AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program
AVANCE, San Antonio, Texas:  National Office

“AVANCE is a nationally recognized 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization established in 1973.  The AVANCE Parent-Child Education Program focuses on parent education, early childhood development, brain development, literacy, and school readiness.  The program serves predominantly poor Latino families in underserved communities.  AVANCE's mission is ‘Unlocking America's Potential’ and the program accomplishes this one child, one family, one community at a time by teaching parents to be advocates and role models for their children. . . . The nine-month core program caters to parents with children from 0-3 years of age, operating in housing projects, community centers and schools.  AVANCE instructors guide parents through the stages of emotional, physical, social and cognitive development of their children with special topics that range from the importance of reading and effective discipline to nutrition.  Parents also attend classes in literacy, learning English and attaining a GED.”
Home page:  http://www.avance.org/


Bright Futures: Prevention and Health Promotion for Infants, Children, Adolescents, and Their Families.
American Academy of Pediatrics, Washington DC.

Bright Futures, initiated by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) over a decade ago, is a philosophy and approach that is dedicated to the principle that every child deserves to be healthy, and that optimal health involves a trusting relationship between the health professional, the child, the family, and the community. . . . Well-child care (or health supervision) provides a vehicle for health professionals to promote healthy lifestyle choices, monitor children for physical and behavioral pathology, and provide age appropriate and individualized counseling (or anticipatory guidance).  The overall goal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Bright Futures Education Center is to revise Bright Futures: Guidelines for Health Supervision of Infants, Children, and Adolescents and accompanying materials, to develop new materials, and to promote implementation efforts among health care professionals, public/private partners with key child health constituencies, and communities and families.”  The website includes newsletters, a searchable literature database, and other publications for health care professionals, public health professionals, families and communities.
Home page:   http://brightfutures.aap.org/web/

Centro Familia
Silver Spring, Maryland (Serving the Washington DC Metropolitan Area)

Centro Familia promotes “early child care and education as the primary means of breaking the cycle of immigrant and intergenerational poverty.”  Among the issues the organization addresses are (a) Latino under-use of preschool programs and government services; (b) the need for training services that are culturally and linguistically relevant; (c) the lack of childcare programs that reflect the cultural and linguistic values of the Latino community.  “Centro Familia programs are carefully tailored to the needs of the non English speaking community of the Washington Metropolitan Area.  The design of these programs is based on research and investigation of successful programs from across the country, and extensive experience in the area of diversity and multiculturalism in social services program design.  . . . Although the efforts of Centro Familia have been targeted to Latinos, the experience and knowledge gained are relevant and applicable to other language minorities.”
Home page:   http://www.centro-familia.org/index/home.htm

CONNECT:  The Center to Mobilize Early Childhood Knowledge
FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

“CONNECT works with the early childhood community to create a series of web-based resources that focus on and respond to challenges faced each day by those working with young children with disabilities and their families.  Guided by the needs of the field, connect will develop specific content and instructional strategy modules.  Each module will include audio and video clips demonstrating effective practices and family perspectives, fact sheets on best available research, sample professional development activities, opportunities for ongoing discussion, and more. They will be available at no cost. . . . This site is an initiative of the National Professional Development Center on Inclusion.
National Professional Development Center on Inclusion:
http://community.fpg.unc.edu/npdci
CONNECT:   http://community.fpg.unc.edu/connect


Early Care and Education Programs
National Council of La Raza, Washington DC.

“The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) will focus on increasing the percentage of Latino five-year-olds who are ‘school ready’ at entry into kindergarten from 50% to 66% during the next ten years.  Research demonstrates that 80% of the achievement gap between Latino and White students at grade four is present before they even begin attending school. . . . Sixty of NCLR’s Affiliates offer some form of early childhood education.  Working in 16 states and the District of Columbia collectively serving more than 38,000 preschool-age children and their families, NCLR proposes to support their efforts with technical assistance through identification of best practices, professional development, resource identification, and advocacy.”  The major projects are (a) Lee y serás - Early Literacy Development Initiative; (b) Pre-Kindergarten Parents as Partners; and (c) Sembrando Semillas (which documents best practices that support Latino family values and language in center-based early childhood programs serving Latino children).
Home page:   http://www.nclr.org/content/programs/detail/772/

Mathematica Policy Research Inc, Princeton, New Jersey.

