Transitional kindergarten is growing in Oakland to meet increased demand

At Su Casa Preschool in Memphis students are taught the usual curriculum plus second language development. The program focuses on helping Spanish-speaking immigrant children access quality education.

Part 4 of the "Equity or Bust: Are Ontario's Public Schools a Model for Pennsylvania" Series: Ontario is widely lauded for its education system. But, like Pennsylvania, evidence in Toronto suggests that Ontario has struggled to close achievement gaps between historically underserved minorities and their peers. Many believe universal pre-K will prove to be the decisive factor in bridging that gap.

Part 1 of 3 - A progressive funding model has been a boon to schools in Berlin’s poorer neighborhoods, which receive a baseline of staff and resources that would make them the envy of many of their counterparts in Pennsylvania. But schools in poorer neighborhoods face a myriad of struggles that additional resources haven’t been able to quell, due to the deep socioeconomic disparities between the home neighborhoods of wealthy and poor students. This "social wall" lies exactly along the lines of the once physical Berlin wall.

Batibot Early Learning Center is a progressive daycare center that offers “socialized tuition” based on what families earn, making it easier for lower-income children to access early childhood education. The center enrolls 25 children and prioritizes hands-on support and therapy for children with developmental delays.

GUIARE, an organization that trains teachers in Costa Rica, began donating libraries to preschool classrooms in 2019. It has since connected more than 800 children with nearly 8,000 books and inspired schools to launch new reading-related programs and events.

Outdoor schools are growing in popularity, but don't often reflect the diverse communities they serve. Two outdoor schools, one in New Mexico and the other in Washington state, are implementing programs and strategies to address the root of this systemic issue. Tiny Trees Preschool in Seattle has found success through its Redefining The Outdoors program, which gets more families of color involved in the outdoors, and by offering tuition assistance to families of color and those facing economic hardships.

With $14 million in public and private funding, Cleveland transformed its early childhood education offerings in just five years. The partnership called PRE4CLE provided intensive support and funding for staff education and salaries, curricula, classroom supplies, renovations, and more.

In the United States, African American students are disproportionately placed into special ed tracks based on behavior issues. In an attempt to reverse this trend, the Shoestring Children's Center helps kids aged three to five, many of whom are black, learn to focus and manage their emotions.

Missing days at school, even when excusable, starts children on a pattern of falling behind. A new U.S. department of education initiative has districts tracking all absences, even in kindergarten, to identify and help kids with chronic absenteeism sooner.

Preschool programs such as the one offered by the Carrie Murray Nature Center prioritize outdoor education, allowing children to learn through play while interacting with the natural world. These types of programs have become popular since the pandemic, with more than 800 operating in the United States in 2022, and research shows natural settings are an ideal environment for young children to learn skills such as resilience, leadership, and problem-solving.