The preschool years, spanning from birth to age six, are crucial periods for acquiring social-emotional learning (SEL) skills. An effective way to address social-emotional learning deficits is to implement evidence-based intervention programs. The purpose of this article is to review specific evidencebased social-emotional learning intervention…

This brief identifies important elements of high-quality early childhood education programs as indicated by research and professional standards. These include: (1) Early learning standards and curricula that address the whole child, are developmentally appropriate, and are effectively implemented; (2) Assessments that consider children's academic,…

Research Findings: Big Math for Little Kids (BMLK) is a mathematics curriculum developed for use with 4- and 5-year-old children. To investigate the BMLK curriculum's effect on children's mathematics knowledge, this cluster-randomized controlled trial randomly assigned child care centers to provide mathematics instruction to children, using either…

Objective: This report describes a pilot study to evaluate Animal Trackers (AT), a preschool program designed to (1) increase structured physical activity (PA) during the preschool day; (2) increase practice of gross motor skills; (3) provide teachers with an easy-to-use PA program regardless of teacher experience; and (4) implement a teacher…

This technical assistance paper answers the question, "How can quality education programs for young children be assured?" by addressing four issues: components of quality early childhood programs, measures to counteract pressures for inappropriate practices, types of early childhood programs, and program evaluation methods. The paper…

Meeting a crucial need, this book provides clear recommendations for authentic developmental assessment of children from infancy to age 6, including those with developmental delays and disabilities. It describes principles and strategies for collecting information about children's everyday activities in the home, preschool, and community, which…

This summary report describes Maine's early childhood demonstration sites--three model programs within the schools which serve as demonstration and training sites for public school and preschool educators and which increase access to quality programs for four-year-old children and their families. Demonstration sites were designed to provide an…

Thirty-two programs across the country were selected to participate in the National Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition Project. The project's mission was to replicate the Head Start delivery model within the public school in order to facilitate a smooth transition for children and families. Project effectiveness was examined on…

Examined the effects of attendance at a large-scale public school preschool program on children's school-related skills and the relationship of elements of program quality to the program's efficacy. Found that the program provided developmentally appropriate experiences for disadvantaged young children that contributed to increased skills in first…

There continues to be a need for providing teachers of young gifted learners with best-practice approaches for the development of curriculum in gifted education programs. Too often, early childhood gifted programs have focused on academic acceleration, and neglect to consider developmentally appropriate approaches to designing curriculum and…

This report summarizes Austin Independent School District's prekindergarten program for the 2007-2008 school year.

Describes the curriculum of the public television program "Between the Lions" (BTL), a series modeling behaviors and skills that foster early literacy. Shows how BTL incorporates developmentally appropriate early literacy practices. Highlights teachers' comments illustrating how BTL is being used in different classrooms and how it…

In 1991, the Worcester (Massachusetts) Public Schools received a grant to provide services to maintain the early benefits attained by Head Start children. One part of the program is advancement of a developmentally appropriate curriculum. A study was undertaken to examine the effects of investing substantial resources in classrooms in four schools…

This report describes the development, introduction, and evaluation of the SuperStart comprehensive prekindergarten program adopted by the New York City Public Schools in 1990. By 1991, SuperStart offered 299 classes in 188 schools, providing a developmentally appropriate learning environment to foster cognitive, social, emotional, and physical…

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…