K-3rd Grade Retention Costs State Millions

In the 2008-09 school year, North Carolina spent more than $167 million dollars retaining children in kindergarten through third grade. While the number of children held back in grades K to 3 had been gradually decreasing in the state, it's leveled...

Continue reading →

What It Takes to Build Birth-to-College Education

The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute and the Ounce of Prevention Fund are partnering to “build a model of public education for children and their families that begins at birth and creates success in school, college, and life.” The goal is...

Continue reading →

Are Teacher Education Programs Aligning with PreK-3 Model?

Researchers from Pennsylvania State University looked at how teacher education programs are aligned with the PreK-3rd approach. Not surprisingly perhaps, the researchers found tension between early childhood education and elementary teacher education programs. These tensions ranged from disrespectful attitudes...

Continue reading →

Study shows kindergarten learning affects adult success

New research from the National Science Foundation's Division of Social and Economic Sciences finds that children who learn more in kindergarten go on to earn more as adults and are more successful overall. Harvard University economist John Friedman explains in...

Continue reading →

Too Smart for Kindergarten?

Smart Start on the Radio: Listen now! RALEIGH, N.C. - As thousands of children across North Carolina start kindergarten this month and more children are attending pre-school every year, will some kids be too smart for kindergarten, already know too...

Continue reading →