Community

Play and Learning Strategies (PALS)
The PALS curriculum, developed by faculty at CLI, teaches parents specific skills for interacting with their infants and toddlers that lead to better child outcomes, particularly in children from high-risk families. The program is designed to be facilitated by a trained parent educator who presents each session to the parent(s) and coaches the parent(s) in utilizing the specific techniques.

Raising a Reader (RAR)
The primary goal of this project is to determine the effectiveness of a school-based book exchange program, called Raising a Reader, and a school-based parent educational program, called Family Nights. These programs aim to improve the school readiness of 3- and 4-year-old children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds by increasing the frequency and quality of language and literacy activities in children's homes. Nearly 2000 children and families in Houston will participate between 2006 and 2009.

Reach Out and Read Texas (ROR-TX)
ROR is a national pediatric literacy program dedicated to making early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary healthcare. ROR's mission is to make early literacy a standard part of pediatric primary healthcare in Texas. Pediatricians encourage parents to read aloud to their young children and distribute books to their patients at all wellness check-ups from six months to five years of age. There are 1,200 pediatricians participating across Texas.

Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office (THSSCO)
Head Start is a Federal-State partnership begun in 1965 to promote healthy development in young children. In 1990, the Texas Head Start State Collaboration Office was created and funded to improve collaboration among Texas schools, social service agencies and other community programs related to or involved with early childhood education. There are seven priorities: education, family literacy, children with disabilities, health, childcare, community service, and welfare.

Texas School Ready!™
Texas School Ready!™ is a program that certifies preschool education classrooms that effectively prepared their students for kindergarten. Texas School Ready! is administered by the Texas State Center for Early Childhood Development. We are very excited to be able to announce the first group of Texas School Ready!™ certified preschool classrooms!

Texas State Center for Early Childhood Development and the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM)
The State Center directs the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM) initiative. TEEM encourages shared resources among government-funded public and private child-care programs including non-profit and for-profit childcare centers, public school districts and Head Start. Key ingredients include: a partnership among childcare and early education programs, implementing a teacher training program (CIRCLE Professional Development), using research-based, state approved curriculum, and implementing a quality rating system to certify early childhood education programs as getting children ready for formal schooling.