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The Bush administration is launching a five-year, $50 million study to uncover the best ways to enhance all areas of children's development and readiness for school success.
Officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services will lead the initiative, which ultimately aims to give teachers research-based information for strengthening the cognitive, emotional, social, and physical growth of children-especially those with potential learning difficulties and those who come from disadvantaged families.
The project was discussed at the recent White House Summit on Early Childhood Cognitive Development, which was convened by first lady Laura Bush.
"We want to learn what is the best," said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson, who co-hosted the summit with Secretary of Education Rod Paige.
Held in an ornate hall on the Georgetown University campus here, the July 2627 event brought roughly 400 earlychildhood educators, advocates, and researchers together for a series of presentations on the skills and experiences young children need to become strong readers and learners.
"How do they learn to read? What goes wrong when they don't, and what do we do about that?" said G. Reid Lyon, the chief of the child development and behavior branch of the...