Gene I. Maeroff's School Boards in America, A New Book

For Anyone Interested in Education and Public Affairs

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About Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School

What the experts are saying...

"Building Blocks adds a much needed voice to the debate about closing the nation's achievement gap. The book, brimming with excellent and well-documented examples, gives readers a comprehensive, thoughtful, and compelling argument about why quality early education is necessary for improving the school outcomes for all students. An excellent and important book that I highly recommend." -- Gerry House, president/ceo, Institute for Student Achievement and former superintendent of schools, Memphis and Chapel Hill, N.C.

 

"This book describes what works in early childhood education. It is a treasure. It is a must read for educators, policy makers, practitioners and academics as well as parents and the general public."--Arthur Levine, President, Teachers College, Columbia University

"Strong communities understand that investing in kids early ensures they have every opportunity to be successful throughout their lives. Maeroff has an important message for those of us who support early childhood education--it is vital and it works to the benefit of all children. Building Blocks is a book for everyone, from parents to policymakers."-- Governor Thomas J. Vilsack (D-IA)

 

"Maeroff has made a powerful case for the critical importance of integrated approaches to preschool, kindergarten, and grades one through three for all children. Drawing on cutting edge research and best practices Maeroff chronicles the characteristics of effective programs with clarity and insight. Policy makers, educators, parents, and all who are committed to schools where every child learns and all children achieve at or above grade level by third grade will find inspiration and guidance in Building Blocks." -- James B. Hunt, Jr., Chairman of the Board, James B. Hunt Jr. Institute for Educational Leadership and Policy, former Governor of North Carolina

Chapter List:

These are the 14 chapters of Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School:

  1. A World of New Beginnings—The reasons why schools should focus on the years from prekindergarten through third grade
  2. The Very Early Years—What should happen in the lives of children before they ever reach the classroom
  3. Prekindergarten for All—How every child could benefit from being able to attend pre-k starting at the age of three or four
  4. A Full Day of Kindergarten—The benefits of full-day kindergarten instead of a half-day program
  5. Building a New Structure for Learning—The elements of a solid primary program
  6. Literacy—What has to happen to make children fluent readers by the time they reach fourth grade
  7. Numeracy—Building a proper foundation for confidence in math
  8. A Full Complement of Subjects—The prekindergarten through third grade years must be about more than reading and math
  9. Se Habla Espanol . . . and 86 Other Languages—Schools should take steps to deal with the fact that one out of five kindergarteners has immigrant parents
  10. Instilling Habits and Dispositions—Success demands the right kind attitude about learning
  11. Making Schools Accountable for the Primary Grades—Assessment, properly done, can help children and, done incorrectly, can harm children
  12. Teachers: Becoming Early Childhood Experts—Teachers have to understand early development and the needs of students in the primary grades
  13. Before and After School—The hours when young children can’t be left alone
  14. Facing Realities in Early Education—What has to happen in America

Press Clippings

Q-and-A: 'Building Blocks' are keys to learning

Greg Toppo
USA Today
2006-10-03
Even as Americans worry about low graduation rates in high school and college, education journalist Gene Maeroff says it's time to go back to the beginning. In his new book, Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School, he says we should pay more attention to the benefits of preschool — and consider creating more pre-K-to-third-grade (PK-3) programs that cater to children under 9.

Dean of education reporters hopes to teach schools a thing or two

Scott Stephens
Plain Dealer Reporter
2006-09-08
It would be an exaggeration to say that Gene Maeroff has been covering education as long as it has existed.

It just seems that way.

Book says Children's Academy shows way

Dick Kaukas
The Courier-Journal
2006-10-05
A new book on early-childhood education prominently mentions the Children's Academy of New Albany as an example of how to change a failing school and help students learn to read well.

School case cited in new book

William Croyle
Cincinatti.com -> The Enquirer
2006-08-30
Shauna Bomkamp didn't expect her battle for her 6-year-old daughter's education to go as far as it did last year. Now it's gone even further, becoming part of a book.

TAKES FIVE; GENE MAEROFF; Focusing attention on earlier grades

SARAH CARR
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
2006-08-29
At a time when Milwaukee and other cities are moving at a rapid clip to convert middle schools into kindergarten through eighth- grade (or K-8) schools, Gene Maeroff, author of several books about education, argues that the model can be bad for the youngest students. Maeroff, a former education reporter for The New York Times, writes in his new book, "Building Blocks: Making Children Successful in the Early Years of School," that schools should focus on grouping together kids in pre-kindergarten through third grade, the age range in which most students learn to read. Otherwise, he argues, the youngest children might get lost in an environment more focused on the needs of the older students. He recently spoke with education reporter Sarah Carr. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.