“The Early Head Start Father Studies are among the first to investigate involvement of low-income fathers in children’s lives, together with mother involvement, in the context of both an intervention program for infants and toddlers and a longitudinal study. . . . Quantitative and qualitative studies of fathers are being carried out within Early Head Start research sites over a period of five years for better understanding of: (a) the characteristics of the social and biological fathers of children in Early Head Start communities; (b) how father involvement affects children’s developmental trajectories; and (c) how Early Head Start programs effectively involve fathers and mothers in program activities and as the primary educators of their children.”  A Report on Fathers of Newborns and an Issue Brief may be downloaded.  Scroll down to the end of the overview to click for these.
Overview:   http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/earlycare/fatheroverview.asp

Exemplary Early Childhood Programs
Center for the Study of Social Policy, Washington DC.

“In 2001, the Center for the Study of Social Policy asked individuals across the country to nominate exemplary early care and education programs that support families as well as children.  More than 100 program nominations were received from 38 states.  After extensive review of the 100 programs, 25 programs received intensive 2-day site visits.  More than 250 parents in programs across the country participated in focus groups.  As a result of this research, 21 exemplary programs were identified.  Exemplary programs build protective factors around children to reduce child abuse and neglect. These early childhood programs intentionally strengthen families as well as educate children.”
Click on the map for a profile of each program: http://www.cssp.org/doris_duke/programs.html


FirstSchool:  A New Vision for Education

FPG Child Development Institute,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

“FirstSchool is a new vision for early schooling of 3- to 8-year-old children that is being developed through a partnership among families, schools, the community, the FPG Child Development Institute, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.  (The plan is) to develop, implement, and evaluate a local FirstSchool model in order to inform a national framework for other communities to use to guide them toward providing a successful early school experience for all children and families. . . .  The fundamental aim is to ensure that all children’s  and families’ early school experiences are positive  and successful.  Goals for the FirstSchool planning process are to (a) develop a national framework for children’s first school experiences, age 3 to 8; (b) work with community partners to plan and open a local FirstSchool demonstration site; and (c) develop products and strategies to help other communities interested in implementing the FirstSchool vision.”
FirstSchool home page:   http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~firstschool/

Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, University of Kansas, Kansas City

“Juniper Gardens Children's Project (JGCP) began in the mid-1960s when residents of Northeast Kansas City, Kansas, joined with KU faculty to address concerns about child development in a low-income community.  Their goal, and the mission of the JGCP, is to improve area children's developmental and educational experiences and thus, their academic and social achievements. . . .  Together, the community and the university have designed programs to intervene in and improve the parenting, care, and instruction received by children in the Northeast Kansas City, Kansas, the Greater Kansas City, and the United States.”  Many Juniper Gardens initiatives focus on young children and their families – for example: (a) procedures for increasing the availability and use of pediatric services for low-income families; (b) strategies for improving the effectiveness of early intervention for young children with special needs; (c) techniques for effective child behavior management; (d) effects of progress monitoring supported by national web-based technology on the intervention results of infants and toddlers with and without disabilities; (e) partnership to develop meaningful outcome measures for Early Head Start children and families.  The project has also developed strategies for overcoming discrimination and achieving independence.  The website describes many additional accomplishments and current initiatives.
Home page:   http://www.jgcp.ku.edu/

Nee-Kon'-Nah Time©:  Prevention Activities for Preschoolers Curriculum
American Indian Institute,
College of Continuing Education, University of Oklahoma, Norman

