Getting in Sync: Revamping Licensure and Preparation for Teachers in Pre-K, Kindergarten and the Early Grades

Outlines the challenges in teacher preparation and licensure, with a focus on pre-K through third grade; promising practices such as increased classroom experience and selectivity; and suggestions for improving teacher preparation programs and policies

Building Strong Readers In Minnesota: PreK-3rd Grade Policies That Support Children's Literacy Development

From 2015 through 2016, the Early Education Initiative will be producing a series of reports from states and localities across the United States to provide an inside look at efforts to support children's learning from infancy and extending into the early grades.This paper explores how Minnesota's pre-K through third grade education policies are helping or hindering the ability of school districts, schools, and teachers to ensure that all children are on track to read on grade level by the end of third grade

National Principals\u27 Survey on Early Childhood Instructional Leadership

The National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP), the McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership at National Louis University, and New America partnered to study early childhood instructional leadership in schools. The National Principals’ Survey on Early Childhood Instructional Leadership was conducted in 2016 with the NAESP membership. This environmental scan collected basic descriptive data about the roles within schools and districts that contribute to instructional leadership and teacher supervision in preK classrooms. The survey was designed to examine the distribution of leadership functions; the influence of elementary principals on supporting children transitioning to kindergarten; classroom activities in preK and primary classrooms; and the alignment of curriculum, standards and instruction across the PreK-3 continuum

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Beyond Subprime Learning: Accelerating Progress in Early Education

The report is a followup to Subprime Learning: Early Education in America since the Great Recession released in January, which found that from 2009-2013 states primarily focused on building infrastructure, such as rating systems that aim to help parents sort through different early childhood programs

Toolkit for Using Policy to Enable Effective and Supportive Transitions for Children, Families, & Educators

In order to ensure seamless transitions for children, families, and educators, state and local government officials must work to create systems that enable supportive and effective transitions. This toolkit provides steps and policy ideas to help leaders take action now on improving transitions and aligning children's early learning experiences