Early Learning

This report, produced by the Memorial Fund, is designed to help communities who have begun to examine and address early literacy in their own neighborhoods. The report presents information on a number of models and whether or not evaluation reports are available on each model.
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A series of briefs that highlight the need for genuine system reform to achieve the goal of having all children ready for school and lifelong learning. (June 2007)
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This data sheet includes data on early care and education space and subsidy availability and utilization by town, including School Readiness, Care4Kids, preschool experience, Grade 3 CMT performance, and children with all parents working. (March 2007)
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Written by Charles Bruner and Published in 2002 by the Finance Project in Washington, D.C. This report synthesizes the literature and evidence on early childhood development and school readiness and its relationship to future social problems and costs and presents several alternative approaches that can be used to estimate the cost of school unreadiness.

This report is an overview of early care and education in Connecticut, discussed in the context of child development, workforce development and in relation to Connecticut’s economic competitiveness. The report considers some of the financing challenges in assuring high quality care to children of pre-school age and the state’s role in this effort. Published in February 2003 by Connecticut Voices for Children.
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Published by the Connecticut Commission on Children, this fact sheet provides an overview of the key components of the 1997 School Readiness Legislation as well as highlighting findings from communities across the state showing that quality preschool programs translate into positive outcomes for children. (Updated in 2005)
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This issue brief looks at Connecticut’s budget and some of the areas where spending has been reduced and proposes some general revenue solutions (a 38KB, 4-page document).
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This brief, written by Linda Jacobson for the Education Writers Association, looks at the different public preschool models in place in several states, how services are provided, how quality is measured and ensured and suggests some indicators that may be used to measure quality. The brief also contains a section designed to help reporters ask the right questions about early childhood programs in their state.

Published by the Early Care and Education Collaborative. This fact sheet outlines the short and long-term outcomes that have been associated with early childhood education programs through research.

Written by Carol J. De Vita and Maria Montilla and Published by the Urban Institute as part of the Charting a Civil Society series. This report looks at how the U.S. Military Childcare System turned its childcare program from one that was plagued with allegations of abuse and poor conditions into a model of quality and affordable care.

This report summarizes findings from CVC’s Early Care and Education research reports. This is the first edition of an occasional series called "Early Childhood Matters." Published in July 2003 by Connecticut Voices for Children.
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This report by Jill Walston, Education Statistics Services Institute and Jerry West, National Center for Education Statistics describes public and private kindergarten in the United States. It includes information about the schools that offer full-day and half-day kindergarten and the children who attend these programs. The composition and structure of public school full-day and half-day kindergarten classes and the instructional practices used by teachers in these classes are described. The report concludes with an analysis of the cognitive gains of public school children who attend full-day and half-day programs. (1,452 KB)

This WestEd brief summarizes research on full-day kindergarten, provides information on state and local reform efforts, and identifies policy implications. It also touches on the characteristics of an effective kindergarten program.

The article, written by Theresa C. Lewallan of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, suggests that as school improvement policies are developed, school systems need to consider providing for students’ basic needs in a coordinated way and improving student health as strategies for raising student achievement. (38,821 bytes)

This report summary by the Economic Policy Institute shows adequate and effective funding of education is the best way to achieve faster growth, more jobs, greater productivity, and more widely shared prosperity.

This report by Pre-K Now evaluates all 50 U.S. governors and the mayor of the District of Columbia in terms of their budgetary proposals and State of the State remarks in support of voluntary pre-K for all. The report praises 20 governors who proposed increases to their states’ pre-kindergarten programs and contrasts these leaders with other governors who are trailing national trends toward providing high-quality, voluntary pre-K.

The journal Developmental Psychology published new research suggesting that Oklahoma's pre-kindergarten program is a success at helping kids prepare for school. Michelle Trudeau highlighted the findings on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.

This report is based on a survey of kindergarten teachers in Connecticut's priority school districts. The purpose of the survey was to determine how many children in these districts enter kindergarten ready for school. The research was focused on language and literacy, math, social/emotional and fine motor skills. The study found that children with 2 years of preschool are twice as likely to be viewed as ready for kindergarten in math and language and literacy skills as their peers without preschool experience and one and a half times as likely to be seen as ready for kindergarten in social/emotional skills and fine motor skills. Children with English as a Second Language who had two years of preschool experience also fared significantly better in these areas. This report was initiated by the Connecticut Commission on Children at the request of the Connecticut General Assembly's Education Committee and supported by the State Department of Education and the Connecticut Center for School Change.
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Published by the Connecticut State Department of Education. An overview of Connecticut’s School Readiness program, including a list of the priority and severe needs communities that received school readiness grants in 2002.

Published by the Kauffman Foundation. This report contains six papers that were part of an Exchange in Early Education event which was sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation in November 2001. Each of the papers is focused on the link between social-emotional development and later cognitive development. The papers outline the latest research on preparing young children for school success and identify strategies for practice to promote positive early relationships and intervene when children are at risk.
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This paper by the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis economist Art Rolnick notes that public investments in early education yield a 16% rate of return and are a solid economic development tool for states and localities.

Links to other research papers and studies outlining the positive economic development outcomes of early care and education can also be found on the Early Care and Education Collaborative website.