In an effort to strengthen and improve the quality of the nation's preschool programs, the U.S. Department of Education is requesting applications from public and private organizations, institutions of higher education, and state and local education agencies to conduct research on the effectiveness of preschool curricula.

"One thing we know for sure is that many of our preschool programs need to enhance their instructional content, " said Grover "Russ" Whitehurst, U.S. assistant secretary for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. "This grant program will help us create a wealth of scientifically based research on effective preschool programs that will enable educators to make better selections of classroom curricula."

This topic was a major focus of the White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, hosted by First Lady Laura Bush, to highlight the early learning activities that parents and educators can use to prepare young children for school. Improving education with research-based teaching is one of the four basic principles of reform in President Bush's No Child Left Behind comprehensive education reform plan.

The notice for applications for the 2002 Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Grant Program was published in the December 17, 2001, Federal Register.

The aim of the program is to implement rigorous evaluations of preschool curricula that will provide information to support informed choices of classroom curricula for early childhood programs.

The Department expects to make approximately 10 awards, starting at approximately $350,000 per year for each project. Projects will be funded for up to four years. A separate contract will allow for a common evaluation of each of the curriculum projects.

To qualify, applicants must focus their research on preschools that serve children from low-income backgrounds or that serve such children in significant numbers. The grants also require the applicants to follow the children who participate in these studies into kindergarten and first grade.

For further information on the request for applications for the 2002 Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Grant Program, visit our Web site at http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/announce/index.html.

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