The Crane Center partners with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in an ongoing research project geared toward understanding the experiences and challenges of student parents and identifying their needs as students navigating universities.

The Crane Center’s Promoting Preschoolers’ Early Language Learning (ProPELL) project is an IES-funded project designed to investigate preschoolers’ early language learning. This project is done in partnership with colleagues from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

The BrightStart! project involves a collaboration with the Nemours Children’s Health System, Columbus’ Ready4Success initiative, and local early childhood programs to examine the efficacy of the Nemours® BrightStart! program through a 5-year randomized controlled trial funded by the Institute of Education Sciences.

Crane and Schoenbaum Centers, in partnership with Greene County Educational Service Center and Madison-Champaign Educational Service Center received a Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Grant to form the Ohio State Research Foundation Consortium which aimed to improve literacy outcomes for Ohio children birth to age five.

Considerable efforts are underway across the United States to expand access to early childhood education for young children. Corresponding to increased access to early childhood education across the country is a need to improve children’s transition from early education settings into the primary grades. When children start kindergarten, they are transitioning into a context that is distinct from their earlier experiences.

As many as 10% of children, and disproportionately children from low-income households, are affected by early language impairment. SMALL Talk, an ongoing Crane Center project, is looking to identify the early risk factors as the first step in preventing language impairment in these vulnerable populations.

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.

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.

A practitioner-friendly, scientifically based curricular supplement designed to develop and strengthen young children’s early foundations in language and literacy. Lessons are organized around adult-child readings of high-quality storybooks and supplement – not replace – an educator’s instruction. It is widely used in early childhood programs in the United States and internationally.

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.

SABR measured the quality of teacher behaviors during shared book-reading sessions. In this four-year study, the tool was revised to improve training materials and scoring protocols at no cost online.

Ready for Kindergarten is a home visitation program provided by Columbus Metropolitan Library families with young children in low-income households to assist them in preparing their children for kindergarten.