MENTAL HEALTH IN THE UNITED STATES

Source: CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, May 4, 2006
Results from these two national surveys of parental report of diagnosed autism suggest that, as of 2003--2004, autism had been diagnosed in at least 300,000 U.S. children aged 4--17 years. Parents who reported that their children had autism also reported these children experienced moderate or high levels of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties and needed special health-care and educational services. These population-based surveys might be useful to assess the specialized health and educational needs of families and children with disabilities such as autism.

PARTNERING WITH FAMILIES FOR LITERACY DEVELOPMENT

Source: natural_resources2] Partnering with Families for Literacy Development, May 10, 2006
Three recent publications from FINE (the Family Involvement Network of Educators) at the Harvard Family Research Project relate to this topic. They are:
Parent Involvement and Early Literacy
Qiuyun Lin’s research reveals that parents’ involvement at school is related to children’s higher literacy, particularly for those from socially or economically disadvantaged families. www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/digest/literacy.html

Story Time: Mothers’ Reading Practices in Japan and the U.S.
Eiko Kato-Otani compares American and Japanese mothers' home reading practices with their preschool children, highlighting cross-cultural differences. www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/digest/reading.html

Family Involvement Storybook Corner
The set of materials in this Storybook Corner show you how to use published children's storybooks with family involvement themes to engage families in their children's education, encourage family-school-community partnerships, and support literacy. Resources include a compilation of read-aloud storybooks with family involvement themes, research on family involvement in children's early literacy and tools for using storybooks.
www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects/fine/resources/storybook/

INITIAL RESULTS FROM THE 2005 NHES EARLY CHILDHOOD PROGRAM PARTICIPATION SURVEY

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006075
"This report presents selected data on the nonparental care arrangements and educational programs of preschool children, consisting of care by relatives, care by persons to whom they were not related, and participation in day care centers and preschool programs including Head Start or Early Head Start. It focuses on children under age 6 who have not yet entered kindergarten. For example, the report shows that 60 percent of such children were in some type of nonparental care arrangement on a weekly basis in 2005. The data are drawn from the Early Childhood Program Participation Survey (ECPP) of the 2005 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES:2005)."

THE EARLY READING AND MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT OF CHILDREN WHO REPEATED KINDERGARTEN OR WHO BEGIN SCHOOL A YEAR LATE

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2006064
"This Statistics in Brief examines the association between kindergarten enrollment status (e.g., repeating kindergarten or delaying entry into kindergarten) and children’s first grade reading and mathematics achievement. Based on the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), the statistics in brief reports that in the fall of 1998 5 percent of all children in kindergarten were repeating kindergarten and 6 percent were attending kindergarten for the first time even though they were age-eligible to do so a year earlier (i.e., delayed entry). In terms of children’s first grade performance by kindergarten enrollment status, at the end of first grade, children who repeated kindergarten have lower reading and mathematics knowledge and skills than those who started on time. At the end of first grade, children whose kindergarten entry was delayed, in general, demonstrate slightly higher reading knowledge and skills than those who started on time. In mathematics at the end of first grade, children whose kindergarten entry was delayed kindergarten are behind their classmates who began kindergarten on time."

WHAT TO EXPECT AND WHEN TO SEEK HELP: BRIGHT FUTURES DEVELOPMENTAL TOOLS FOR FAMILIES AND PROVIDERS

Source: [natural_resources2] Developmental Tools for Families and Providers, May 17, 2006
“What to Expect and When to Seek Help: Bright Futures Developmental Tools for Families and Providers offers a framework for families and providers to begin a conversation together about how best to support healthy social and emotional development in children. Resources are offered in four age ranges, infancy, early childhood, middle childhood and adolescence. Throughout the tools, a strong emphasis is placed on strengths as well as concerns. The information under "What to Expect" not only offers a guide to healthy development and parenting, but provides information that parents can find reassuring about their child's behavior and their own parenting. Bright Futures is a national health promotion initiative based at Georgetown University.”

ALIGNMENT OF PRE-K & KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS EMPHASIZED

Source: [natural_resources2] Schools, Families, and Social and Emotional Learning: Ideas and Tools for Working with Parents and Families, March 29, 2006

ALIGNMENT OF PRE-K & KINDERGARTEN PROGRAMS EMPHASIZED

In this paper, Kristie Kauerz outlines the importance of having strong, well-aligned programs beginning in Pre-K and extending through third grade (PK-3). It reviews the short-term impact of Pre-K and full day kindergarten programs, then summarizes the evidence that these impacts may "fade out" by the primary grades. To fight fade-out, PK-3 alignment is proffered as one means to enable children to maintain and expand upon the gains they make in early childhood education. PK-3 suggests that Pre-K experiences should be aligned with kindergarten and that kindergarten should be aligned with early elementary education. The paper closes with federal policy recommendations that provide both models and incentives for the nation, states, and local school districts to institute and strengthen PK-3 alignment.

Download the paper at http://www.newamerica.net/Download_Docs/pdfs/Doc_File_2826_1.pdf

RESOURCES FOR EVALUATING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Source: [natural_resources2] Schools, Families, and Social and Emotional Learning: Ideas and Tools for Working with Parents and Families, April 12, 2006

Resources for Evaluating Professional Development
The Winter 2005/2006 issue of The Evaluation Exchange focuses on evaluating professional development across a range of fields, including after school and youth development, education, child care, and child welfare. The articles in this issue feature innovative methods in professional development, conceptual frameworks and practical tools for evaluating professional development, links between professional development and program quality, and the role of organizational contexts in supporting professional development and positive outcomes. Included in the issue is a Questions & Answers feature with Thomas Guskey, who describes his five-level model for evaluating professional development.
Access to all articles is available at http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/eval/issue32/