, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) released a "Strategic Plan for Early Childhood Health." In recognition of the critical role states play in the development of early childhood initiatives and of the unique contributions that state Title V programs can make to these initiatives, the Bureau operationalized their…