It's never too early to start teaching children big words. Teachers at Lee Academy are teaching their pre-school students sophisticated words, sometimes exceeding the vocabulary level of college students. A growing body of research and classroom practice show that building a sophisticated vocabulary at an early age is also key to raising reading success—and narrowing the achievement gap. Laura Pappano describes research-based strategies to improving children's vocabulary.

This new report by the organizing group POWER-PAC reveals what has stymied Pre-K attendance among children with the greatest need for it and offers a series of recommendations for how to increase enrollment. The best part? It was written by low-income Black and Latina mothers and grandmothers who went door to door for two years to survey more than 5,000 parents and caregivers.

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) seeks an early childhood education or child development practice leader to join our Palo Alto, CA office.

Is it true that children in elementary schools are doing just fine while older students are the ones who need attention? A new Foundation for Child Development policy brief argues such myths mask the needs for reforming Pre-K to Third Grade, when children acquire the cognitive, social, and academic skills that form the foundation for later learning.

"The fact is that extended early-childhood intervention has been proven to work. We have little to show, on the other hand, for our vast expenditures on Title I in its current form," said Ed Zigler, long-time policy advocate for young children and founder of Head Start. Title 1 is the major federal funding stream for elementary and secondary schools for programs serving large numbers of disadvantaged students.

Oklahoma's universal pre-K program has shown dramatic benefits for Hispanic students who participate in high-quality preschool programs. These children, especially those from Spanish-speaking homes, improve their English and cognitive development skills and are more likely to be prepared for kindergarten than those not enrolled.

As part of the 2007 reauthorization of Head Start, State Advisory Councils on Early Childhood Education and Care established Zero to Three for children from birth to school entry. The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center and the National Governors Association's Center for Best Practices is hosting a webinar on January 29, 2009 at 2:00 pm EST on including a focus on infants and toddlers in State Advisory Councils on Early Childhood Education and Care.

The National Center for Special Education Research has released a dynamic website that lets the public generate tables and comparisons using data from the Pre-Elementary Education Longitudinal Study (PEELS). The system includes over 1,000 variables related to child and family characteristics; special education programs and services; and academic, social and functional performance for preschoolers with disabilities.

The New York Times has a downright gleeful article with reactions to Obama's pledge to invest $10 billion in early childhood education - "the largest new federal initiative for young children since Head Start began in 1965. Now, Head Start is a $7 billion federal program serving about 900,000 preschoolers."

Pre-K? I thought this section was about the economy? But it is: we know that quality pre-K matters for success in school and life. Yet, a large segment of middle-class families earn too much to qualify for state-funded early learning programs, but not enough to pay for even the average private programs on their own. For these families, the rising costs of pre-K are among their top household expenses -- therein lies "the pinch." This Pre-K Now report finds that costs and eligibility limits are shutting nearly a million kids out of effective programs. It includes recommendations to states and policymakers, such as considering eligibility factors outside of income, like single-parent status and military connection.