ECRC Collection Weblinks for Parents & Early Childhood Professionals

ADA

Americans With Disabilities Act
Commonly Asked Questions about Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act

Bullying

National School Safety Center
Fact Sheet series for parents and teachers.

Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
From the EEC website, visit:

Adult Basic Education Directory
Listing of Adult Basic Education sites throughout the Commonwealth.
Early Childhood Program Standards
Discusses program considerations such as physical space, staff qualifications, and parental involvement.
Family Involvement Resources
Resources encourage families to get involved in their students school success.
Families Learn and Grow Together
Pamphlet lets parents know what to expect from their children at various ages.
Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences
Discusses ways to guide learning across subject areas. Includes ideas for learning experiences for each area.
IEP Process Guide / Forms and Notices
The IEP Process guide was developed to lead the reader through the revised IEP process as well as suggest sound practices.
Kindergarten Learning Experiences
Outlines experiences kindergarten students should have by subject area.
Massachusetts Family Network
Services may include: Home visits, play groups, developmental screenings, family support groups, adult and family education or literacy activities.
Seasonal and Pandemic H1N1 Influenza information for early education and care programs
Updated information will be posted as it is received.

Massachusetts Department of Health and Human Services
Resources for families and for providers looking for employment, health care, small business certification, and more.

MassResources
A directory for Massachusetts residents looking for housing, food, child care, health care, job training, and other services.

Playground Safety Handbook
A publication of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, this publication discusses considerations for planning and maintaining a playground. Accessed 18 May 2009.

Western Massachusetts Training Consortium
The Consortium works within the community to help create positive environments for the disabled. The Family Support Network offers support groups for families with children with disabilities.

PROFESSIONAL ARTICLES

Cordes, Colleen and Edward Miller, eds.
"Tech Tonic: Towards a New Literacy of Technology" Alliance for Childhood. 2004. Accessed 13 June 2009.

Early Intervention

Coleman, Mary Ruth. " Recognition and Response: An Early Intervening System for Young Children At-Risk for Learning Disabilities ." May 2006. PDF article. Accessed 19 May 2009.

Kindergarten

Miller, Edward and Joan Almon. " Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School. " Alliance for Childhood. 2009. Accessed 13 June 2009.

Out-of-School Time

Barton, Paul, and Others. " The Family: America's Smallest School. " September 2007. PDF article. Accessed 19 May 2009.

Harvard Family Research Project

Updates to the Out-of-School-Time project research. Out-of-School-Time examines projects and programs that occur after school as well as before school and weekends .

Readiness

Barnett, W. Steven, and Others. " The Effects of State Prekindergarten Programs on Young Children's School Readiness in Five States. " December 2005. PDF article. Accessed 18 May 18, 2009.

General

Alliance for Childhood
Committed to promoting practices that support the healthy development of children.
Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood
Compilation of articles by the experts on the subject of marketing to children.
The Future of Children
A collaboration of the Woodrow Wilson School of International and Public Affairs at Princeton and the Brookings Institution, the Future of Children seeks to provide research-based information for use by service providers and policy-makers. Searchable. Full-text articles. Recent topics include: Children and Electronic Media, Juvenile, Justice, American Hough Schools, Antipoverty Policies, and Excellence in the Classroom.
FPG Child Development Institute : [Frank Porter Graham Center]
FPG is one of the nation's largest multidisciplinary centers for studying young children and their families. The project attempts to connect families and practitioners with current research.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
The NICHD offers research on health topics, including reducing infant mortality, growth and development, issues related to developmental disabilities, and more.

Medical Conditions

Autism/Asperger's

Asperger's Association of New England The AANE offers information and support for educators and families about understanding and living with people who have Asperger's. National Autism Association The NAA seeks to educate families and individuals affected by Autism and other neurological disorders.

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Resources for parents, educators, and people living with FASD.

Fragile X

National Fragile X Foundation Clearinghouse for the most up-to-date information about Fragile X. Resources include a list of characteristics, notes on Fragile X's relationship to autism, testing, education, support groups, and more.

School Safety

Center for Unconventional Security Affairs at the University of California, Irvine Offers a list of links to school safety resources (scroll down a little). Includes disaster preparedness, guidelines for crisis response, handling grief, and dealing with post-traumatic stress.