Actions for States, LEAs, and Elementary Schools

SEAs, LEAs, and elementary schools have the power to make the transition into kindergarten easier for children and families regardless of their previous early childhood experiences. By providing high-intensity transition activities and by aligning processes, strategies, and learning across ages birth to five and grades K–3, schools will be more ready to meet the needs of their new students and families, and children will be more at ease as they begin their first day of kindergarten. Using federal, state, and local funding sources, states, LEAs, and schools should consider the actions below in order to ensure smooth transitions into kindergarten.

1. Take stock of practices being implemented across the state. Ask key questions to determine how LEAs are supporting the transition into kindergarten: Are districts leaving transitions to schools to figure out on their own? Does the district offer guidance? What questions are asked on enrollment forms about children’s previous educational experiences? Does the district provide opportunities for cross-sector learning (i.e., bringing teachers and leaders from early learning programs and elementary schools together)? How can schools find out about programs that typically feed into their kindergarten classrooms? Are there agreements to share data between the district and early childhood programs?
2. Develop guidance for LEAs and schools to strengthen transition efforts and deepen alignment, coordination, and collaboration across the PreK–3rd and even B–3rd continuum. States can foster opportunities for these diverse early learning leaders to come together for joint professional development and discussions of how to better connect pre-K, kindergarten, and the early grades.
3. Require LEAs to develop district transition strategies with the participation of stakeholders that include representatives from Head Start and other early childhood programs, teachers, parents, representatives from relevant district offices, and principals. These strategies should pay attention to populations such as children with disabilities, children from low-income families, children in tribal communities, homeless children, and English learners.
4. Look to federal funding streams or engage philanthropic organizations for dollars to encourage stronger transition efforts at the local level. Use regional offices to bring district, community, and school leaders together to build relationships and develop plans for working together. For instance, give grants to LEAs that prioritize high-intensity activities, such as data sharing and cross-sector professional development, over low-intensity activities, such as summer kindergarten packets.

1. Go beyond the ESSA requirement to establish agreements with Head Start programs and extend agreements to other early childhood programs serving children that will likely attend district schools. Use these partnerships to facilitate smooth transitions for students and their families. These agreements should include elements such as data sharing and joint professional development across sectors and plans to align curricula, teaching strategies, discipline practices, family engagement strategies, and ways to meet community needs.
2. Create opportunities to build elementary school principal knowledge of early childhood education and how to support PreK–3rd teachers. This could be through principal professional development or as a recurring topic for principal meetings.
3. Get to know organizations supporting Head Start and other early childhood programs and come up with strategies for connecting principals, program administrators, and teachers to build relationships across pre-K and the early grades of elementary school. This should become a two-way learning opportunity for both center educators and elementary school educators. School districts could also work with regional child care referral offices to establish processes for connecting schools and early education programs. Districts and other community programs could collaborate to develop activities for children and families that support them as they move into kindergarten.
4. Take steps to ensure children are able to transition into kindergarten at the elementary school parents have chosen for pre-K. Work to establish feeder relationships and agreements with other community-based pre-K programs within a school’s attendance zone.
5. Develop strategies needed to encourage collaboration across pre-K and kindergarten, to share information and data, and to align discipline approaches, instruction, environments, curricula, and other areas as needed. Even when a pre-K classroom is located in an elementary school, smooth transitions are not a given for children and families.

1. Study the surrounding community. Principals should understand the early childhood programs that typically feed into their kindergarten program. In many LEAs, parents have a great deal of choice in where to send their children for elementary school, which can make identifying feeder programs complicated. Start by including questions about children’s previous educational experiences on school registration forms and then reaching out to the directors of those programs prior to the first day of school.
2. Establish joint planning time for pre-K and kindergarten teachers, as not all pre-K, Head Start, or early childhood programs are located outside of the elementary school building. Even when pre-K is located in a school building, transitions can be bumpy. Joint professional development and planning can help to better connect the learning and expectations across these years.
3. Consider appointing or hiring a "P–3 Coordinator" at the school (part-time or full-time) to connect with families before kids reach kindergarten. Offer parent support and help link families to needed services.
4. Ask a diverse group of families what they found most helpful for their move into kindergarten and build activities and information based on what is learned.