The National Institute for Early Education Research supports early childhood education initiatives by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research.

The goal of NIEER is to produce and communicate the knowledge base required to ensure that every American child can receive a good education at ages three and four. The Institute seeks to provide policy makers with timely information addressing the practical problems they face. The Institute offers independent research-based advice and technical assistance to four primary groups: policy makers, journalists, researchers, and educators.

The Institute works with state and national policy makers and other organizations to:

• Collect, archive and disseminate information on the status of early education access and quality, exemplary practices and policies, and public opinion
• Develop research and communication strategies to fill gaps in knowledge and to effectively apply scientific knowledge to preschool policy
• Commission new research and analysis to be carried out by Institute staff, visiting scholars and researchers at other institutions
• Create a rapid response capacity to provide the media with an independent, research-based perspective on breaking news
• Stimulate national and state discussions of early education policy
• Partner with other organizations to develop a coherent national research agenda and to deliver and publicize vital information about preschool programs and early education

To assist federal and state policy makers, the Institute's research program aims to:

• Provide a vision of early education excellence in terms that are usable by policy makers and understandable to the general public
• Monitor and evaluate national and state progress toward early educational excellence
• Develop and analyze model legislation, standards, regulations and other policies required to improve quality and increase access to good preschool programs
• Explain the costs, outcomes and economic benefits of alternative policies

NIEER was established at Rutgers University's Graduate School of Education with a grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts. The Institute is part of the Trusts' 7-10 year grant-making strategy to ensure universal, voluntary access to high-quality early education for 3- and 4-year old children. For more information about the Trusts' early education initiative, visit www.pewtrusts.org.

In January 2002, Rutgers' Center for Early Education Research (CEER) was merged with NIEER. Past and current supporters of research performed by the Center and the Institute include: Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Fund for New Jersey, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Prudential Foundation, The Schumann Fund for New Jersey (Lighthouse Early Childhood Initiative), Smith Richardson Foundation, Tulsa Community Foundation, and the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI).

For more information about NIEER, contact:

Carol Shipp, Director, Public Affairs
cshipp@nieer.org
(732) 932-4350 x225

Pat Ainsworth, Communications Director
painsworth@nieer.org
(732) 932-4350 x229
120 Albany Street, Suite 500
New Brunswick, NJ 08901