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Kindergarten Transitions

Category

Early Care and Education

Child's Age

4-5 years

Participant

Children, Parents/Guardian, ECE Owner/Operator, ECE Teachers

Languages

English, Other

Brief Description

Kindergarten Transition support is focused on building communication and relationships between educators and families and between preschool and kindergarten teachers to ensure a successful transition to kindergarten. Transition Goal in NC: All young children birth through age 8 and their families are engaged and supported as they transition between home, early care and education programs, and schools. Early care and education programs and schools collaborate so that they are ready to support all children effectively and engage with families and each other within the context of the community to plan transitions that meet the diverse needs of all children and families. Aligned with NC Transition - Guiding Principles & Practices.

Expected Impact

  • Increase in community, school/program, and teacher use of transition practices
  • Greater likelihood of aligned perspectives and cross-systems connections between Pre-K and kindergarten
  • Increase in teacher knowledge (ex. appropriate transition practices, child development, learning standards, assessment, etc.)
  • Increased likelihood of a positive adjustment to kindergarten
  • Greater child academic achievements, child language skills, and famiy involvement in kindergarten
  • Reduced likelihood of challenging child behaviors such as hyperactivity, inattention, and conduct problems 

 

Core Components for Model Fidelity

  • Transition Leadership Team: As described by NC DCDEE and NC DPI in the Benchmarks of Quality Self-Assessment form and Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Transition Planning Guiding Principles & Practices, kindergarten transition efforts must establish a community transition leadership team. The transition leadership team is a primary vehicle for building an infrastructure to support transition to kindergarten efforts, and bring forth a collaborative effort spanning pre-k programs, school districts, families, and community members. The transition leadership team meets at least twice a year (prior to the beginning of a cycle to plan and a second time at the end of a cycle to evaluate using the Benchmarks of Quality assessment and review feedback data). It is strongly recommended by DPI that teams also meet mid-cycle to check in and adjust the plan as needed. Team members include, but are not limited to:
    • a family member/guardian of a child enrolled in prekindergarten
    • a family member/guardian of a child who is in kindergarten
    • a prekindergarten teacher
    • a kindergarten teacher
    • the NC Pre-K contract administrator or designee
    • a Head Start representative
    • Partnership for Children/Smart Start Executive Director or Program Director
    • the local homeless liaison
    • a public school prekindergarten administrator
    • a public school district administrator
    • an elementary school principal
    • a childcare administrator
    • Other early learning partners to consider:
      • Superintendent
      • Title I Director
      • Head Start Director or Agency Director
      • CCR&R Representative
      • Early Intervention/Preschool Coordinators (and/or Exceptional Children’s Director)
      • Elementary Director/Principal
      • DSS Director/Early Childhood Subsidy Representative
      • Public Library Children’s Services Administrator
      • Health Department – Child Services Representative
      • Private Child Care Administrator/Teacher
      • Parental Organization Administrator
      • Other positions associated with young children and their families
  • Written Transition Plan: Kindergarten transition supports must include a written transition plan (at any stage of completeness) for implementing a minimum of six guiding principles and practices, as described in Prekindergarten and Kindergarten Transition Planning Guiding Principles & Practices.
    • Guiding Principle 1: A Community Transition Leadership Team is established and a framework for the Transition Plan is developed.
    • Guiding Principle 2: The Plan includes multiple activities throughout the year to support the ongoing transition process into prekindergarten and from prekindergarten to kindergarten.
    • Guiding Principle 3: The Plan includes multiple opportunities for prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers to collaborate, participate in professional development, and explore the alignment of prekindergarten and kindergarten processes and standards.
    • Guiding Principle 4: The Plan includes multiple opportunities for families to engage in the transition process by sharing information with prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers.
    • Guiding Principle 5: The Plan includes opportunities for prekindergarten and kindergarten teachers to share child specific assessment and other developmental data.
    • Guiding Principle 6: The Plan is a living document and should be revisited and revised on an ongoing basis to ensure Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI).
  • Completed Self-Assessment: Kindergarten transition supports must complete a self-assessment. NCPC strongly recommends use of either the NC Transition from Preschool to Kindergarten Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ) self-assessment or New America Self-Assessment tool. 

