Cradle to Kindergarten: A New Plan to Combat Inequality

Ajay Chaudry, Taryn Morrissey, Christina Weiland, and Hirokazu Yoshikawa

Early care and education for many children in the United States is in crisis. The period between birth and kindergarten is a critical time for child development, and socioeconomic disparities that begin early in children’s lives contribute to starkly different long-term outcomes for adults. Yet, compared to other advanced economies, high-quality child care and preschool in the United States are scarce and prohibitively expensive for many middle-class and most disadvantaged families. To what extent can early-life interventions provide these children with the opportunities that their affluent peers enjoy and contribute to reduced social inequality in the long term?

Cradle to Kindergarten offers a comprehensive, evidence-based strategy that diagnoses the obstacles to accessible early education and charts a path to opportunity for all children.

A New Understanding of the Childhood Brain

The Atlantic

Over the past decade, new research has revealed the link between early trauma and lifelong mental health issues. Policy changes enacted in response to our understanding of the biology of trauma are prioritizing earlier interventions like nurse home visiting services for at-risk families, and an increase in pre-kindergarten programs.

Montessori Schools: They’re Not Just for Rich White Kids Anymore

Have You Heard

Have You Heard, an education podcast, profiles an urban Montessori school in Washington, D.C. From the podcast: When Maria Montessori developed a new teaching method for society’s “lost” children in the early 1900s, she had no idea it would become one of the go-to ways rich white parents educate their toddlers. But now, public urban Montessori schools are catching on in a big way and challenging some deeply held beliefs about how urban kids should be educated.

Becoming Brilliant: What Science Tells Us About Raising Successful Children

Roberta Michnick Golinkoff, PhD and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD

In just a few years, today’s children and teens will forge careers that look nothing like those that were available to their parents or grandparents. While the U.S. economy becomes ever more information-driven, our system of education seems stuck on the idea that “content is king,” neglecting other skills that 21st century citizens sorely need.

Becoming Brilliant offers solutions that parents, educators, practitioners, and policy makers can implement right now.

Most Likely To Succeed

A brilliant film based on the research of Tony Wagner, “Most Likely To Succeed” examines the shortcomings of today’s outdated education methods and the true potential of every child to innovate and thrive.

Executive Function: Skills for Life and Learning

Being able to focus, hold, and work with information in mind, filter distractions, and switch gears is like having an air traffic control system at a busy airport to manage the arrivals and departures of dozens of planes on multiple runways.

Beyond Measure: Rescuing an Overscheduled, Overtested, Underestimated Generation

Vicki Abeles, October 6, 2015

A groundbreaking book for parents, students, and educators on how to revolutionize learning, prioritize children’s health, and re-envision success for a lifetime.

Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs

Ellen Galinsky, April 20, 2010

Teaching children to think may be the most important thing a parent can do.

Getting to Maybe: How the World Is Changed

Frances Westley, Brenda Zimmerman, Michael Patton, August 7, 2007

The insights of complexity theory lay out a brand new way of thinking about making change in communities, in business, and in the world.

Squandering America’s Future – Why ECE Policy Matters for Equality, Our Economy, and Our Children

Susan Ochshorn

Ochshorn offers a pioneering guide to the big issues in contemporary early childhood policy…Ochshorn boldly and clearly shows how early care and education is an issue of social justice and helping America compete on the world stage.