Archived Information

U.S. Department of Education's

Early Childhood
Initiative
November 2000
 RESEARCH RESOURCES
• Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young
Children. 1998. Snow, Burns, & Griffin
(Editors). Washington, DC: National Academy
Press. www.nap.edu

• Starting Out Right: A Guide to Promoting

Children’s Reading Success. 1999. Burns,
Griffin,& Snow (Editors). Washington, DC:
National Academy Press. www.nap.edu
 RESEARCH RESOURCES
• Eager to Learn: Educating Our Preschoolers.
Executive Summary. 2000. Bowman, Donovan,
& Burns. Washington: DC National Academy
Press. www.nap.edu

• The National Center on Early Development

and Learning (NCEDL) - The University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill
www.ncedl.org
 Characteristics of quality
preschool programs
• Consider the whole child: cognitive, social-emotional,
and motor development are complementary, mutually
supportive areas of growth.

• Adult relationships: Responsive interpersonal

relationships with teachers nurture young children’s
dispositions to learn and help develop their emerging
abilities.

• Small class size: Both class size and adult-child ratios

are correlated with greater program effects.
 Characteristics of quality
preschool programs
• Quality curriculum: No single curriculum or approach
can be identified as “best.”

• Quality teachers: The education of teachers is related

to the quality of early childhood programs. Programs
found to be highly effective in the U.S. and abroad
actively engage teachers and provide high quality
supervision for teachers.
 Title I
• First authorized as part
of President Johnson’s
war on poverty in
1965, Title I is the
largest Federal
elementary and
secondary education
program with a budget
of nearly $8 billion.
 Title I
• Title I serves over 12.5 million children in roughly
14,000 school districts, and 48,000 schools.
Roughly 90% of all districts nationally receive Title
I funds and roughly 24% of all public school
students are affected by Title I services provided at
the local level.
 Title I Preschool
“The Stronger the Start the Better the Finish”
Secretary Richard Riley

• Since the enactment of

Title I in 1965,
preschool services
have been an
allowable use of Title
I funds.
 Title I Preschool
• Title I Schools 48,000
• Participating Children 12,524,079
• Pre-K Children 300,315
• Kindergarten 1,276,892
• Grades 1-3 4,041,471
Source: 1997-98 St. Performance Reports
 Title I Preschool Services
• In 1999-2000, 17% of
Title I LEAs spent an
estimated $407 million
on preschool services,
making Title I second
only to Head Start in
its level of federal
preschool education
funding. (GAO)
 Uses of Title I Funds
for Preschool

• Any Title I school may use Title I funds to

operate a preschool for eligible children.
• An LEA may reserve an amount off the top
for a district-wide preschool.
 Title I Preschool
Schoolwide Programs
• A schoolwide program school has the
discretion to limit preschool services to the
at-risk children or to serve all children in
the school or attendance area.
• May decide to implement a family literacy
model which integrates early childhood
education with adult literacy and parenting
education.
 Use of Funds for
Title I Preschool
Title I funds may be used to:
• Create a new preschool at the district or school
level.
• Expand an existing preschool (e.g. those funded
by Head Start) by adding more children, more
time, or more services.
• Improve the quality of existing preschool
programs.
 Use of Funds for
Title I Preschool
For example, Title I funds may be used for:
• Teacher Salaries
• Parent Education/Involvement
• Professional Development
• Counseling services
• Minor remodeling
• Leasing or renting of space
• Collaboration with Head Start, Special Ed, etc.
 Who is Eligible for
Title I Preschool??

• Children at risk of not meeting challenging state

standards.
• Children from birth through entrance to formal
schooling.
• Any child who participated in Head Start or Even
Start is automatically eligible.
• Children do not have to be eligible for Head Start.
 Title I Preschool
Selection of Participants
• Preschool children must be selected for Part A
services on the basis of such criteria as teacher
judgement, interviews with parents, and
developmentally appropriate measures.
• Parent education and income may be used as
surrogate criteria for participation in Title I
preschool when family is in a family literacy
program.
 Title I Preschool
Head Start Standards

Section 1112(c)(1)(H) of Title I requires

that Part A preschool programs must
comply with performance standards
established under the Head Start Act.
The specific standards that apply are in
45CFR 1304.21 --Education and Early
Childhood.
 Where???

Title I preschool services may be conducted

outside the public school building in a
community facility or in the home.
Welcome to the VIP Village
 VIP Village
• 26 State Funded Classes • 32 Preschool Teachers

• 4 Special Education • 35 Instructional Assistants

Classes
• +Support Personnel
• 2 District Funded Classes
• 735 Preschoolers
 VIP Village Demographics
• Student Population at VIP Village 735

• Socio Economic Status

• Free or Reduced Lunch 72.7%
• TANF 38.6%
• Languages
• Spanish 67.7%
• Tagalog 2.2%
• Other 1.9%

• Ethnic Minority 76.2%

 Where We Get Our $$$$$$
State District Federal
State Preschool District Preschool Special Education
(26 Classes) (2 Classes) (1 Classes)
$1,730,046 $100,000 $63,000

Special Education Title VII

(3 Classes) (5 Years)
$175,000 $1.2 million
*Family Liaisons
*Master Teachers
*Primary Language

Title I
$50,000
*Booster Club
*HOSTS Learning Center
 Components of a quality
family literacy program
• Interactive literacy activities between
parents and their children.
• Training for parents regarding how
to be the primary teacher for their
children.
• Parent literacy training
• Age-appropriate education for
children
 Federal Programs that
Support Family Literacy

• Title I, Part A
• Even Start
• Head Start
• Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act
• Migrant Education
• Reading Excellence Act
 Adult Education and
Family Literacy Act,
Title II of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998

• www.ed.gov/offices/ovae/adusite.html
 Guide to ED Programs

• http://web99.ed.gov/GTEP/Program2.nsf
 Preschool Grants Program
Section 619 of Part B of IDEA
• Provides grants to states to serve young
children with disabilities, ages 3 through 5
years.

• For overview:
• www.nectas.unc.edu/sec619/619overview.html
 Office of Special Education Programs
Ready to Learn
• Early Intervention
• Child Find Among Underserved
Populations
• Transition
• Family-centered practices