Our policy team shares four things that they will be paying attention to in 2021 regarding early childhood policy. They are careful to note, these are not* predictions (after what 2020 taught us about making predictions for the year).

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.

This white paper shares valuable insights and perceptions from student parents, documenting their experiences regarding their campus climate, as well as share ideas and recommendations for improving campuses for this growing student population.

Parental involvement in their child’s speech therapy is a best practice that is shown to improve child outcomes. This current Crane Center study increases our understanding of the ways in which speech-language pathologists (SLPs) support parental involvement in their child’s speech therapy homework, practice and activities.

With only a few studies on the pathways that children take from birth to kindergarten, this OSU study shows the variety of pathways children take to reach kindergarten.

As both a researcher studying student parents in university settings and the child of a student parent, DeVaughn Croxton writes from his unique perspective to share how institutes of higher education can provide more equitable opportunities to parents within their student populations.

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.

There are many misconceptions about school absenteeism. This new study from the Crane Center shows that early absences do matter, and in ways we may not have considered. Read here for a summary of the findings and for a link to the full published research.

Recognizing the potential growing crisis for Ohio families from the coronavirus pandemic, our researchers designed a rapid-response study of family conditions during COVID-19. This white paper shares their preliminary findings offer valuable information about the social, economic, and psychosocial impacts.

Our Broken Child Care System and How to Fix It, Part 3: The final segment of this series examines how the many systems that make up U.S. child care are failing. Fixes that are both sweeping enough and realistic aren’t obvious, so Dr. Laura Justice turns to three experts to weigh in.

Our country’s early care and education system was fractured and in crisis, even before COVID-19. The abrupt closure of many child care centers, new requirements upon opening, and challenges facing families make it even more pressing that our “rebuilding” efforts work toward a more sustainable and equitable child care system.