Recommendations for supportive policies and resources
for all young children to benefit from excellent early literacy experiences, adequate policies and other resources are essential. Recommendations include:
1. A comprehensive, consistent system of early childhood professional preparation and ongoing professional development. Both college students and practicing teachers need to know current research about early literacy development and effective teaching practices. This literacy focus should be embedded within a systematic approach to all aspects of professional development for everyone who works with young children.
2. Resources to ensure small class sizes and low ratios of teachers to children. Teachers will more effectively implement and individualize the recommendations from literacy research if they can work with smaller groups children.
3. Extensive literacy resources, including high-quality children's books, educational software, and other technology tools. Responding to young children's varied developmental levels, interests, and cultural and linguistic backgrounds requires rich literacy resources-in classrooms but also in libraries other places where children and families spend time.
4. Resources to support continuous progress for children who are having, or are at risk of developing, difficulties in learning to read and write. For some children, individualized intervention strategies, which may include.