Background: Since 2010, there has been significant growth in the United States in the number of students with intellectual disability accessing higher education, driven by federal legislation and funding. Currently, over 340 institutions of higher education provide programs of study for students with intellectual disability. Of these programs, 134…

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…

California recently committed to making prekindergarten (PreK) universal through the expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK) and other state-funded programs. Between 2021-22 and 2023-24, TK enrollment doubled, from about 75,000 to over 151,000 children. Approximately 59% of eligible 4-year-olds enrolled in TK in 2023-24. Across publicly funded…

The PreK-12 and higher education systems operate as separate and distinct entities (Kirst & Venezia, 2004). States organize them as separate units and the administrators in the systems are formally trained separately and operate separately with few exceptions. While studies have been conducted from the PreK-12 and higher education perspectives…

This narrative inquiry research study explored the experiences of three migrant families living in California. This research contributes new knowledge that will support Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) administrators, early childhood practitioners, elementary school principals, and kindergarten teachers in understanding transition events…

Existing research suggests that some transition activities (e.g., visits to kindergarten classrooms, home visits by teachers, sharing information with families) initiated by early care and education (ECE) settings, kindergarten teachers and elementary schools, and/or families can have small, positive associations with children's outcomes in…

Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs uniquely support the frequent transitions, including the transition to kindergarten, that children in migrant and seasonal families may experience. Lessons learned from how MSHS programs support transitions may have implications for MSHS and other federally funded early care and education (ECE)…

The Second Chance Act authorizes federal grants for comprehensive reentry planning, direct pre- and postrelease services, and sustainable justice system improvements that promote positive youth and family outcomes, reduce recidivism, and increase public safety. This "In Focus" briefly describes two types of Office of Juvenile Justice and…

The analyses presented here are part of a larger project, "Understanding Children's Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten" (HS2K), a joint research venture between NORC at the University of Chicago, Child Trends, and the National P-3 Center at University of Colorado Denver, with funding from the U.S. Administration for Children and…

California made a historic commitment to early childhood education in 2021 by providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds by 2025-26 and expanding access for income-eligible 3-year-olds. California's UPK initiative includes multiple early learning programs, including transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool…

Decades of research suggest that both Head Start and public pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs boost low-income preschoolers' kindergarten skills. What is not yet well understood is whether there are relative advantages of transitioning from Head Start after 1 year into a school-based public pre-k program for the year immediately before…

College access programs provide middle and high school students with essential skills to prepare them for a successful transition to postsecondary education. TRIO Talent Search (TS)and Upward Bound (UB) are federally funded programs established to strengthen the likelihood that students from underserved groups will graduate high school and pursue…

The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions and lived experiences of some low-income and first-generation students of color who participated in and graduated from the UB program. This qualitative study utilized the narrative inquiry research method to understand the lived experiences of seven former Upward Bound students. Program…

The Understanding Children's Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten (HS2K) Project was a multi-year project funded by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. The purpose of this project was to better understand how to improve children's…

Considerable research has examined the personal factors and practices associated with transition-age youth with disabilities achieving higher employment rates and greater self-sufficiency as adults, but there is limited evidence on the longer-term effectiveness of these practices and services. This study examines the role of youth's use of…