Photo: Kate Samp for Strategies for Children

What would make the transition from pre-K to kindergarten easier?

Four states are trying to find out, according to a recent report from New America called, “Connecting the Steps: State Strategies to Ease the Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten.”

The path from pre-K to kindergarten can be “fraught with stress and uncertainty for many children and their parents,” New America says in a policy paper. Kindergarten’s days are often longer, and the curriculum can focus more on academics.

“This transition is significant for parents as well. Contact with teachers is often more formalized and less frequent than in a pre-K classroom. There is often less emphasis on parent-teacher and parent-parent contact than before. This can leave parents feeling out of the loop… and can lead to less parental involvement in the classroom.”

While schools and districts have to ease the transition, “states can actively encourage intentional, local efforts to smooth transitions to kindergarten.”

To show what states can do, the report looks at efforts in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington, and West Virginia.

Colorado is focusing on improving “the collection and organization of assessment data” through its Results Matter program. “Results Matter is designed to streamline the system for measuring the development of children aged zero to five in early care and education programs by training educators in the use of authentic, observational assessment and enabling those assessment results to be tracked from year to year.”

“The Results Matter program has been a helpful tool in creating partnerships between pre-K and kindergarten teachers when it comes to transition planning. It has also helped non-profit foundations, such as the Buell Foundation… to more precisely identify where technical assistance is most needed when working with districts and schools.”

Oregon is using its “Early Learning Kindergarten Readiness Partnership and Innovation” grant program (KRPI) to distribute grants through 16 regional early learning hubs. The grants pay for a range of programs. One example: a joint training sessions for early learning providers and kindergarten teachers. Another grant paid for eight, full-time, P-3 coordinators in eight high-need schools. They create learning activities “such as Play and Learn groups where children aged zero to five can come together with their parents to play educational games while parents learn more about what is expected once children reach kindergarten.”

In Washington, the Washington Kindergarten Inventory of Developing Skills (commonly referred to as WaKIDS) is the result of “a collaboration between the Department of Early Learning and Thrive Washington, a well-known advocacy organization.”

“State-funded, full-day kindergarten programs are required to implement WaKIDS,” which “consists of three components designed to help ensure a smooth transition process: family connection, whole-child assessment, and early learning collaboration.”

“By law, districts are required to establish relationships with early learning community providers and engage in kindergarten readiness activities with those providers and parents, but the specific methods used to accomplish these tasks are up to individual districts.”

West Virginia has called for action on the county level. “Pre-K students and their families must have the opportunity to visit the prospective kindergarten setting, and counties are required to provide written information to parents about the kindergarten registration process and expectations for kindergarten students.”

In addition, county collaborative teams have to create opportunities for pre-K providers to meet on an annual basis with kindergarten teachers to discuss “how to best prepare students to be successful in their transition to kindergarten.”

Other states can learn from these four examples, and the report provides recommendations for state officials who want to do so. They are:

• Use ESSA funds to finance transition activities.

• Provide tools (such as training videos) and guidance to assist in local planning of transition activities.

• Consider establishing a grant program to incentive districts to prioritize transitions, and

• Bring directors and principals together to help improve transitions and alignment between early learning and elementary school settings.

“Whether states approach this work by enacting specific legislation and policies (West Virginia and Washington), establishing a grant program (Oregon), or developing a streamlined data system (Colorado),” the report concludes, “the key takeaway is that states must be engaged in the process of making the transition to kindergarten less difficult for students and families in order to ensure successful academic and life outcomes for all children.”