Five Things Principals Can Do to Protect Kindergarten’s Three Indispensables

October is National Principals Month, so first, thank you for all you do for students, families, and educators in our nation’s schools! Second, because I know you can handle it, a hard truth from the dozens of kindergarten classrooms I’ve visited: what young students experience in school depends heavily on decisions the principal makes.

In Rediscovering Kindergarten, I describe three indispensables of high-quality kindergarten:

1. Positive and supportive interactions between adults and children
2. High-quality instruction delivered the way young children learn best, including through play
3. Deep learning across the content areas, not just reading and math

I have watched wonderful teachers work in schools where the leadership’s expectations made these indispensables nearly impossible. Research I cite in the book finds that teachers are the most important in-school factor in student achievement, with principals close behind. And in a 2016 series of briefs based on focus groups with principals in five states, my New America colleagues put it plainly: principals can be “architects or demolitionists” of instruction aligned with the pedagogy of early learning, because they set the school’s vision and expectations.

Here are five ways principals can serve as architects of high-quality teaching and learning environments for kindergarten and the early grades.

1. Learn to see what you’re looking at

Picture yourself walking into a kindergarten classroom during the literacy block. Children are scattered across the floor, talking and playing. For principals who have never taught the early grades, their first thought might be, “This is chaos.” An expert teacher, though, has learning goals for that time, and the conversation, vocabulary, and problem-solving you’re hearing are the learning.

During a visit with a colleague in San Antonio, we joined a coaching session in which a principal and her leadership team conducted a classroom walk-through. They chose to focus on opportunities for student talk. In most of the pre-K and kindergarten rooms we visited, it was missing. Teachers did most of the talking, worksheets were everywhere, and there were almost no dramatic play areas. Afterward, the principal said she had a lot of work to do with her teachers. That is what an architect sounds like.

2. Set the tone for how adults treat the youngest children

During the first week of kindergarten, my younger daughter, Tatiana, was crying at drop-off. Her principal stopped, told her she understood, asked what would make the day easier, and agreed to let me walk Tatiana to her classroom even though the school’s routine said otherwise. She also told Tatiana that each day would get easier. That small decision set a tone of trust for the year.

I have also visited many schools where recess is taken away from five-year-olds and children’s behavior is tracked on public color charts. The research I cite in the book says those charts don’t produce lasting change, and that children of color and children with disabilities are suspended at higher rates for behavior that is typical for their age. Discipline policy and school climate fall squarely within a principal’s control, and they are the foundation for the first indispensable: positive, supportive interactions between adults and children.

3. Protect time for science, social studies, and play

In many places, the reading block is defined by state law and protected. Everything else competes for what’s left. In a national survey I cite in the book, K–3 teachers reported teaching science about 18 minutes a day and social studies about 16, compared with 89 minutes of reading and language arts and 57 minutes of math. One Midwest principal told me her school needed to get more intentional about math because literacy requirements were so much more defined. In those same 2016 focus groups, one Orlando principal acknowledged he no longer allowed kitchens or house play in kindergarten because there was no time for it.

No state law will protect that time for you, but you can protect the schedule to allow time for more meaningful learning. Remember, science and social studies learning, exploration, conversation, and play-based opportunities are essential for building the background knowledge and vocabulary that help students understand what they read.

4. Staff and equip kindergarten for how young children learn

The adults you assign to kindergarten matter as much as the high-quality instructional materials you use. During my older daughter’s kindergarten year, a paraeducator who was great with the children was reassigned and replaced by someone who had worked primarily with upper-grade elementary students. She expected the children to act much older than they were, making the teacher’s job harder rather than easier. Where research on paraeducators exists, it suggests that a trained second adult can strengthen both learning and classroom climate. But the training has to include how young children develop.

Then there are the materials for learning: blocks, dramatic play materials, sensory tables, and, for science, resources to create real, hands-on experiences. And teachers need time to learn, plan, and collaborate, which sits squarely in the principal’s lane.

5. Keep learning, and then speak up

Here’s the frustrating part: most principals aren’t specifically prepared to think differently about teaching and learning in pre-K, kindergarten, and the early grades. In the book, I note that only one state, Illinois, requires early childhood content in principal preparation. So principals may need to seek out professional development on early childhood education on their own. There are some state programs and national opportunities through the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National P-3 Center.

Then, importantly, share what you learn. If you’ve seen positive changes in your school after putting into place practices aligned with how the youngest students learn best, tell other principals and district leaders. Your voice carries weight with your K–12 peers in a way that early childhood advocates’ voices sometimes don’t. That may be the most powerful thing a principal can do for kindergarten beyond their own building.

A question to consider this month

If a visitor spent an hour in your kindergarten classrooms, would they see positive, supportive interactions, instruction that aligns with how young children learn, and deep learning across content areas? If not, what is one thing within your control that you could start to shift this month?

Again, thank you for the important work you do. If you’re looking for a place to start, chapters 3 and 4 of Rediscovering Kindergarten walk through the indispensables and the adults who make them happen.