Languages Materials are Available in

English, Other*

*Contact purveyor about additional available languages.

Delivery Mode

Community transition leadership team convening and planned transition practices are typically provided in-person and may be supplemented virtually as needed.

Dosage

Kindergarten transition support is provided on an ongoing, regular basis beginning the year before kindergarten, through entry, and until the end of kindergarten (roughly two years). Specific dosages and services provided vary depending on the needs of the community and individual children and families.

Staffing Requirements

Staffing requirements at the Local Partnership/DSP level may vary.

Training for Model Fidelity

DPI and DCDEE provide networking and training opportunities for the Guiding Principles, transition planning, and BOQ self-assessment at least twice a year. DPI provides resources for those interested in learning more about kindergarten transitions on their website. DPI is also creating a menu of support with additional topic-specific opportunities for training and support. Additionally, NCPC strongly recommends:

Contact Information

Dan Tetreault: Assistant Director of Early Learning, Office of Early Learning in the Division of Standards, Accountability, and Research of the NC Department of Public Instruction; (984) 236-2749, dan.tetreault@dpi.nc.gov

Jessica Fitzgerald: Early Learning Coordinator, Office of Early Learning in the Division of Standards, Accountability, and Research of the NC Department of Public Instruction; Jessica.fitzgerald@dpi.nc.gov

Cost Estimates

Cost estimates vary based on community, school, and family needs.

Purpose Service Code (PSC)

3122 - Child Care Systems Building

Program Identifier (PID)

 Kindergarten Transitions 

Minimal Outputs for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Number of families participating
  • Number of child care staff participating
  • Number of K-12 representatives participating 

Minimal Outcomes for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  • Increased coordination of early childhood system

Minimal Measures for NCPC Reporting

FY 24-25:

  •  Wilder Collaboration Factors Inventory

NCPC Evidence Categorization

Evidence Informed- Industry Standard

Research Summary

The most relevant publications on kindergarten transitions include a crosswalk of ESSA, NC PreK, and Head Start requirements from North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction,1 a toolkit from New America,2 a report and theory of change for transitions from Head Start to kindergarten,3 a brief from the Education Commission of the States,4 a brief from the National P-3 Center,5 a report summarizing recommendations specific to children with disabilities,6 and a brief summarizing findings from the Transition to Kindergarten Pilot program in North Carolina, funded by the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Age 5 (PDG B-5).7 These resources outline best practices and basic requirements of plans to support a smooth transition from preschool to kindergarten. Overall, best practices and state recommendations indicate that transition plans must: use a whole child approach; involve parents/families, educators, administrators, and other decision-makers in developing the plan; reduce barriers to quality education; provide ongoing supports to children, families, and educators; and provide opportunities for families to engage in their children’s education. It is essential that roles, responsibilities, and goals are clearly defined in transition plans. Individualized, intensive supports (such as home visits) are the most effective at easing the transition to kindergarten for all children, including children with disabilities and children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Shared professional development opportunities for early childhood and kindergarten educators are associated with using more transition practices, fostering aligned perspectives, building cross-systems connections, and increasing teacher knowledge. Engaging in activities between families and schools/programs is associated with a positive adjustment to kindergarten, greater academic improvements in kindergarten, reduced likelihood of challenging behaviors, and greater language skills than children whose schools/programs did not engage with families on an individual basis.

Additionally, North Carolina state legislation, N.C.G.S. SL 2016-94-12B.5.(d), requires collaboration and data sharing between preschool teachers, parents/caregivers, and kindergarten teachers and/or the schools that receive incoming kindergarteners. North Carolina’s Local Educating Agency/Head Start Coordination Guidance provides further guidance for education agencies to include data sharing, coordination, and transitions in their activities. 

