New Head Start Quality Research Centers Funded

By Louisa B. Tarullo and Carole Kuhns

The Head Start Bureau and the ACYF Commissioner's Office of Research and Evaluation are pleased to announce the award of eight cooperative agreements under the Head Start Quality Research Center (QRC) Consortium to promote the school readiness of preschool children in Head Start. These five-year grants will fund partnerships between academic researchers and Head Start programs designed to improve child outcomes in the areas of literacy, social-emotional development, and other domains of school readiness, through enhancements to curriculum, teacher training and mentoring, parent involvement, and assessment practices. Research teams will implement and evaluate their interventions with Head Start program partners in an initial site, then replicate the successful interventions at additional sites.

QRC Consortium Members include–

Columbia University, New York
"Using Assessment to Improve School Readiness and Head Start Program Quality"
Sharon Lynn Kagan and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn
In partnership with programs in Stamford and Waterbury, Connecticut, the research team will implement an innovative observational assessment system for Head Start children, classrooms, and programs, and provide the supports and resources necessary to use data from the assessments to improve classroom and program practice and child outcomes. Collaboration with the Connecticut Department of Education on school readiness outcomes is a key feature.

Education Development Center, Massachusetts
"A Systematic Approach to Fostering Language and Literacy Development"
David K. Dickinson
Collaborating with programs in Waltham and Boston, Massachusetts, the researchers will develop, implement, and assess a systemic version of the Literacy Environment Enrichment Program, enabling programs to create their own self-improvement programs with a focus on language and literacy development. The intervention features intensive professional development activities involving both QIC staff and mentor teachers from the program.

High/Scope Educational Research Foundation, Michigan
"Achieving Head Start Effectiveness through Intensive Curriculum Training"
Lawrence J. Schweinhart
This intervention, based in programs in Oakland County, Michigan, will provide intensive training in the use of the High/Scope curriculum framework, and verification that the curriculum is being implemented in the most effective manner in Head Start classrooms.

University of North Carolina
"Socioemotional Interventions to Enhance School Readiness"
Donna Bryant, Janis Kupersmidt, Ellen Peisner-Feinberg
Working with programs in Person County and Roxboro, North Carolina, the research team will implement an evidence-based intervention program to reduce disruptive behavior and improve classroom functioning. Moving from a very intensive intervention provided by clinical consultants and tested via the Head Start Mental Health Research Consortium, this modification will develop and evaluate a self-sustaining, program-based intervention suitable for dissemination through the Training and Technical Assistance Network.

University of Oregon
"Head Start Adaptation of First Step to Success: Preparing Children for Social/Emotional Success at School"
Hill Walker, Edward Feil, Annemieke Golly, Herbert Severson
In partnership with grantees in Lane County and Springfield, Oregon, the Oregon team proposes to adapt the First Step to Success early intervention program, originally developed for kindergarten children, to help preschool children at risk for school problems become better prepared for the social and emotional challenges of school.

Quality Counts, Inc., Georgia
"Supporting Children's Individualized Learning in Head Start"
Martha Abbott-Shim, Richard Lambert
Continuing their collaboration with programs in Jefferson County, Alabama, and in Gainesville, Georgia, and adding new partners in Jackson and Brunswick, Georgia, the research team plans to implement a mentoring intervention that supports individualized learning experiences for children in Head Start that have been shown to promote classroom quality and children's school readiness.

University of South Carolina
"The Companion Curriculum: Connecting Head Start Parents and Teachers to Promote Early Learning and Development"
Julia Mendez, Jean Ann Linney
Based on the premise that enhancing parent involvement is crucial to preparing children for school, this research team is working with programs in Columbia, South Carolina and surrounding counties to implement a home-based learning curriculum for parents and children, supplemented by parent-child centers within individual classrooms.

State University of New York at Stony Brook
"Evidence-Based Emergent Literacy Approaches for Head Start"
Janet E. Fischel
Through a partnership with a grantee in Suffolk County, Long Island, New York, this intervention will compare leading curricula used in Head Start programs that aim to enhance emergent literacy and language skills in terms of improved classroom practice and child outcomes.

Louisa B. Tarullo is a Senior Social Science Research Analyst at the Commissioner's Office of Research and Evaluation, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, DHHS. Louisa can be reached at T: 202-205-8324; E: lbtarullo@acf.hhs.gov.

Carole Kuhns is a Society for Research in Child Development Policy Fellow in the Commissioner's Office of Research and Evaluation, Administration on Children, Youth and Families, DHHS. More information on the QRC Consortium is also available at http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/opre/.