Preschoolers called "disruptive" by their teachers showed dramatic behavior improvements.

Youngsters with low language skills improved both their skills and their self-confidence.

And parents in a home visit program are learning how to incorporate school readiness into daily activities with their young children.

The results are detailed in the two-year report for the United Way's Bridges for Success pilot programs, released Tuesday. The report shows that pilot programs designed to find new ways to prepare children for school are getting results.

United Way launched the three three-year pilot programs in 2002 with Children Inc., the Covington child care and development agency, working in pre-school settings.

The Cincinnati Public Schools system is working with Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center on a "Books in Action" literacy program where children participate in book-centered programs.

The YWCA of Greater Cincinnati is offering a home visit program where parents learn skills to help prepare their young children for success in school. The program is for parents of children ages 3 to 6.

The results of the pilot programs could become part of widespread programs in the community to make sure children arrive at school ready to learn and thrive, said Stephanie Byrd, chair of another United Way program -- Success by 6 -- which could end up promoting and helping to implement the pilot programs' findings.

"We need to identify what works best and what are the lessons we can learn and then take to a broader scale," Byrd said.

The two-year report shows each of the Bridges for Success programs showed definite improvement in children's school readiness.

"It is working," said Rick Hulefeld, director of Children Inc. in Covington, which is running its "Project Success" program in three of its own child care centers and a YMCA child care center in Cincinnati. The Children Inc. pilot deals with nearly 400 children each year.

A key part of the program is a standardized assessment of each child every six months coupled with more casual ongoing assessments.

When the new program was introduced, some teachers balked at new requirements that they feared would take precious time from other needed tasks, Hulefeld said.

But the early tension was short-lived, he said.

"They were saying this is easier  than I thought and I'm getting good results," he said. "By the time we got to year two, they wanted to do the assessments. They see themselves as more professional, more effective and better able to help the child, which is why they are there in the first place."

The children are assessed on social and emotional skills, large and small muscle skills and early literacy skills. The assessments help teachers identify areas to emphasize with each child.

"Different children have different needs," he said. "If your social and emotional assessment says this little girl doesn't take a lot of initiative, then when the class is doing an activity, the teacher might want to give this girl a chance to be a leader."

The program also works to help children develop what researchers call "protective factors."

"There is research that says children who go through childhoods that are less than ideal, but have these skill sets will come out OK," Hulefeld said. Those skills include knowing how to take initiative, how to regulate anger and other strong responses, and how to form attachments with others. The programs help children develop and enhance those skills.

Hulefeld said early brain development studies show that the early years are crucial to helping children develop skills they will need for the rest of their lives.

United Way has allocated up to $100,000 annually to each pilot project.