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)…

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…

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…

The transition to kindergarten is a critical milestone in children's lives, with implications for academic and future life success. The demographic family/parental variables of residence, social class, and race have been associated with children's adjustment to kindergarten. In particular, children growing up in families from urban, low-income…

Kindergarten has become increasingly academically oriented, and U.S. kindergarten teachers are increasingly called upon to implement policies that require assessment and promote accountability. However, little recent research has focused on kindergarten teachers' beliefs about kindergarten readiness. The authors examined teachers' beliefs related…

The stage is set for major change in California early childhood education (ECE). The State's requirements for Transitional Kindergarten instruction, teacher training, and professional development could lead to mandated integration of existing, impressive Dual Language Learner (DLL) resources, guidance, and best practices. In addition to more…

How can local education agencies (LEAs), elementary schools, and teachers make sure the kindergarten year deepens and builds on children's previous learning? What are the best ways to keep children and families connected to school and engaged in learning? And how can LEAs, schools, and classroom teachers provide the smoothest transition possible…

Researchers have examined the impact of family on child literacy among low-income African American families and preschoolers considered to be at risk for not being ready for kindergarten. Quantitative studies identify family-parental variables associated with poorer literacy outcomes, whereas qualitative studies detail family practices that…

Poor-quality classroom and school contexts may impede the academic and behavioral adjustment of low-income students when they transition into kindergarten. Several studies have examined the impact of teacher-student interactions on student progress, whereas others have explored the impact of school-level adversity (e.g., student poverty, school…

This study is a population-based investigation of children's school readiness with a national sample of low-income children, utilizing data from the Family and Children's Experiences Survey (FACES; 2000-2003). Guided by a developmental ecological framework, we posed 3 research questions: (a) How do children's early school readiness skills in the…

The School Readiness Act of 1991 (S. 911) amends the Head Start Act to expand the availability of the comprehensive health, educational, nutritional, and social services of Head Start to all eligible children and their families by 1997. This senate report on S. 911 begins by affirming the effectiveness of high quality early childhood development…

The University of Hawaii Department of Special Education conducted the Preschool Preparation and Transition Project, a federally funded demonstration program, to support families and their children with special needs in the transition from infant programs to least restrictive preschool placements. The program addressed this goal through three…

Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools) was a federally funded demonstration grant to develop a community-wide interagency process for the transition of children with disabilities from preschool to the public schools. Participants were the local public schools and seven programs serving preschool children with…

Responding to increased interest in the development and education of children, many states have invested in initiatives to facilitate school success of prekindergarten-age children. Although national progress is encouraging, individual state initiatives are uneven, ranging from bold innovations with major funding to inaction and reliance on…

The PREP (Preparing Refugees for Elementary Programs) program and curriculum are described. The federally-funded program provides English language and cultural training to elementary-school-aged Southeast Asian refugee children in the Philippine Refugee Processing Center in Bataan. Its objective is to aid children in the transition to schools in…