Success in First Grade

Success in First Grade, the first in AED’s new series examining quality education for all, looks at four principles drawn from experience and research that we believe form the foundation for successful learning and healthy sustainable learning communities.

These principles are:
• Maximize Opportunities to Learn
• Build Multiple Support Structures
• Create Learning Communities
• Integrate Education with Other Child-Oriented Systems

Each section of this publication introduces and examines one principle and provides pertinent examples of stories from the field, excerpts from technical reports, photographs, and other evidence to illustrate how the principle applies to real-world contexts. We recognize that there is room for disagreement or elaboration regarding the principles we put forward here. We offer this publication as a starting place for discussion. We hope it will stimulate debate, and we at AED welcome the opportunity to engage with everyone interested in quality education as we continue our essential shared mission: to help support teachers and learners, families, and communities around the world.

Success in First Grade is available for download in English and Spanish.