  1. ^ See Crosswalk of Transition Requirements (n.d.). This resource from North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI) is a crosswalk displaying the alignment of transition principles with ESSA, Head Start, and NC PreK requirements. At minimum, all three programs require: a plan to be in place to support the transition to kindergarten; active implementation of strategies to support a successful transition to kindergarten; efforts to help parents understand their child’s progress during preschool; helping parents understand best practices to provide academic and social support for their transition to kindergarten and fostering continued parental involvement; and implementing activities and strategies in the learning environment to support children’s transition to kindergarten, including familiarizing children with the transition and fostering their confidence.
  2. ^ See New America (2022). This toolkit is recommended by NC DPI for supporting a smooth transition to kindergarten. The toolkit includes reflections and takeaways following the COVID-19 pandemic, discussion of the state of children, schools, and educators across the United States, a framework for state and local decision-makers to identify needs and create responsive, effective systems, and a six-step process for addressing the needs identified by the framework. The framework emphasizes the following considerations: prioritizing investments that address barriers to quality early childhood education; understanding funding and enrollment needs; supporting children’s social, emotional, and educational needs; thoughtfully designing facilities, staffing, and schedules; using data to drive decision-making (including child-, school-/classroom-/teacher-, district-, and state-level); identifying and ensuring access to educator resources, opportunities, and supports; incorporating family voice; creating opportunities for family engagement; adopting a comprehensive, whole child approach; and considering the time children spend outside of the classroom in plans. The six-step process for addressing the needs outlined in the framework include: assessing current policies and practices regarding the transition to kindergarten; determining who should be involved in designing policies (strongly recommended that families, educators, and other professionals are involved to support the whole child approach); creating short- and long-term plans for improving current policies; determining what strategies to adopt and identifying appropriate funding streams; developing a timeline for implementation; and finally, continuously evaluating policies and making changes as needed.
  3. ^ See Ehrlich et al. (2021). This report of cross-systems transition plans from Head Start to kindergarten includes a literature review, comments from key informants, and a theory of change to conceptualize successful transition plans. The literature review found that, overall, research on strategies for improving kindergarten transitions for children, families, educators, and the systems that serve them is limited. However, the studies reviewed identified that families and educators felt that their involvement in the transition to kindergarten is crucial, but their roles and perceptions of each other's roles may differ. This misalignment of perspectives, particularly between preschool and kindergarten educators, is associated with lower teacher-reported ratings of children's social skills and math achievement scores, and these impacts are greater for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. While there are state and federal policies around the transition to kindergarten, there is great variability between states, little research on district- or school-level policies, and limited evidence detailing how these policies are implemented. The literature indicates that shared professional development opportunities for kindergarten and early childhood educators is associated with using more transition practices, fostering aligned perspectives, building cross-systems connections, and increasing teacher knowledge. Research also indicates that the most transition practices, such as open houses and sending information home, may not be the most effective in improving outcomes, despite being more budget-friendly than more intensive, individualized approaches like home visits geared toward parent training and acquisition of math skills. Engaging in activities between families and schools/programs is associated with a positive adjustment to kindergarten, greater academic improvements in kindergarten, reduced likelihood of challenging behaviors, and greater language skills than children whose schools/programs did not engage with families on an individual basis. The theory of change emphasizes establishing clear roles and expectations for families, educators, and administrators; strong cross-system coordination and collaboration; and the 4Ps (perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices). Successful kindergarten transitions are bolstered by data and information sharing; collaboration between systems to share expectations, needs, and responsibilities; professional development opportunities (ideally shared supports for both early childhood and kindergarten educators); and alignment of perspectives. Additional research is required to identify the most successful strategies and further specify recommendations.
  4. ^ See Atchison & Pompelia (2018). This brief from the Education Commission of the States describes two key elements in coordinating systems from preschool to third grade: effective transition programs and practices and authentic alignment to create a continuous learning/teaching experience. Effective transition strategies include but are not limited to: visits to the classroom; home visits from teachers; kindergarten orientation events; shared data systems across early childhood and K-12 systems; joint professional development opportunities; teacher-to-teacher conferences; and more. These supports may improve children's social and emotional adjustment, academic achievement, and family involvement both during the transition to kindergarten and through third grade. Authentic alignment is defined in this brief as "the continuous interrelated nature of education programs and practices" (7). Alignment is characterized by connection between the standards, curricula, instruction, and assessments used within and between programs.
