Low-income American children continue to struggle with achieving grade-level performance in literacy, math, and science (NAEP, 2010), and new, more challenging state standards suggest that the bar for success in early elementary grades may be even higher than it had been in the past. With interest at the local, state, and national level in expanding preschool opportunities for more children, especially low-income children, there is an urgent need to identify classroom practices and curricula, as well as the professional supports required for successful implementation, that translate into sustained learning gains for children. This session aims to heighten the national conversation in early childhood education concerning evidence-based instructional and programmatic strategies aimed at improving young children’s school readiness in the domains of language and literacy, math, and science. The papers and discussion all focus on key issues relevant to increasing the quality of early childhood education for at-risk young learners, including the identification of key instructional strategies, as well as the professional development and implementation supports required to implement them with fidelity, for ensuring high-quality early childhood programming. The session will begin with discussion of three cutting-edge, evidence-based projects focused on language and literacy, math, and science education in preschool and kindergarten, with each providing examples of the key instructional strategies, professional supports, and implementation challenges inherent to programs focusing on quality improvement in early childhood settings. The first paper will describe an effective language and literacy intervention supporting teachers in providing high-quality language and literacy instruction to young children; the paper will focus on describing teacher instructional change over time using a web-based professional development and coaching framework. The second paper will present work from the only NSF math-science partnership grant focused on early childhood, including the design of effective activities and professional development for teachers. The third paper will highlight the important role of math in preschool and identify lessons about implementing a math curriculum and professional development model at scale in a large, complex city. Across the papers, presenters will focus on describing core elements of each program, as well as the professional development and other supports needed for high-fidelity implementation. Each of these three presenters will reflect on the state of the field regarding early childhood education in their respective area, with a particular focus on aspects of implementation – including professional development, dosage, and organizational capacity – that are critical for scale-up. The discussant, a national expert in research and intervention for at-risk children, will reflect on the instructional strategies and professional development paradigms presented, as well as the considerations for research, programming and policy at local and national levels.