Early Learning Standards Project: What Parents Should Know About Standards-Based Education for Preschoolers in English and in Spanish.
This brochure was developed based on Rhode Island's Early Learning Standards to help parents identify standards-based preschools. Rhode Island's Early Learning Standards were developed to provide guidance to parents, teachers and administrators on what children should know before they enter Kindergarten.

Ready or Not: Preparing Rhode Island’s children to Succeed in School and Benchmarks for Progress  Updated
This report is an update of the final report of the Rhode Island School Readiness Team released in May 2004. The report focuses on key indicators used to determine the health development and well-being of young children

Success Stories: State Investment in Early Care and Education in Illinois, North Carolina and Rhode Island
Smart Start’s National Technical Assistance Resource Center released a report which tells the story of three states’ efforts secure investments in early care and education.

School Readiness Indicators as a Key Tool in Shaping Advocacy Strategies
October 2005 - Presented at the Voices for America's Children's 2005 Child Advocacy Leadership Institute, this paper examines how child advocates can use school readiness indicators to inform their policy agenda and further their advocacy work. The paper also shares examples of how states are using school readiness indicators to move a policy and advocacy agenda for young children.

Getting Ready: Findings From the National School Readiness Indicators Initiative A 17 State Partnership
The National School Readiness Indicators Initiative has released the national report detailing the findings from the work of the three year 17-state National School Readiness Indicators Initiative. Read the Executive Summary.

Ready or Not: Preparing Rhode Island’s children to Succeed in School and Benchmarks for Progress.
This report, released by Rhode Island's School Readiness team, focuses on key indicators used to determine the health development and well-being of young children. Rhode Island KIDS COUNT heads the 17-state National School Readiness Indicators Initiative.

Rhode Island's Early Learning Standards were developed to provide guidance to parents, teachers and administrators on what children should know before they enter Kindergarten. Created by representatives from early care and education, Head Start, parents, and private and public schools, The Standards are divided into eight domains which early learning is based upon. Read the Early Learning Standards in English and in Spanish.

Losing Ground in Early Childhood Education
The study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute and the Key Stone Research Center and released in September 2005, analyzes 25 years of U.S. Census data and reveals a substantial national decline in workforce qualifications of center-based Early Care and Education providers. The study also shows the even lower qualifications of home-based Early Care and Education providers.

How Ready Is Providence? Advancing a Community Conversation about School Readiness in Providence.
The report released Ready to Learn Providence presents data on 24 indicators of children’s readiness for school

NAEYC Early Childhood Program Standards and Accreditation Performance Criteria
The criteria were approved by the NAEYC Governing Board in April 2005. They will take effect in September 2006, replacing the current (“1998”) Accreditation Criteria.

The Future of Children, School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps
The latest volume of The Future of Children Journal, examines the preschool origins of the achievement gaps and proposes educational programs for parents and children that could significantly narrow disparities.

All Together Now: State Experiences in Using Community-Based Child Care to Provide Pre-Kindergarten.  
The Center for Law and Social Policy's  report examines states’ experiences using private child care programs to provide publicly funded preschool.

The Economic Impact of Rhode Island’s Child Care Industry (April 2003)
This report sponsored by Options for Working Parents gives a snapshot of the child care, examines the revenue, jobs, taxes and purchases generated by child care in Rhode Island.