In an elegant affirmation of human capacity and creativity, Patricia Carini counters high-stakes testing, the pathologizing of children, and the unrelenting critique of the public schools with a persuasive account of how children, all children, actively make sense of the world and their experience through the making of works such as drawings, constructions, and writings. This engaging and vivid account of the day-to-day possibilities of learning and teaching, and ultimately the remaking of the schools, is indispensable reading for anyone called to teach or committed to a liberating education for all children. “This is a beautifully written book. I am inspired with each page.” —Vito Perrone, Harvard University "In this precious book by one of our most powerful thinkers, Pat Carini takes us deep, deep into the lives of children, into classrooms and schools, into the human heart of education at its best.” —William Ayers, University of Illinois at Chicago “A thoughtful book that challenges us to embrace an expansive vision of education. Throughout this powerful collection of essays, Pat Carini reminds us to place the value of each individual at the center of all we do in schools." —Judy Buchanan, National Writing Project “In this book, Carini draws on children’s and teachers’ stories, poetry, and philosophy as she attends to making visible for the reader the humanness of education." —Ofelia García, Dean, School of Education, Long Island University

A hands-on and usable guide to making the first 90 days of your mentoring relationship a success In Starting Strong, mentoring experts Lois J. Zachary and Lory A. Fischler weave a compelling tale that exemplifies the concepts, highlights the dynamics, and outlines the issues involved in mentoring relationships. The authors use the form of a fable to tell the story of a budding mentoring relationship filled with possibilities, problems, and triumphs. The story of Cynthia, a seasoned professional, and her new mentee Rafa, brings to life Zachary and Fischler's wealth of mentoring suggestions and best practices and each episode of the fable is accompanied by reflection questions, key learnings, and strategies that readers can apply to their own mentoring relationships. The authors include a conversation playbook that guides mentors and mentees through six essential conversations that will help them establish a strong mentoring connection, and keep it moving forward. As organizations face the transition of departing Boomers and arriving Millennials, Starting Strong offers a hands-on and readable guide to create effective mentoring relationships that will ensure the success of that transition. The book: Covers the key components of a successful mentoring relationship including building trust, establishing a comfort zone (and then having the courage to leave it), holding productive meetings, dealing with power dynamics, setting goals, and keeping momentum going Shows how to avoid common pitfalls and overcome mentoring obstacles Applies to any organizational or institutional setting Starting Strong is more than an engaging story of mentorship, it's a vital resource for understanding how to implement and sustain a meaningful mentoring relationship.

Children’s learning, development and well-being are directly influenced by their daily interactions with other children, adults, their families and the environment. This interactive process is known as “process quality”, and leads to a key question – which policies set the best conditions for children to experience high-quality interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings?

Starting Strong: Evidence-Based Early Literacy Practices shows teachers how to use four proven instructional approaches-;standards based, evidenced based, assessment based, and student based-;to improve their teaching practice in all areas of early literacy.Authors Katrin Blamey and Katherine Beauchat draw on their years of experience and early literacy expertise to guide you in figuring out what to teach and how to find the most instructionally sound method to teach it. They help you determine the instructional needs of your classroom and take full advantage of what you know about your students so you can engage them in learning.With chapters on oral language, vocabulary, phonological awareness, word recognition, comprehension, and writing skills, this comprehensive book explains each skill and provides research-based strategies for targeting each area. Supported by evidence-based research and aligned to key tenets of the Common Core, the book also includes classroom-tested activities and children's literature suggestions for each area of literacy.Starting Strong is an essential resource that any early literacy teacher or coach using a balanced literacy approach can use to build a solid foundation for their students.

This publication focuses on quality issues in early childhood education and care: it aims to define quality and outlines five policy levers that can enhance it.

Taking a broader and more holistic approach to early childhood than previous studies, this book provides a comparative analysis of major policy developments and issues in 12 OECD countries, highlights innovative approaches, and proposes policy options that can be adapted to varied country contexts.