“Nee-Kon'-Nah Time© prevention activities are designed for use with 3 to 5 year old children in American Indian Head Start and preschool programs.  The curriculum is designed to reinforce and extend the overall goals of Head Start in ways that are appropriate to American Indian communities.  (The program) is a series of ready-to-use activities that support the Indian Head Start child within the context of family and community. . . . The curriculum combines structure and flexibility.  Each of the 62 activities includes the presentation of skills or information helpful to the development of the young child.”
Overview: 
http://www.aii.outreach.ou.edu/publications/nee-kon-nah.html
Purchase information and information on other curriculum materials:
http://www.aii.outreach.ou.edu/publications.html#


Project LEARN:  Literacy Education and Readiness Now
A partnership between Community Services for Children (CSC), Allentown, Pennsylvania; Lehigh Valley Head Start; and the Center for Promoting Research to Practice at Lehigh University.

“Community Services for Children has transformed seven Head Start classrooms, located in three centers, into full-day, full-year Early Reading First centers.  The classrooms serve 137 three and four year old children, 100% of whom come from low-income families. The goal of the program at CSC is to prepare all children for entry into formal schooling with the necessary skills for future learning success.  Moreover, because more than 25% of the children in this setting speak Spanish as their first language, a primary focus will be to improve the early literacy skills of English Language Learners. This population has been shown to be at increased risk for reading disabilities both in the literature and in local experience. . . . CSC has partnered with Lehigh University's Center for Promoting Research to Practice to complete the evaluation of the program.”
Home page and details:
http://www.lehigh.edu/education/learn/index.html
En Espanol:
http://www.lehigh.edu/education/learn/spanish/index_spanish.html


Quality Counts:  Striving for Five-Star Early Learning
Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade/Monroe, Coral Gables, Florida, and
the Early Childhood Initiative Foundation/Ready Schools Miami. 

“Quality Counts is a voluntary rating system that reviews early learning programs according to clearly defined, high quality standards, using a five-star method of evaluation, and offers supports and incentives to help providers reach their goals.  The goal is to improve the quality of early care and education programs in Miami-Dade County.   Components include self-study; applications; manuals; and training.  Rating criteria are: (a) learning environment; (b) staff educational qualifications; (c) adult-child ratios and group sizes; (d) curriculum; (e) family engagement; and (g) program administration.”
Quality Counts:   http://www.elcmdm.org/QualityCounts/index.htm


Read with Me/Lea Conmigo

Families in Schools, Los Angeles, California

“This is a program for preschool and kindergarten children and their families. “Read with me/Lea conmigo promotes a culture of literacy in the home and empowers families to help their children become proficient and independent readers by: (a) providing access to approximately 132 high-quality books in English and Spanish through a weekly rotation of backpacks; (b) supporting families in their efforts to set up regular reading routines with their children; and (c) offering workshops, information, and tips to parents on how to help their child develop emergent literacy skills. . . Families in Schools programs and services are available to all parents, schools, districts, and community organizations.  However, priority is given to school communities in Los Angeles County that are low performing and demonstrate a desire to collaborate with FIS.  To the extent possible, program materials are available in the predominant language of the community served.
Read with Me
http://www.familiesinschools.org/site/content/view/22/71/

Recognition and Response: An Early Intervening System for Young Children At Risk for Learning Disabilities
FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

“The Recognition and Response Project is developing a multi-tier model for use with 3-5 year-olds in pre-kindergarten settings (e.g., child care, Head Start, preschool, public pre-k).   Recognition and Response is a translation of the Response to Intervention (RTI) model designed for school-age students.  Recognition and Response is designed to help early childhood teachers and parents recognize children who show signs of learning difficulty and respond in ways that help them experience early school success.  It consists of four components: (a) screening, assessment, and progress monitoring (recognition), (b) research-based curriculum and instruction for all children and validated interventions for individual children who need additional supports (response), (c) an intervention hierarchy, and (d) a collaborative problem-solving process that involves teachers, specialists, and parents.” 
Home page:   http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~randr/
Partner website – National Center for Learning Disabilities:
http://www.recognitionandresponse.org/