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Developed by former superintendent of Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Schools,
Eric Smith, in conjunction with district staff and local
businesses. Bright Beginnings Office: Family Application Center,
700 Marsh Road, Charlotte, NC 28209.
Email: prek@cms.k12.nc.us. Web: http://www.cms.k12.nc.us/
cmsdepartments/ci/pre-kservices/Pages/default.aspx. Telephone: (980) 343-3797.
Bright Beginnings was funded by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg district’s Title I grant, and has been used primarily in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, in five prekindergarten centers and 14 elementary schools. Recently, the program has been implemented in other districts as well.
The Bright Beginnings program is based on the High/Scope® and Creative Curriculum® models, with an additional emphasis on the development of early literacy skills. The curriculum is designed to create a child-centered, literacy-focused program that is relevant to the developmental needs of young children and addresses their cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. Bright Beginnings consists of nine units: language and literacy, mathematics, social and personal development, healthful living, scientific thinking, social studies, creative arts, physical development, and technology. Active exploration and interaction with other students, adults, and materials are important components of the Bright Beginnings model. As children participate in a variety of Bright Beginnings activities, they are continually monitored by teachers to assess their progress. Another feature of the Bright Beginnings program is an effort to engage parents; they are required to sign a parent-school partnership agreement affirming their active participation in their children’s education.
District cost estimates, based on use in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school system, range from $9.8 million for 1,672 Bright Beginnings students in the first cohort (1997–98) to $16.7 million for 3,020 Bright Beginnings students in the sixth cohort (2002–03), resulting in a cost of approximately $5,500 to $5,800 per student.
|Institute of Education Sciences
