Boston's Rapid Expansion of Public School-Based PreschoolYoung Children In 2005, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino called for public preschool for all four-year-olds in the city. In order to make Boston Public Preschools more competitive with private schools, Boston undertook several quality improvement strategies, such as improving the literacy curriculum, offering consistent and targeted professional development for teachers, and supporting Accreditation of preschool and kindergarten classrooms by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Boston Public Schools also contracted with the Wellesley Centers for Women's Nancy Marshall, Joanne Roberts, and Wendy Wagner Robeson to conduct biannual classroom quality measures and child outcomes studies using various assessment tools. Their studies indicate that "from 2006 to 2008, Boston's preschool classrooms showed substantial quality improvements in all measured areas." Read article |