In its editorial endorsement of Gov. Rell's recent proposals, the NY Times stated: "Connecticut has the widest achievement gap between rich and poor students of any state in the nation, according to the US Department of Education's National Assessment of Educational Progress." Research reveals that the benefits of Head Start—and similar preschool programs for disadvantaged children—rapidly erode once children enter elementary school. Studies also show that few children who fall behind their age group in the critical early years can hope to catch up later. Because private and magnet schools have limited capacity to meet the educational needs of sizeable low-income populations, The Total Learning Institute operates on the belief that the only way to close the achievement gap on a large scale is to reform the public school system.

In 2006, the Total Learning Initiative was launched in Bridgeport, CT. The program seeks to enrich the birth - 5 pre-school experience, and to extend ABCD's track record of success with preschool education into public elementary schools. "A public-private partnership that will reform education", Total Learning combines an enriched Total Literacy curriculum with intensive teacher training, reduced class size, higher teacher to student ratios, longer school days, an 11-month school year, and a range of family support services. The initial pilot program was implemented in one public school classroom in Bridgeport during the 2006-07 school year.

Formative assessment helps shape the Total Learning design and training components, which are being developed grade by grade from K - 4. Summative evaluation through randomized control studies are planned, beginning with birth - 3, 3 - 5, and Kindergarten programs during the 2007-2008 school year.

At the same time, Music Together research projects are on-going in Trenton, New Jersey; and Total Literacy initiatives are underway in Princeton, NJ, Dubuque, IA and Stockton, CA, providing an opportunity to share innovations and progress, and consider alternate implementation configurations that are sensitive to local needs and capacity.

The Total Learning Initiative is one of the few projects—and possibly the only one—of its kind in the country. Margaret Spellings, U.S. Secretary of Education, during a spring, 2007 visit to the Bridgeport Total Learning Early Childhood and Kindergarten classrooms, praised the approach, and stated that Total Learning was "simple and complex, and could be easily replicated in Texas, California, or anywhere in the nation." [related article]

If Total Learning is shown to be effective, it could potentially be taken to scale on a national level. To validate the concept, The Total Learning Institute is in the process of creating a full-scale pilot program, and tracking its performance over an extended period. This research, development and assessment phase is anticipated to take from 5 to7 years.