Early Learning Florida was established in 2015 by the Lastinger Center for Learning to serve as a professional learning system to support early learning educators. Through a generous $2 million donation from the Helios Foundation, Early Learning Florida will further its reach to early childhood educators, deepen its direct impact on educators and children and expand its early language and literacy focus.

Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed. By equipping teachers to support the dynamic needs of all children, including those with or at risk for disabilities, we are ensuring all children have futures defined by limitless possibility through Embedded Instruction California.

Passion for early childhood learning and care has expanded beyond the UF campus into the local community. The Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies has partnered with local grassroots organization South West Advocacy Group (SWAG) and O2B Kids to transform early childhood learning and care in an underserved local community.

Early Learning Florida is enhancing early childhood education by connecting early childhood educators to high quality, online professional development. Through the Lastinger Center for Learning’s interactive online platform, early childhood educators receive high quality PD across all of Florida’s school districts. The project’s track record of success is leading to nationwide expansion.

The Anita Zucker Center for Excellence in Early Childhood Studies’ dedication to all children has expanded UF’s reach on a global scale. The transdisciplinary collaboration between Colleges of Education and Medicine faculty with the World Health Organization has developed a parenting skills training program focused on caring for children with developmental delays in Zambia.

Through our work in Early Learning we are leading the way to a future where every child is prepared to enter school. Focused on young children birth to age five, their families and the contexts that support their health, we are giving children the opportunity to succeed through transdisciplinary collaboration.

A lifelong legacy of service in education, Della Rosenberg (M.Ed. ‘50) pledged a $500,000 estate over five years to support the success of four ProTeach students each year. Through the Della Rosenberg ProTeach Scholarship, her legacy will continue on championing brighter futures for the next generation of educators.

Less than 40 percent of Florida children are able to read proficiently by the fourth grade – a benchmark year in predicting a child’s success. Florida is facing a literacy crisis, but through a generous $3 million donation from the world’s best selling author, James Patterson, the University of Florida is tackling the crisis head on through the James Patterson Literacy Challenge.

The University of Florida’s Literacy Initiative is pioneering identification and intervention for struggling readers, and is renowned for its expansive research and program development. Recently, faculty have developed an online certificate that has gained interest from psychology and speech pathology professionals, as well as parents hoping to help their children succeed in the classroom.

Our work in the area of Student Success is done with the belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to achieve. Like so many of our programs, the impacts of this initiative are felt far beyond the classroom. We are implementing varied strategies to actively remove barriers and build bridges for the success of every learner. In areas of literacy, special education, counseling, social justice and beyond, we are lighting the way toward a more inclusive and brighter future.

What began as a collaboration to promote better driving practices among teenagers transcended into launching a platform that informs better teaching and learning practices across the nation and beyond. Combining the expertise of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Highway Loss Data Institute (IIHS-HLDI) and the University of Florida College of Education, “IIHS-HLDI in the Classroom” was created.

iDigFossils is leading the way in bringing STEM education and technology into the classroom. An innovative idea born from Professor Antonenko and Florida Museum of Natural History’s MacFadden, the program has captivated students from coast to coast by fusing 3D-printing and a vast collection of fossils to intrigue and educate.

UF’s synchronous learning platform is paving the way for learning environments of the future. This dynamic style of learning has raised the bar for online education and UF’s College of Education has twice been named the best online program in the country by U.S. News and World Report.

In the area of Educational Technology, shared data, interdisciplinary collaboration, and implementation of learning analytics, are helping us to create learning environments of the future. We are focused on bringing opportunity to people around the world and creating jobs for the next generation. By integrating emerging and innovative technologies with learning sciences, we are enhancing the educational experiences and outcomes for students everywhere. Together, we are going beyond the limits of technology to reach boundless potential.

Expanding her lifelong support of the College of Education, Barbara Keener (Ed.D. ‘76) has established not only an endowment to support the Institute of Higher Education, but also a dissertation fund to support Higher Education Administration doctoral students research in community and state college systems.

With more than 3.5 million students in the United States failing to progress on their state assessments in 2017, effective school leadership is more important than ever to drive student success. At the University of Florida College of Education, we are preparing our students to become the next generation of school leaders that tackle education’s greatest challenges and build the pathways of opportunity for all children to succeed.

Founded in 2002 to transfer cutting-edge academic research into real-world solutions, the Lastinger Center has influenced policy, launched a growing portfolio of highly-successful projects, and changed the lives of thousands of teachers and students across the US. Now, as the center’s director approaches retirement, leadership is preparing to continue a tradition of excellence.

Every year, thousands of young adults throughout Florida drop out of college before completing their degrees. A team of researchers at the University of Florida’s College of Education wants to find out whether a “nudge” will help these former students re-enroll. The researchers recently launched a two-year study to determine whether ex-students at five Florida state or community colleges who receive targeted emails and financial incentives are more likely to return to finish their two- or four-year degrees.

The Lasting Center for Learning’s Instructional Coaching Program is paving the way for students and teachers to achieve success with their pioneering in the creation of educational environments that support teacher learning. The program champions teacher growth and focuses on increasing teachers’ instructional knowledge and skills, benefitting students and communities.

Our Leadership and education policy programs go far beyond the classroom. In order to transform education, we are working to prepare students and faculty to administer and implement complex policy at the school, district, state and national levels and to help build a brighter future through collaboration.