A partnership among families, schools, the community, the FPG Child Development Institute, and The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Frequently Asked Questions about FirstSchool

The following questions have emerged from conversations and meetings we have had with community members about FirstSchool. We hope the answers we share below will help inform you about FirstSchool. If you have additional questions, please email us at FirstSchool .

1. What is FirstSchool?
FirstSchool is a pre-kindergarten through third grade initiative led by FPG and the School of Education at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. It is a system-based change process- the FirstSchool team works with schools, districts, communities, states, and institutions of higher education to move toward an integrated approach for children ages 3 to 8 that unites the best of early childhood, elementary and special education. Read a brief report titled What is FirstSchool?
Right now, FirstSchool is being implemented at South Lexington Elementary in Lexington, NC. Aspects of the FirstSchool framework have also been implemented in Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools, Durham Public Schools, and Edgecombe County Schools.
FirstSchool is a partner with organizations and initiatives with whom we share goals and values, including Ready Schools, Promoting Academic Success for Boys of Color, and the Power of K project of the NC Department of Public Instruction.
Return to top of page
2. What are the goals of FirstSchool?
The overarching goal of FirstSchool is to rethink public education for children ages 3 to 8 in partnership with a broad community of people who care deeply about young children. Our fundamental aim is to ensure that children's and families' early school experiences are positive and successful.
Our goals for the planning process are to
  • Develop a national framework for children's and families' first school experiences, ages 3 to 8.
  • Implement FirstSchool through intensive consultation with schools and districts.
  • Provide professional development and publish products to help other communities interested in implementing FirstSchool.
Return to top of page
3. Why are you developing FirstSchool?
There are a variety of reasons we believe it is time to think about a new vision of early schooling in this country.
  • Children's experiences during the early years provide the foundation for later school success Parents are children's first teachers. Many children also spend large amounts of time in early care and education settings outside their home. Whatever their setting, children who have high quality experiences before they enter kindergarten are more successful in school. Yet many children do not receive the quality early experiences they need.
  • America is becoming more diverse About 45% of children under 5 are ethnically or linguistically diverse, according to the 2004 U.S. Census. This percentage is expected to grow over the next decade. Public schools must adapt to meet the needs of this increasingly diverse population of children.
  • Public school involvement with young children is increasing. More than a million children—almost one-fourth of all 4-year-olds—are in a public school program today. Some public schools serve 3-year-olds as well. Very likely in the next 10 to 20 years, public schools will become a prevalent choice for families in educating and caring for young children.
  • A smooth, coordinated learning experience from ages 3 to 8 is important to children and families. Many children in this age range are served by multiple programs, which make it difficult to provide a continuum of learning. Even when children are served within a single setting such as a public school, continuity from grade to grade may be lacking.
  • A variety of federal, state, and local agencies are responsible for the education and care of 3- and 4-year-olds We need a more coordinated, systematic approach to serving young children and their families. The experiences of children and families often vary dramatically depending on the particular program they use. These agencies often have no formal mechanisms for communicating about the care and educational needs of individual children or the community as a whole.
Return to top of page
4. Why is FirstSchool successful?
We believe it is important to move away from separate notions of "early childhood education," "K-12 education," and "special education" to an integrated approach that unites the best of all three.
  • FirstSchool will develop a coordinated approach for the education and care of young children ages 3 to 8. Most children and families have a fragmented experience with early education across this age span.
  • We are committed to a collaborative process that will integrate the best available scientific research about early schooling with the wisdom and values of both families and practitioners.
  • We received over $2 million to support a three-year process to plan FirstSchool. Most new efforts do not have that much time to plan. We do not believe that the three-year planning period was a luxury of time but was rather a necessity of time. The challenges in providing high quality education and care to an increasingly diverse group of children ages 3 to 8 are great—and they deserve careful consideration.
Return to top of page
5. Who is responsible for this effort?
FPG Child Development Institute is taking the lead in planning FirstSchool in partnership with the UNC School of Education and a broad range of people including parents, teachers, practitioners, administrators, the child care community, researchers, teacher educators, and community leaders.
Return to top of page
6. How is FirstSchool supported?
We have received financial support from the Foundation for Child Development, FPG Child Development Institute, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and private donors.
Return to top of page
7. This sounds like a public school initiative—is it?
The answer to this question is both yes and no.
Yes, this is a public school initiative in that we know that almost all 5- to 8-year-old children are currently served by public schools and that public schools are playing an increasingly important role in serving 3- and 4-year-olds.
No, it is not simply a public school initiative. We work with a broad range of people to think about what school should be like for young children and their families. FirstSchool is a collaboration among schools, families, the child care community, and others who care about the success of young children.
Return to top of page
8. What does this mean for the child care community?
Public schools in the U.S. are increasingly serving 4-year-olds and even some 3-year-olds. This is a national issue—much larger than FirstSchool—that child care communities across the country are facing. One way of looking at it is that public schools are joining the child care community in offering families options for the education and care of 3- and 4-year-olds. While recognizing the challenges, we believe FirstSchool provides an exciting opportunity to reconsider the roles and relationships between the child care and public school communities. We deeply value the contributions of the child care community and will continue to work in strong partnership with them in each community where FirstSchool is implemented.
Return to top of page