Best Practices Archives - Page 3 of 11

Tennessee on Track to Become First in Nation to Offer Diaper Benefit to Medicaid Families

Good, Say Medicaid Expansion Advocates, But More Work Is Needed

K.C. Compton·Jun 1, 2023·4 min read

Some of Tennessee’s most vulnerable families could soon get relief from the high cost of diapers, as the state works...

Erikson Institute’s New, Fully Funded Master’s Program for Educators of Color in Chicago

Applications Due April 21 for Educator Impact Grants

Mark Swartz·Mar 30, 2023·4 min read

Erikson Institute’s new Master of Science in Early Childhood Education (MSECE) licensure program is designed to prepare teachers to teach...

New Resource Offers Roadmap for Informing, Evaluating Farm to Early Care and Education Programs

K.C. Compton·Sep 28, 2022·8 min read

As childcare centers, preschools and other early education settings strive to stretch every penny, they often face daunting challenges in...

5 Top Takeaways from the Conversation: Mississippi’s Education Turnaround

Mark Swartz·Jul 28, 2020·3 min read

On Tuesday, July 14, Mississippi's Superintendent of Education, Dr. Carey Wright, shared the story of grade-level reading success in her state. The Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (CGLR) powered the conversation as part of their Learning Tuesdays webinar series.

Baby pulling stethoscope. Photo courtesy Mount Sinai Parenting Center

A Work in Progress: How Mount Sinai Parenting Center Is Bringing the Science of Child Development into Pediatric Education

Mark Swartz·Mar 27, 2019·4 min read

New York City’s Mount Sinai Hospital is one of the nation’s oldest and largest teaching hospitals. They're upping their early childhoold development game with an online curriculum that demonstrates how pediatric residents can promote brain development and help strengthen parent-child relationships within the confines of routine well-child visits

This Summer, Create Opportunities to Slow Down, Be Present, Reclaim the Wonder

MaryJean McCarthy·Jun 15, 2020·4 min read

While such togetherness and lack of the usual resources will likely inspire new horror films and comedy series, this quarantine period also provides a positive reminder for us to slow down, be present and reclaim the wonder.

Geetha Ramani: You Want to Teach Math? Play Games!

The Editors·Apr 18, 2019·4 min read

When University of Maryland Associate Professor Geetha Ramani and her colleagues visit early learning classrooms, they’re known as the “game people.” Ramani’s research shows not only the importance of teaching math skills, but also the effectiveness of what might seem like an obvious tactic: Make it fun.

Business Community is Key to Galvanizing Voter Support for Early Childhood Services in Kent County

Tom Kertscher·Oct 23, 2019·5 min read

Last November, voters in and around Grand Rapids, Michigan’s second-largest city (population 200,000), made Kent County the first county in Michigan to approve a referendum that raises property taxes specifically for early childhood.

Using Policy to Plant a Powerful Future for New Mexico’s Children

K.C. Compton·Apr 16, 2020·7 min read

Throughout the U.S., the care network for our nation’s youngest children is less a tightly woven safety net and more...

Kids with dirt smudges on their faces, laughing and eating outdoors

The Mind-Building Magic of a Muddy Childhood

K.C. Compton·Aug 30, 2019·7 min read

Throughout most of human history and in most of the world, that paradigm of children playing outdoors as a part of childhood has been so integral as to be transparent. Not so in the U.S., where, according to the Child Mind Institute, the average American child spends four to seven minutes a day in unstructured play outdoors and more than seven hours a day in front of a screen. Washington State is changing that.