Doors to Discovery
Local governments can invest in this strategy using State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
- This strategy can help address educational disparities. The U.S. Department of Treasury has indicated that strategies that help achieve this outcome are eligible for the use of Fiscal Recovery Funds.
Investments in this strategy are SLFRF-eligible as long as they are made in qualified census tracts or are designed to assist populations or communities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
Program basics
- Supplemental curriculum intended to help children build oral language, phonological awareness, and other early literacy skills
- Built around eight thematic units, each unit includes a range of teacher resources
- Utilizes shared literacy techniques, where children complete sentences with missing words, etc.
Strength of evidence
Evidence level: Strong (second-highest tier)
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Strong (second-highest tier)
Ranked as having the second-highest level of evidence by the U.S. Department of Education What Works Clearinghouse
Target population
Preschool-aged children
Program cost
$2,654 for a full educational set (2013)
Implementation locations
- Nationwide
Dates active
Not available
Outcomes and impact
- Positive effects on oral language, print knowledge, and phonological processing
- Improved oral language by an average of 11 percentile points
- Improved print knowledge by an average of 15 percentile points
- Improved phonological processing by an average of 6 percentile points
Keys to successful implementation
- Note: This content is under review
- Doors to Discovery must be delivered with fidelity in order to achieve positive outcomes.
- Teachers must be provided with ample professional development opportunities to master curriculum and should be evaluated regularly to ensure that model is delivered with fidelity.
