Brief co-authored by professors Michelle J. Bellino, Christina Weiland, and colleagues explores implementation of high-quality early learning curriculum in Mississippi
In a brief by Marsal faculty Michelle J. Bellino and Christina Weiland along with colleagues at U-M, Northwestern, and Harvard, the authors summarize Mississippi's implementation story in scaling-up a new curriculum, Mississippi Beginnings, in state-funded Pre-K classrooms.
Mississippi’s experience offers practical advice and a North Star for other localities considering a pivot in their early learning curricula to match leading guidance in the field.
Research has shown consistently that access to high-quality preschool sets children on path to success in kindergarten and beyond. But ensuring public preschool programs are high-quality has been challenging. Although on average programs in the United States are well organized and emotionally supportive, instructional quality is stubbornly mediocre. Combining curricula that have a scope and sequence and rich content, with supports for educators, has proven to be a "good bet" for delivering high-quality preschool at scale.
The National Academy of Science, Education, and Medicine further highlights the importance of
preschool curricula that offer engaging activities that give children agency and that are relevant to their own lives. Yet, these kinds of curricula are rarely used in public preschool programs, despite the strong evidence supporting their efficacy. One reason for this limited scale-up is the dearth of research on how these curricula can be implemented at large scale.