Resource Library

A tool to help district and school-based practitioners conduct self-studies for planning and implementing early literacy interventions for kindergarten, grade1 and grade 2 students. This guide is designed to promote reflection about current strengths and challenges in planning for implementation of early literacy interventions, spark conversations among staff, and identify areas for improvement. This self-study guide provides a template for data collection and guiding questions for discussion.

Both public and school libraries are community centers at heart, with the same goal: to provide a safe, welcoming environment for all patrons and access to information in a variety of formats. When public and school librarians and library workers engage in collaboration, community members reap the benefits. This toolkit includes context and suggestions for creating partnerships of all sizes.

This report was developed in conjunction with a national meeting, drawing together students with disabilities and personalized learning experts to discuss how personalized learning systems can be designed to best support the learning of students with disabilities.

This guide helps city and community leaders and other policymakers examine what is needed and update their family engagement and early learning plans by taking integrated approaches to the use of libraries, schools, multimedia spaces, and through home-based Internet connectivity services.

This guide was developed by teachers, parents, and education experts in response to the Common Core State Standards that more than 45 states have adopted. Created for grades K-8 and high school English, language arts/literacy and mathematics, the guides provide clear, consistent expectations for what students should be learning at each grade in order to be prepared for college and career.

This practice guide provides four recommendations for teaching foundational reading skills to students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. Each recommendation includes implementation steps and solutions for common obstacles. The recommendation also summarize and rate supporting evidence. This guide is geared towards teachers, administrators, and other educators who want to improve their students’ foundational reading skills, and is a companion to the practice guide, Improving Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade.

Any effort to increase third-grade reading proficiency should maximize the summer months as a time to catch up, stay on track, and remain healthy. Equipped with the right information, tools, and supports, parents can make sure their children have healthy and enriching summers. The guide includes these recommendations to support summer learning: engage children in enriching summer activities at home or in the community; use technology to facilitate ongoing learning, especially during the summer; and encourage, support, and model healthy eating and fitness.

Research shows that children who are chronically absent from school — missing 10 percent of the school year or more (about 18 days) for any reason — in kindergarten and first grade are far less likely to read well by the end of third grade. To make progress on attendance, the guide recommends that communities focus on helping parents strengthen these competencies: recognize and address health needs and environmental hazards in the home; monitor absences and seek support at the earliest signs of attendance issues; and establish an expectation and a plan for daily school attendance, even when families move.

This guide focuses on three key school readiness areas: social-emotional and executive function skills (enabling children to plan, focus attention, remember instructions and juggle several tasks), early literacy, and the health determinants of early school success. To help parents strengthen three competencies, the guide includes these recommendations: engage in nurturing and affirming “back and forth” interactions; enrich their child’s vocabulary and promote a love of reading; and track and assess progress toward early developmental milestones.

This resource is for program providers, education leaders, policymakers, and funders who are making important decisions about whether and how to strengthen and expand summer learning programs as a way to accelerate student achievement. In addition to 13 case studies of diverse program models, the report includes a look at key research on what works in summer learning and an overview of supportive state policies.