“Federal grant will help Providence families engage with children’s education”

Federal grant will help Providence families engage with children’s education is the headline of an article in the Providence Journal about a new family involvement program that the city is starting with a three million dollar from the U.S. Department of Education: Using a program called “Mind in the Making,” children will be taught the […]

Another Reason To Wonder About Huge Parent Engagement Experiment In Providence

I’ve previously published a couple of posts wondering about a $5 million dollar experiment with low-income families being done in Providence, Rhode Island (see Could Providence’s Word Counting Project Be A “Boondoggle” As Well As Being Creepy?). A new study seems to question the research behind that experiment. Check out my other blog for a […]

Could Providence’s Word Counting Project Be A “Boondoggle” As Well As Being Creepy?

I’ve previously posted about a new effort in Providence (see Providence Wins Grant For Project That May Hold Promise, But Also Sounds A Bit Creepy): The City of Providence has just been awarded a $5 million grant from Michael Bloomberg’s foundation. They are going have small children carry recording devices that are attached to specially […]

Providence Wins Grant For Project That May Hold Promise, But Also Sounds A Bit Creepy

The City of Providence has just been awarded a $5 million grant from Michael Bloomberg’s foundation. They are going have small children carry recording devices that are attached to specially designed clothing and record all conversations they have during the day. They’ll then analyze the content of the conversations and use them to counsel parents […]

“Providence’s Bailey Elementary School combines education, community outreach”

I’ve previously written several posts about community schools. Typically, community schools are ones that host multiple social services, as well as regular school classes. Some of them, but I suspect not most, work with parents to design and structure their efforts. But even if they’re done through the lens of looking at parents as “clients” […]

Kellogg Foundation Announces Nearly $14 Million In Grants For Parent Involvement Programs

I’ve previously posted about the Kellogg Foundation’s initiative to fund parent involvement/engagement programs targeting families with children age eight and below. They just announced a new set of grants and I thought it would be useful just to reprint their press release since it listed all the grantees. Unfortunately, they didn’t send out anything indicating […]

More Resources On The “Word Gap”

There has recently been a flurry of media attention to what is called the so-called “word gap.” It’s the term used to describe the difference in vocabulary development of low-income children and middle-and-high-income children during their pre-school years. I’ve brought together a list of resources on the topic, including some that bring different perspectives. You […]

The Best Resources For Learning About The “Word Gap”

There has recently been a flurry of media attention to what is called the so-called “word gap.” It’s the term used to describe the difference in vocabulary development of low-income children and middle-and-high-income children during their pre-school years. In addition to the media attention, there have been some high-profile efforts at trying to respond to […]

Chicago Program Emphasizes Quality Of Parent/Child Interaction Key To Growth, Not Increasing Quantity Of Vocabulary

Is the power of parent talk enough to close the school readiness divide? is a very interesting article in the Hechinger Report about a home visit program in Chicago where parents are shown how they can interact with their children to enhance vocabulary growth. What’s particularly striking is its focus on the quality of interaction […]