Initiated in 1972, the Bilingual Early Childhood Program (BECP) serves as early intervention for 3- and 4-year-old children in Clovis and Portales, New Mexico (40 children at each site). Target group children were predominantly from Spanish-speaking backgrounds and were selected as participants using guideline requirements of language, background, income of parents, and residence. The goal of the BECP is to demonstrate that early childhood bilingual education intervention will facilitate the learning of two languages (English and Spanish) simultaneously in a responsive environment designed to enhance the child's cognitive, affective, and psychomotor development. Specific objectives were developed for the program components: instruction, staff development, materials development, and community-parental involvement. The evaluation design for the instructional component was within a framework of a pretest-posttest design without a control group. Abilities measured were: language development in English and Spanish, school readiness, and subjective evaluation of self-concept. Findings indicated that the students made significant gains in language ability in English and in Spanish, and in general school readiness. The children developed and maintained a positive self-image and developed substantially in various dimensions of personality growth. It was concluded that BECP functioned as planned for the target group. (Author/ST)