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HHS, Education Launch Research To Promote School Readiness EffortSupports President Bush's Early Childhood Education Initiative HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson today announced a new five-year research initiative with the Department of Education to find the best ways to prepare preschool children for later success in school. In the initiative's first year, eight institutions across the country will receive $7.4 million in research grants to test preschool curricula, Internet-based teacher training, and the importance of parental involvement for improving children's readiness to enter school. "This research will identify ways to help children get the most out of preschool so they can enter kindergarten ready to learn," Secretary Thompson said. "The strategies identified by these researchers will help identify effective pre-school curricula and teaching approaches. The research represents an important part of President Bush's early childhood education initiative." The new research initiative grew out the 2001 White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, which highlighted the need for better ways to help parents, teachers, and caregivers provide young children with the intellectual and social skills they need to succeed when they enter school. The first-year grant funding includes $6.4 million from three HHS components -- the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health, the Administration for Children and Families and the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. The Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services contributed $1 million for first year. The following are the eight research centers, the centers' lead investigators, and each center's primary research focus: Pennsylvania State University, Karen L. Bierman, Ph.D. This site will compare curricula now in use in many Head Start classrooms to curricula based on the latest scientific findings. In all, 320 children from 40 randomly selected classrooms will be studied to see if the new curricula improve language development and social and emotional skills. University of Pennsylvania, John W. Fantuzzo, Ph.D. University of California, Los Angeles, Carollee Howes, Ph.D. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Janis B. Kupersmidt, Ph.D. Indiana University, Samuel L. Odom, Ph.D. University of Virginia, Robert C. Pianta, Ph.D. University of Chicago, C. Cybele Raver, Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Susan M. Sheridan, Ph.D. ### Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news. Last Revised: December 8, 2003 |