  5. ^ See Kauerz & Schaper (2021). This brief from the National P-3 Center summarizes current research and examples of kindergarten transition practices. Recent research findings indicate that the most common kindergarten transition practices are sending information home, hosting an open house/orientation before kindergarten starts, and conducting parent/child visits prior to the school year's start. Studies suggest that schools with greater percentages of students from lower-income families, English language learners, children with IEPs, and students of color provide fewer transition activities. The research reviewed for this brief documented a need for training opportunities to help educators meet the needs of a diverse population, including families in rural communities who may struggle to access high quality early childhood education programs and connect with educators during the transition to kindergarten. Home-based involvement and practices that support relationships between educators, families, and children are associated with an increase in parent involvement and reductions in teacher-reported child conduct problems, hyperactivity, and inattention. Alignment between educators is supported by in-person meetings, shared training opportunities, and policies requiring documentation of collaboration (such as MOUs) and explicit strategies to strengthen and improve collaboration and coordination. The implementation of kindergarten transition services often comes down to school leadership, which needs to be intentional and committed to establishing successful kindergarten transition practices.
  6. ^ See Sands & Meadan (2021). This report details specific strategies and practices to enhance the transition to kindergarten for children with disabilities. High-intensity, individualized practices are most effective for families with children with disabilities as they can be tailored to support the strengths and needs of the individual children and families. This may include phone calls, home visits, and one-on-one planning meetings. The educators and families are expected to establish goals for the child's transition to kindergarten, based on their individual strengths and needs and their parents'/caregivers' desires. Collaborating as a team (families and educators) to create a comprehensive kindergarten transition supports the development of a shared understanding of roles, responsibilities, how best to support the child, and indications of success. To ensure that communication continues during the summer months before kindergarten starts, teams must establish a communication plan and identify one person to serve as the primary contact. Teams should meet again after the first few weeks of kindergarten to discuss child progress and address any concerns. An additional strategy is hosting a welcome week during the first week of kindergarten, during which kindergarten teachers are joined by preschool teachers and other team members to help children adjust to the new environment. Home visits and co-planning of lessons by both preschool and kindergarten educators are other strategies to support children with disabilities as they transition to kindergarten. Collaboration between preschool and kindergarten programs ultimately depends on the level of support from state and local administrators.
  7. ^ See Laforett et al. (2023). This brief describes lessons learned from the Transition to Kindergarten Pilot project in North Carolina, as funded by the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Age 5 (PDG B-5). The pilot program was launched in 2018 with an initial cohort of 3 counties before expanding to 18 counties. The evaluations concluded with a survey of all 100 counties in NC. Pilot counties were required to: form a transition leadership team; create a community transition plan; engage in practices to achieve alignment between pre-K and kindergarten settings; share data and information about pre-K students with kindergarten teachers; create opportunities to build relationships; and develop and implement a continuous quality improvement (CQI) plan. The NC Division of Child Development and Early Education (NC DCDEE) and NC Department of Public Instruction (NC DPI) provided pilot counties with the following materials and trainings: Benchmarks of Quality (BOQ) Self-Assessment Form, Transition Planning Template, Crosswalk of Required Transition to Kindergarten Activities (requirements for Head Start, NC Pre-K, and the Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA)), ESSA Regional Meetings, information packets for families, and the electronic Transition Report via Teaching Strategies platform to share information about individual children with teachers and families. In spring 2022, representatives from 13 of the 18 pilot counties were interviewed and data from their transition plans and BOQ self-assessments. Evaluation efforts were broadened in the fall of 2022 and spring 2023 to survey all 100 counties in NC, conduct focus groups with 11 families, and analyze transition plans from 32 counties using the template provided by DCDEE and DPI. Evaluation findings indicated that teachers and administrators often did not know there was a transition leadership team in their county and felt more could be done to engage families and educators. Transition plans varied in their quality and comprehensiveness. Transition leadership teams identified barriers to their efforts to carry out their transition plan, including persistent barriers like reaching families not enrolled in a pre-K program and barriers exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as high turnover rates. Alignment between settings varied, with most pre-K educators perceived as more knowledgeable about kindergarten settings than kindergarten teachers were about pre-K settings. Joint professional development opportunities between pre-K and kindergarten teachers were identified as helpful alignment practices. Pre-K educators were more likely than kindergarten educators to use the Transition Report through the Teaching Strategies platform to share information about individual children. The primary reason that kindergarten educators did not use the Transition Report is that they did not know the resource existed. Additionally, some counties used paper forms and other reports in addition to and/or instead of the Transition Report. They also reported using forms to allow families to share information with teachers about their child, which is not a feature of the Transition Report. Pilot counties identified a need for improved communications between pre-K and kindergarten settings during both phases of evaluation, indicating that this is a persistent challenge. Another major obstacle identified by transition leadership teams is the need for increased funding and improved infrastructure to support transition efforts.

