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This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the dual-language ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university, with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. The chapter briefly discusses multicultural children's literature and provides criteria for selecting high-quality multicultural children's literature. The chapter also discusses ECDC's commitment to selecting and using high-quality multicultural literature, particularly Latino and Spanish-language literature, in the classroom environment. (Contains 25 references and lists 5 children's books.) (EV)

This chapter is part of a book that recounts the year's work at the Early Childhood Development Center (ECDC) at Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi. Rather than an "elitist" laboratory school for the children of university faculty, the ECDC is a collaboration between the Corpus Christi Independent School District and the university with an enrollment representative of Corpus Christi's population. This chapter describes how the ECDC has successfully implemented its dual Spanish-English curriculum through: (1) defining the model to be used; (2) gradually phasing in the program; (3) developing instruction that reflects the population of the classroom; (4) using high-quality materials in each language of instruction; (5) having teachers committed to attaining bilingual education training; (6) employing dedicated administrators with a clear understanding of research as well as community needs; and (7) defining the role of elicited response in classroom communication using the second language. The chapter concludes with a discussion of student test scores. (Contains 30 references.) (EV)