The purposes of this policy document are: (1) to encourage public-school instruction conducive to developing skills and gaining factual knowledge necessary for students' future success as critical thinkers, citizens, and leaders of the state of [STATE]; (2) to protect children against the unwarranted and harmful influence of politicized classroom…

The Early Learning Guidelines: Nebraska's Birth to Five Learning and Development Standards (hereafter referred to as the Guidelines) is a resource to provide information about young children's learning and development. The Guidelines are intended to assist adults in planning and providing meaningful learning experiences and environments for…

This resource provides parents with widely held expectations for their child's development prior to kindergarten and ways parents can encourage their child's growth. Although a child's growth and development follows a general pattern, all children grow at different rates. Some children will be doing things earlier or later than others. There's no…

Kindergarten has changed significantly in the last two decades: children now spend more time being taught and tested on literacy and math skills than they do learning through play and exploration, exercising their bodies, and using their imaginations. Many kindergartens use highly prescriptive curricula geared to new state standards and linked to…

In 1995, the National Middle School Association published a position paper defining foundational characteristics of developmentally responsive middle schools and program components that would create the kind of schools young adolescents need and deserve. This book provides a comprehensive, whole vision of schooling for the middle grades and makes…