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Early care and education can prepare children for school, but while some preschool and child care programs do an excellent job, others are inadequate and some may even harm healthy development. This study focuses on child care center directors to better understand why there is so much variation, and how public initiatives can better help poor-quality programs improve. Using data from in-depth interviews and classroom observations, the research considers how various factors--including director and program characteristics, market forces, and federal state and local policies--are associated with each other, director decision making, and program quality. Appended are: (1) Director Interview Guide; (2) Obtaining Nominations for High-Quality Centers to Include in Sample; (3) Sampling Steps; and (4) Additional Details on CLASS Dimensions and ECERS-R Items Used in the Research. (Contains 1 figure, 3 tables, 4 boxes and 10 notes.) ["Understanding Quality in Context: Child Care Centers, Communities, Markets, and Public Policy" was written with Anna Danziger, Teresa Derrick-Mills and Heidi Johnson.]

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert