About Children's School Success

The goal of the Children’s School Success (CSS) project is to improve the educational opportunities and reduce the educational disparity for young children exposed to risks such as poverty, disability, and linguistic differences here in the United States. To address this goal, the primary objective of CSS is to investigate the effectiveness of an integrated curriculum model intended to prepare children for successful school entry. This curriculum model consists of academic, social, and individualization components that are well integrated and have a solid-base of scientific evidence documenting their effectiveness.

The research will take place in 90 classroom clusters at five regional locations. California, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, and West Virginia were chosen for their geographic, cultural, and linguistic diversity.

CSS will study 900 at-risk preschool children. Children at risk for failure when entering public school are defined as four-year-old children living in poverty, children with identified disabilities, and children who are English learners. These children will be enrolled in Head Start and state-funded pre-kindergarten programs.

This five-year study is one of eight projects funded by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development, the Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.