What Really Works When It Comes To Closing The Achievement Gap?
Published: 5/8/2007 At a time when there is an increasingly sharp divide between the nation’s “haves” and “have nots”, the odds would seem against three-and-a-half-year-old Melanie Sandoval ever being one of the “haves.” Born to Guatemalan immigrants whose combined incomes are below the federal poverty line, Melanie lives in a tough neighborhood on the west side of Stamford, Connecticut. Since summer of 2006, when her mother had twins and stopped working as a nanny, the family’s finances have been tighter still. Still, Melanie’s parents are bright, caring people who have stayed together and worked hard. Melanie also attends the Childcare Learning Centers’ Stillwater Head Start Center, just five minutes’ walk from her house, which leaves her mother, Marlen, with more time and energy for the twins. The center follows the Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood, which includes more than 30 specific targets for children’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. Melanie’s hea
