Our Broken Child Care System and How to Fix It, Part 2: our executive director Dr. Laura Justice examines how child care programs are a key part of the economic infrastructure but are also developing the nation’s brain trust of the future.

Alphabet knowledge is a basic building block for early reading and writing. Children who learn the forms, names and sounds of letters during early childhood are less likely to experience reading difficulties later in school. See highlights of Crane Center research and find resources for assessing and teaching the alphabet.

This year, we started Tuned In – our Friday morning round-up of policy-related news and analysis. It’s been a labor of love that my colleague Caitlin and I really enjoy providing to you all. In lieu of our regular edition today, here’s a reflection on nine of the best (policy-related) things that happened in 2019, in no particular order.

The transition from preschool to kindergarten presents several unique challenges including heightened anxiety. To make the transition easier, teachers and parents can work collaboratively to support children with these tips.

Expanding early childhood programming is a global interest given the strong return on investment. Programming is most beneficial when these experiences are high quality, and high-quality experiences are associated with numerous long-term benefits. SPROUT was created to provide a scientifically based framework for identifying high-quality in early education settings.

Ohio has used the KRA, a statewide measure of school readiness that is aligned to the state’s early learning and development standards, since 2014. The measure is intended to help guide kindergarten teachers as they teach children of varying school readiness levels. Our authors examined whether the KRA predicted later reading success.

STAR Read-Aloud Practices are designed to develop and strengthen young children’s awareness of and knowledge about print. They utilize evidence-based reading techniques developed from years of research.

Last month, the Center for American Progress (CAP) published a list of recommendations for newly elected governors to take on early childhood within their first 100 days. Let’s take a look at how Ohio Governor-elect Mike DeWine aligns with these recommendations.

For many children, kindergarten is their official entrance into formal schooling. Although many children participate in preschool programs or child care, often kindergarten is the first setting in which academic skills are explicitly targeted. Many foundational academic skills are targeted within kindergarten programs, although reading-related skills have received the greatest attention in recent years.

In 2014, the inaugural State of Pre-K Symposium on Children addressed issues related to early childhood education by bringing together key constituencies. This idea was grounded on the belief that together, we will be better equipped to assess the current state of the field and to shape future directions of research, practice, and policy.

This white paper presents results of a community-based, multi-pronged initiative, Ready 4 Success, which was designed to improve the quality of language and literacy instruction in preschool classrooms and, in turn, children’s language and literacy skills.

Central Ohio teachers and principals were surveyed regarding Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) during its inaugural implementation year. Although teachers and principals generally reported using assessments, the majority of participants did not perceive the KRA as useful for guiding instruction, and teachers reported that administering the KRA took away valuable time needed to help students.