Jelena Obradovic

Apply to work with me and my amazing colleagues Phil Fisher, Alvin Pearman, & Sean Reardon. Application link: earlychildhood.stanford.edu/postdoc

🚨Postdoc Application due: Dec 1. The IES Equity in Early Education (E3) Postdoctoral Fellowship Program trains scholars to conduct research toward equitable, impactful, and sustainable early childhood care and education systems. @stanfordcec.bsky.social @stanfordeducation.bsky.social

Thank you to our partners at the SFUSD Early Education Department for their thoughtful engagement and ongoing collaboration. Thank you to @caedpartners.bsky.social; ‬ @stanfordeducation.bsky.social for funding and supporting this work. @rpp-network.bsky.social

Findings can help teachers and parents understand how children’s PreK experiences may translate into strengths and areas in need of support, esp with the rollout of universal TK. Results also reinforce the importance of promoting attendance, especially for kids entering school for the first time! 5/

Method: We used Mahalanobis Distance Matching to make children in these groups comparable based on their demographic characteristics, and found that children who started PreK at age 3 had stronger cognitive, literacy, and social-emotional skills at the end of PreK and beginning of Kindergarten. 4/

Second mediator: Benefits of 2 years of PreK also came from improved attendance. Children who began PreK at age 3 attended 14 more days on average during the final PreK year compared to those who began PreK at age 4. No differences in attendance when we compared each group’s first year of PreK. 3/

First mediator: Children who began PreK at age 3 started their final year of PreK with stronger skills compared to their peers who just began PreK at age 4. Fall literacy skills were especially important–they predicted all school readiness outcomes at the end of PreK and beginning of K. 2/

Our new RPP study shows why 2 years of PreK is better than 1: Children who begin preschool at age 3 have stronger school readiness skills compared to their peers who begin at age 4. Two key mediators emerged. with Meghan McDoniel, Catie Connolly, & Lily Steyer authors.elsevier.com/c/1l~aY39HNK... 1/

Thank you to all our partners at the SFUSD Early Education Department and the Shoestrings Children's Center, Laura Wentworth @caedpartners.bsky.social; ‬ SFUSD-Stanford Incentive Fund @stanfordeducation.bsky.social; the Stanford University Office of Community Engagement; ‪@stanfordcec.bsky.social‬

Read and download the case study to discover what’s working—and what can be improved—at the child, family, teacher/classroom, and system levels. earlychildhood.stanford.edu/sfusd-shoest...

In the U.S., preschoolers are suspended more than any other age group. Young Black boys are disproportionately affected, reflecting racial disparities in school discipline. Our RPP work spotlights the Shoestrings Program at @SFUSD to showcase how to ensure that all kids are thriving in preschools.