Enriching Head Start with Evidence-Based Interventions: Longitudinal Impact of Coordinated Classroom and Home Visit Programs

The school readiness delays associated with family poverty are well-documented, including delays in language and social skills at school entry and elevated rates of disruptive behavior problems that undermine school adjustment (Macmillan et al., 2004). Head Start was initiated to address these disparities in school readiness by enriching early learning opportunities and providing supports for parents (ACF, 2010). Unfortunately, the benefits produced by Head Start tend to dissipate over time after children transition into elementary school (Zhai et al., 2011).

The Head Start REDI (Research-based, Developmentally Informed) classroom and home visit programs were designed to enrich Head Start with multiple evidence-based components in order to strengthen long term benefits for children.  REDI targeted the dual domains of language/emergent literacy (e.g., dialogic reading, phonological awareness, alphabet center) and social-emotional competencies (e.g., the Preschool PATHS Curriculum targeting emotion knowledge, friendship skills, intentional self-control, and social problem-solving skills).

An initial randomized trial evaluated the REDI classroom [REDI-C] program. 44 Head Start classrooms were randomized to intervention or “usual practice” control, and 365 4-year-old children (17% Hispanic, 25% African American, 42% European American; 54% girls) were followed through the transition into elementary school. REDI-C had positive effects at the end of Head Start, with significant effects in areas of language-literacy skills (ds = .15 - .39) and social-emotional skills (ds = .21-.35).  A year later, after the transition into kindergarten, REDI-C effects remained on five of the thirteen child outcomes studied.

In order to further strengthen the impact of the REDI intervention, a parent-focused home visiting program was developed to complement the classroom program and provide synchronized support for children at home [REDI-P].  REDI-P was evaluated with a second randomized trial involving 196 Head Start children (20 % Hispanic, 25 % African-American, 55 % European American; 55% girls), which produced significant kindergarten benefits in areas of emergent literacy skills, academic performance, learning engagement, and social competence (ds = .26 - .30).

In this paper, the samples from these two randomized trial were combined, and second grade outcomes were analyzed.  Relative to the “usual practice” control group, REDI-C produced improved social behavior and learning engagement.  Relative to REDI-C alone, REDI-P had added benefits in areas of improved literacy skills and academic performance. By combining the samples across the two trials, the findings demonstrate unique benefits for the coordinated teacher-delivered classroom curriculum components and parent-delivered home learning activities.