On any given day, around 400,000 youths involved in the child welfare system eventually prepare for the transition into safe and stable permanency placements. Although schools play an integral role in permanency planning and transition success, there are no evidence-based programs that focus solely on supporting and improving student educational…

This study sought to understand better the administrator's perspective of transition services in the school building. The current systems in place for transition are not reaching the desired outcome for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities are less engaged with post-secondary education than their nondisabled peers. They are…

In recent years, several states have expanded a new publicly funded learning option: Transitional Kindergarten (TK). TK bridges prekindergarten and kindergarten in its eligibility, requirements, and design. Using Michigan as a case study, we examine TK's fit in the early learning landscape. Broadly, we find TK in Michigan reduces some…

Effective transitions to kindergarten engage families and ease children into new environments. Countdown to Kindergarten (CTK), a program in a southeastern U.S. state that serves more than 1,000 children each year and is grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, partners kindergarten teachers and families to facilitate effective…

The Office of Early Learning and School Readiness provides technical assistance and resources for our partners working with families, preschool staff and communities to meet the individual needs of preschool children with disabilities. The goal of this manual is to offer information to preschool programs and school districts that are responsible…

Early childhood education [ECE] can foster the social-emotional adjustment and development of young refugee children. Still, the large numbers of newly arriving refugee families challenge the ECE capacities of host countries. In Germany, state authorities have subsidized flexible ECE programs for refugee children in response to this situation. The…

This study leveraged the knowledge and experiences of youth with disabilities, their families, and transition stakeholders to model how the frequency of family engagement activities and services and employment preparation activities and services predict the frequency of youth development activities and services. This information was obtained…

In recent years, several states have expanded a new publicly funded learning option: Transitional Kindergarten (TK). TK bridges prekindergarten and kindergarten in its eligibility, requirements, and design. Using Michigan as a case study, we examine TK's fit in the early learning landscape. Broadly, we find TK in Michigan reduces some…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand teacher and administrator perspectives regarding how a ninth-grade transitional course that began during the fall of 2019 meets student needs during the transition from middle to high school. The high school in which this study was conducted, is referred to as "Midwestern High"…

The Learning While Leading (LWL) professional development program motivates and further prepares administratively certified educators to become principals or assistant principals and offers continuous support to new principals during induction. The LWL program addresses a clear need for transitional support to motivate, fully prepare, and support…

A qualitative approach was utilized in this study to examine four transition programs' best educational practices in building transition programs for eighth to ninth grade. An analysis of a retrospective study of the four transition programs provided data to support recommendations for best educational practices to build a transition program for…

Head Start programs engage in multiple practices to support children and families during the transition to kindergarten. Children moving from Head Start to kindergarten often encounter discontinuities between the program and services they were receiving and the new elementary school environment. This paper uses multiple datasets and methods to…

This dissertation research is an exploratory multiple-case study of special education transition program structures in three virtual public charter schools in a southern state in the United States. Virtual public charter schools are extensions of public school systems or districts that are required to comply with state and federal-mandated special…

The purpose of this qualitative case study is to gain insights into the activities and outcomes associated with participation in the Temple Education Scholars (TES) dual enrollment program, an initiative for seniors attending high school in a large city in the Northeast region of the United States. The objectives of this study are twofold: (1) to…

Foster Care Alumni (FCAs), or individuals who left the foster care system either by aging out, adoption, or returning to their family of origin, typically make up a small, fragmented portion of the student body at higher education institutions. This group is increasingly referred to as Foster Scholars on higher education campuses. FCAs tend to…