Academic achievement has been the focal point in education for decades. In 2001, an Act of Congress was proposed to improve individual outcomes in education through evidenced based research using measurable goals, higher standards, and accountability. This federal legislation, known as the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, mandates that all teachers be highly qualified by 2006 and that all students become proficient by the 2013/14 school year, specifically in the area of literacy. Consequently, kindergarten readiness has become an area of concern, thus placing preschool teachers under pressure to prepare children for school. The purpose of this study was to examine multiple factors that have been identified in the literature as impacting achievement in elementary and secondary education to ascertain their contribution toward literacy development in preschool children. Such factors included child (gender, race, home SES, attendance, behavior) and childcare site (teacher education, teacher experience, class size, site SES, class environment). Additionally, within-child protective factors were examined for their role in literacy development for children with and without challenging behaviors. To examine early literacy and behavior in preschool children, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was conducted with literacy skills (expressive language and phonemic awareness) assessed at four points in time though the Individual Development and Growth Indicators (IGDI). A significant relationship was found between expressive language skills and race, attendance, classroom environment and class size. Phonemic awareness was significantly related to gender, home SES, and teacher education. Within-child protective factors positively impacted phonemic awareness skills for children in the non-challenging behavior group only. An in-depth description of the findings and limitations are discussed within this document. Overall, this study suggests that many of the factors impacting achievement in elementary and secondary education also impact literacy development in preschool children. These findings support the use of early intervention and preventative services for this population as a means to promote kindergarten readiness and future achievement.

Reading to learn becomes a difficult task for children if they have not become proficient at comprehending written text. It was hypothesized that, for some children, reading difficulties may have been averted had they been reared in homes or participated in early childhood settings where literacy-based activities, interactions, or materials were prevalent. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact that training early childhood educators in research based early literacy instructional strategies (within the HeadsUp! Reading curriculum HUR) had on the development of early reading skills in the preschool children they taught. Further examination also identified the impact that providing teachers with a Literacy Coach (LC) to mentor them in their application of the strategies had on early literacy development. The HUR class, LC positions, and additional resources provided to teachers partaking in this early childhood educator training were funded by the Early Learning Opportunities (ELO) grant. To examine the impact that teacher participation in the ELO grant had on childrens early literacy development, a hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was conducted with childrens early literacy development measured at two points in time by the Individual Development and Growth Indicators (IGDI). After examining these indicators within a three-level model, change over time was documented. Specifically, age and race emerged as significant predictors of rates of literacy skill acquisition with older students and White students demonstrating higher rates of literacy development. Household socioeconomic status (SES) of children also accounted for significant amounts of variance in literacy development with higher rates of growth found in children from higher household SES.