Building on Laura Bush's nationwide efforts to highlight the importance of early childhood cognitive development, U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has announced grants totaling $14.6 million to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators in communities with high concentrations of poverty.

Last year, Mrs. Bush held the first White House Summit on Early Childhood Development during which she challenged education leaders to focus on the critical cognitive development stages of children from birth through age five.

"The years from the crib to the classroom represent a period of intense language and cognitive growth," offered Mrs. Bush at the White House Summit. "We all have the duty to call attention to the science and seriousness of early childhood cognitive development."

The funded projects are built upon scientific research on early childhood teaching and child development and learning. Teachers who work in preschools located in high-need communities and who serve children from low-income families will participate in professional development activities to improve children's language and cognitive skills and to prevent reading and behavior problems as children enter and move through school.

Nine projects in California, Florida, Kansas, Mississippi, New York, Oregon, Tennessee and Texas received the U.S. Department of Education (ED) funding.

"Too many young children begin their education without the critical skills they must have for later success," Secretary Paige said. "Regrettably, many of these youngsters have not been exposed to extensive vocabulary, sounds, letters, print, concepts and books by parents or others. Those whose professional responsibility it is to help young children learn need the best possible preparation.

"It makes a huge difference for teachers to have high-quality, sustained and intensive professional development in how to create preschool classrooms where children are safe and where they acquire a strong foundation in the knowledge and skills needed for later school success," Paige noted. "Such professional development must be based on scientific research on early childhood development and learning. Only the best preschools and preschool teachers can help us prevent academic failure later on."

President Bush has made improving readiness of preschool children a priority of his Administration. His Good Start, Grow Smart initiative, announced last spring, will help prepare children to succeed in school by strengthening Head Start and other early childhood programs by infusing scientific research on cognitive development. More information about this initiative can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/earlychildhood/toc.html.

Grants were awarded to partnerships including institutions of higher education or other entities that provide professional development services, public agencies such as state or local education agencies, and when possible, entities that train teachers to identify and prevent behavioral problems as well as identify victims of abuse. The projects will provide professional development for educators and will also rigorously measure progress toward project objectives, including improved language and pre-reading skills among children. Educators who work in communities with high concentrations of children living in poverty -- including Title I preschool programs, Head Start, Even Start Family Literacy programs and public day care programs -- are the targets of the training grants.

To further the president's early childhood initiative, ED will share scientifically based research and practical ideas about cognitive development with pre-K teachers and child care providers at four regional Early Childhood Educator Academies this fall. The academies will

take place in Los Angeles (Nov. 14-15), St. Louis (Dec. 3-4), Miami (Dec. 9-10) and Lowell, Mass (April 7-8). For more information, go to: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/earlychildhood/eceacademy.html.

NOTE TO EDITORS: A list of grantees, contacts and grant amounts follows. Project descriptions are available at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/SASA/ecprofdev.html.

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