Why Early Childhood?
Through a number of regional and statewide initiatives, we are making headway to improve early childhood education in Virginia and beyond.
Moving Towards Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood Education
Building on a strong foundation of nationally recognized early childhood education research, faculty at the University of Virginia are now collaborating with state and local leaders to advance high-quality early learning opportunities.
The Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP), Advancing Effective Interactions & Instructions (AEII) initiative, and STREAMin3 curriculum and professional development are three current initiatives that are working towards the common goal of improved early childhood education.
Progress so Far...
Understanding school readiness
We are gaining a better understanding of school readiness in Virginia, thanks to the statewide implementation of the Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Program (VKRP) in kindergarten and the recent preschool expansion.
Enhancing the quality of preschool programs
Partnering with VDOE, Advancing Effective Interactions and Instruction (AEII) is working with Virginia's publicly funded birth to five classrooms to improve the quality of teacher-child interactions, instruction, and curriculum implementation.
Supporting effective professional development
We are providing data-informed and practice-focused coaching, consulting, and professional development supports to birth through kindergarten educators.
Facilitating the use of data to make decisions
We are empowering educators to use data to identify students' social-emotional and instructional needs, helping both teachers and students succeed.
implementing an innovative curriculum model
Developed in collaboration with E3 and the New E3 School, we are supporting the implementation of the STREAMin3 comprehensive curriculum model in public and private birth to five classrooms across Virginia.
focusing on equitable, high-quality learning opportunities
We are facilitating educators' use of high-quality, inclusive, social-emotional and equity-informed resources through the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Resource Hub.
