Children at the Center: Transforming Early Childhood Education in the Boston Public Schools

Children at the Center provides a closely observed account of a decade-long effort to reshape the scope, direction, and quality of the Boston Public Schools' early childhood programs. Drawing on multiple perspectives and voices from the field, the authors highlight the reflective, collaborative, inquiry-driven approach undertaken by the program and share lessons learned.

Boston Public Schools are recognized for embedding high-quality, public preK programs in their system and achieving exceptional results. In this book, the authors outline the core principles that underlie the district's early childhood programs and explore the role of curriculum, professional development, coaching, and data use in supporting these new initiatives. They show how the Boston Public Schools Department of Early Childhood was able to work with and against the constraints of the current accountability system to create a holistic, child-centered, play-based program that has had a significant impact in narrowing income-based learning gaps.

Written in collaboration with the Department of Early Childhood Education, this account of creating successful preK programs in a diverse urban district will provide a valuable resource for practitioners engaged in similar work across the country.

Author: Betty Bardige, Megina Baker, Ben Mardell
Publisher: Harvard Education PR
Published: 07/17/2018
Pages: 248
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.90h x 6.00w x 0.50d
ISBN13: 9781682532027
ISBN10: 168253202X
BISAC Categories:
- Education | Schools | Levels | Early Childhood (Incl. Preschool & Kinder
- Education | Urban
- Education | Educational Policy & Reform

About the Author
Betty Bardige is a developmental psychologist and an early childhood author, advocate, foundation leader, and consultant. She focuses on language, literacy, and family engagement.

Megina Baker has been an early childhood educator in the United States and Sweden. She is now a researcher at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and part of the Early Childhood Education faculty at Boston University.

Ben Mardell has taught infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and kindergarteners. He is currently a principal investigator at Project Zero at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.