Pinecone Path™: A Curriculum for the Year Before Kindergarten prepares children to excel in elementary school by building essential literacy, oral language, executive functioning, and social-emotional skills. Simultaneously, it empowers educators with the tools and confidence to deliver high-quality, responsive instruction and foster a classroom environment defined by encouraging, effective interactions.
Explore the evidence base below.
ESSA Evidence Levels
To align with the evidence tiers outlined in the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), we used the chart below to determine the corresponding evidence levels for Pinecone Path.
| Level 1 Strong Evidence | Level 2 Moderate Evidence | Level 3 Promising Evidence | Level 4 Demonstrates a Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| ✔︎ |
Level 4: Demonstrates a Rationale
A program or practice, under evaluation, that is informed by research
Pinecone Path is built on the SEEDS of Learning Framework, with the SEEDS evidence base serving as its foundation.
SEEDS of Learning Program Evaluation
A randomized controlled trial conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago evaluated the effectiveness of the SEEDS of Learning program across 26 preschool centers in the San Francisco Bay Area. The study found that SEEDS training for teachers led to significant improvements in children’s language and literacy skills, with learning gains equivalent to two to eight additional months of progress. Positive effects were observed across multiple skill areas, including phonological awareness and letter knowledge, and were consistent across racial and ethnic groups and dual language learners. The study also found that one year of SEEDS training improved teacher knowledge, demonstrating both student- and system-level impacts.
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