New Social and Emotional Learning Standards in Massachusetts
Eye on Early Education reports on Massachusetts’ new Social and Emotional Learning Standards: The standards explain: “As Preschool children enter group settings, they engage in a growing circle of deepening relationships with adults and peers outside of the family, and move from self-focused activity to participation in groups. They develop a growing set of skills…
Carol Dweck Revisits the ‘Growth Mindset’
Carol Dweck, renowned Stanford professor and author of “Mindset: The New Psychology of Success,” offers important advice about the hard work of promoting growth mindsets. Be sure to see her discussion of the growth mindset being about more than sheer effort and the helpful graphic at the end. From the article: … a few years back, I published…
Build Initiative’s Community Systems Development Toolkit
The Build Initiative has published a large collection of resources to guide community system-building efforts. The Community Systems Development Toolkit supports the hands-on implementation of collaborative systems work at the local level, providing resource tools that cover the full spectrum of community systems and coordination work. Tailored to the needs of community-based collaboration and organized in…
New Forum on Leadership in Early Education at Preschool Matters
The Preschool Matters blog at NIERR launched a new leadership forum yesterday with Birth–3rd and Leadership: Steve Tozer’s Message to the Birth–3rd Community. Stay tuned for future installments.
Social and Emotional Learning in Schools: Excerpts from a Helpful Overview
A large-scale meta-analysis of 213 studies involving over 270,000 students confirmed that SEL [social-emotional learning] produces significant positive effects in six different aspects of adjustment. These outcomes included improvements in academic performance, SEL skills, prosocial behaviors, and attitudes toward self and others (e.g., self-esteem, bonding to school), as well as reductions in conduct problems and…
New Infant-Toddler Report and Other Resources
The Center for American Progress has released a new report, “Emerging State and Community Strategies to Improve Infant and Toddler Services.” The report makes policy recommendations for financing and aligning infant-toddler services and includes examples of both state and community initiatives that target high-needs neighborhoods. Decades of research on brain development and outcomes from early learning interventions…
Vroom Delivers Tips, Community Playbook, and Apps for Parents and Caregivers
Vroom now has a community playbook available for free. From a post on the Grade-Level Reading Campaign’s Huddle site: Vroom turns shared moments into brain building moments. Whether it’s mealtime, bathtime, or anytime in between, there are always ways to nurture our children’s growing minds. Vroom was developed by a group of dedicated scientists, community leaders, and trusted brands,…
Deepening and Extending the Work in New Jersey
New Jersey is well-known for its leadership in early learning. Notable examples include the state’s highly-regarded preschool and kindergarten implementation guidelines, its investment in preschool across the state, extensive support for PreK-3rd early literacy in low-income communities, its PreK-3rd Leadership Training Series, and leading edge success stories in communities like Union City and Red Banks….
Collection of Early Childhood Assessment Resources
Writing from Day 4 of Massachusetts’ Early Educators Leadership Institute, I want to share a set of resources on early childhood assessment that Albert Wat (National Governors Association) and Linda Warren (Early Childhood Associates) have pulled together. In addition to general information on assessment, the resources are organized by 8 topics, including, for example: Finding Time…
“You Are on the Cusp of a Huge Movement”
So exclaimed Libby Doggett, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Early Learning at the US Department of Education. Doggett discussed the Birth—3rd movement at the recent District Leadership Summit in Chicago organized by the Ounce of Prevention Fund. She told the audience of district leaders that we are at “unique moment in time” and “can…