Thousands of children in Louisiana enter kindergarten unprepared and quickly fall behind their peers. The effects from a lack of high-quality early childhood education can be long-lasting, resulting in lower LEAP and iLEAP scores, retention through elementary, middle and high school and even dropouts in 7^th grade and beyond.

The Picard Center’s Early Childhood Department conducts a variety of research and evaluation activities surrounding early childhood education and development in Louisiana.

The staff evaluates the effectiveness of programs and interventions for young children and is committed to building the state’s early childhood research base, which will also play a vital role in the Center’s integrated longitudinal database.

The Picard Center also provides research-supported guidance to the state, its department of education, and its communities on effective interventions, all while striving to impact public policy.

Learn more about what we do in the area of early childhood education by clicking on the topics below.

See Also:

   Beginning with Babies Pilot Program

   Birth to Five 

   Parish Prekindergarten Reports