Researched Population

  • Early childhood educators
  • Kindergarten educators
  • Children with disabilities
  • Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds

Atchison, B., & Pompelia, S. (2018). Transitions and Alignment from Preschool to Kindergarten. Education Commission of the States. https://www.ecs.org/wp-content/uploads/Transitions-and-Alignment-From-Preschool-to-Kindergarten.pdf

Crosswalk of Requirements. (n.d.). https://drive.google.com/file/d/18B58iErHY5qjt7NUghSCnWaADY8OrLOR/view 

Ehrlich, S. B., Cook, K. D., Tomson, D., Kauerz, K., Barrows, M. R., Halle, T., Gordon, M. F., Soli, M., Schaper, A., Her, S., Guerra, G. (2021). Understanding cross-systems transitions from Head Start to kindergarten: A Review of the knowledge base and a theory of change, OPRE Report # 2021-128, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/HS2K_Task_4_Report_FINAL_508_remediation_QC.pdf

Kauerz, K., & Schaper, A. (2021). Transition to Kindergarten: Findings from Recent Research. National P-3 Center. https://nationalp-3center.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Transition-to-K_Recent-Research_2021.pdf

LaForett, D., R., Villegas, E., Diamond, Z., & Simons Gerson, C. (2023). Transition to kindergarten: Lessons from North Carolina’s state-wide efforts. Child Trends. https://doi.org/10.56417/3983j2212z

N. C. Gen. Stat. Session Law 2016-94, Section 12B.5.(d). https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/sessionlaws/html/2015-2016/sl2016-94.html

NC Early Childhood Foundation, Education Counsel, & Public Schools of North Carolina. (2019). Local Education Agency/Head Start Coordination Guidance. https://buildthefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/NC-LEA-Head-Start-Coordination-Guidancen10.19.pdf

New America. (2022). Toolkit for Using Policy to Enable Effective and Supportive Transitions for Children, Families, & Educators. https://www.newamerica.org/education-policy/reports/toolkit-for-using-policy-to-enable-effective-and-supportive-transitions-for-children-families-educators/

North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. (n.d.). Kindergarten | NC DPI. https://www.dpi.nc.gov/districts-schools/classroom-resources/office-early-learning/kindergarten#TransitiontoKindergarten-5357

Sands, M. M., & Meadan, H. (2021). A Successful Kindergarten Transition for Children with Disabilities: Collaboration Throughout the Process. Early Childhood Education Journal, 50. 1133-1141. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01246-6



Local Partnerships Currently Implementing

Local Partnerships in purple have adopted Kindergarten Transitions. Local Partnership contact information can be found here.