Runaway and homeless youth are one of the most vulnerable populations worldwide. These youth are most often disconnected from family, and underserved by communities, left to fend for themselves on the fringes of our society. With limited rights and privacy, they have little access to services and supports needed to survive independently.

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.

Research shows that high-quality early childhood education is a sound investment. Early education is supported by a variety of funding pathways. Blending these funding pathways within a single program can have benefits as well as challenges. This white paper provides a case study of one program that blends funding while also demonstrating the complexities.

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.

In the United States, the number of young bilinguals in PreK-12 settings is rapidly increasing. This paper summarizes key findings and patterns of early bilingual development and separates scientific findings from common myths that influence home and school language practices, assessment and support services, and the organizational structures of education programs these children.

Children who are ready for kindergarten are more likely to achieve future academic success while children who enter behind their peersare at risk for academic underachievement and future unemployment. This white paper presents the results of a study examining profiles of school readiness among 383 entering kindergarteners residing in rural, Appalachian communities.

This white paper provides practical recommendations on how to employ effective data-informed decision-making (DIDM), particularly in early childhood programs. This paper addresses the steps to using DIDM effectively as well as the school- and state-level efforts necessary to support this process using examples to illustrate how DIDM works in the real world.

In this white paper, we present the results of a survey completed by teachers from across Ohio concerning their perceptions of Ohio’s Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA).

This paper presents preliminary data on the feasibility and effectiveness of Summer Success, a community-based, four-week program developed to provide rich instructional programming to children prior to their transition to kindergarten.

Based on data collected through the Kids in Columbus study, this paper examines the extent to which families with young children accessing WIC services experience food insecurity. It also looks at whether food insecurity varies by family characteristic.

Ohio passed a third-grade reading “guarantee” in 2012. This paper examines the impact of that policy seven years later, by analyzing national and state reading achievement data.