Publication

A research-based early childhood curriculum is in line with current studies and best practices on how children develop and learn. It is content-rich and focuses on domain-specific, developmentally appropriate content and skills.

An organized developmental scope and sequence outlines what the early childhood curriculum focuses on. It also shows how the plans and materials support children at different stages of development.

To implement a curriculum effectively, staff must understand how to use it responsively, intentionally, and with fidelity. Use this resource to implement curriculum in ways that meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards.

Aligning a curriculum with the ELOF allows staff to see which and to what extent the ELOF domains and sub-domains are addressed in the curriculum.

Standardized training procedures offer initial and ongoing support to education staff as they learn to implement a curriculum with fidelity. Materials include resources that come with a curriculum to help education staff learn how to use it.

Research-based curricula for the home-based program option is founded on solid research around parenting concepts, skills, and practices that promote healthy child development. Use this checklist to evaluate your home-based curriculum.

When your program is selecting a home-based curriculum, use this checklist to guide the decision-making process.

During the 2016–2017 program year, the Office of Head Start (OHS) used the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS^®) Pre-K Teacher-Child Observation Instrument during its on-site reviews of grantees. Explore this resource for descriptive statistics of the 2017 grantee-level CLASS^® data.

The Governance Readiness Assessment helps organizations review their processes. Governing bodies can use it to assess their capacity to oversee and monitor a Head Start program.

This fact sheet includes tips families can use to help young children develop positive active play behaviors.