Continuity & Pathways

Goal & Strategies*

Every child, especially those most at risk for school failure, has access to a continuity of services and a clear pathway of high-quality education from PreK through 3rd grade.

Access

Access

Children’s access to high quality learning opportunities is expanded and extended, especially for children most at risk.

Example Implementation Indicators

District Administrators/Community Leaders

• Have a clear understanding of the demographic characteristics of children and the availability of highquality programs/schools in the community.
• Annually update a mapping of “feeder patterns” of children into public schools and of mobility patterns of children, PreK-3rd.
• Increase the number of slots available for children to attend full-day PreK as 4-year olds.
• Increase the number of slots available for children to attend full-day Kindergarten as 5-year olds.
• Increase children’s access to after-school, extended learning opportunities, and community supports.

Teachers

• Have a clear understanding of the demographic characteristics of children in their classrooms.
• Demonstrate an understanding of resources available to extend children’s learning time, in both schoolbased and community-based programs.

Families

• Have accessible information about early learning and after-school programs, extended learning opportunities, and community supports.

Continuity of Services

Continuity of Services

Children’s access to high quality learning opportunities is expanded and extended, especially for children most at risk.

Example Implementation Indicators

District Administrators/Community Leaders

• Have a clear understanding of the demographic characteristics of children and the availability of highquality programs/schools in the community.
• Annually update a mapping of “feeder patterns” of children into public schools and of mobility patterns of children, PreK-3rd.
• Increase the number of slots available for children to attend full-day PreK as 4-year olds.
• Increase the number of slots available for children to attend full-day Kindergarten as 5-year olds.
• Increase children’s access to after-school, extended learning opportunities, and community supports.

Teachers

• Have a clear understanding of the demographic characteristics of children in their classrooms.
• Demonstrate an understanding of resources available to extend children’s learning time, in both schoolbased and community-based programs.

Families

• Have accessible information about early learning and after-school programs, extended learning opportunities, and community supports.

PreK-3rd Grade Pathways

PreK-3rd Grade Pathways

Policies and practices are in place that focus on ensuring a stable pathway of high-quality learning opportunities for every child from PreK through 3rd grade.

Example Implementation Indicators

District Administrators/Community Leaders

• Develop data-informed means to understand feeder patterns into elementary schools and student mobility across programs/schools.
• Create new feeder patterns by aligning eligibility and enrollment policies and practices.

Principals /Site Administrators

• Expand and strengthen partnerships across early learning/school feeder patterns.
• Establish common transition forms and processes across all classrooms, settings, and age/grade levels.
• Establish policies and practices that match the most at-risk students with the teachers who can best support them, year after year (e.g., intentional classroom assignment; teacher looping; mixed-age classrooms).
• Establish connections with after- and non-school supports and services (e.g., early intervention; childwelfare; health).

Teachers

• Use common transition forms and processes.
• Review incoming students’ files/portfolios prior to start of school year and provide similar information to their students’ next-year teachers.
• Connect students with after-school and non-school supports and services.

Families

• Perceive their child is receiving a high-quality continuum of learning, PreK-3rd.
• Know how and why to advocate for their child to have a clear, high-quality educational pathway from PreK-3rd grade.

Resources

Access

Access

Equity and Excellence: African-­‐American Children’s Access to Quality Preschool
Click Here, Steve Barnett, Megan Carolan and David Johns, November 2013, Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes, National Institute for Early Education Research, Rutgers University

Impacts of Expanding Access to High-Quality Preschool Education, The
Click Here, Elizabeth U. Cascio, Dartmouth College, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Northwestern University, September 19-20, 2013

Educational Continuity

Educational Continuity

Beyond Transition: Ensuring Continuity in Early Childhood Services
Click Here, The Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative

Improving Educational Continuity and School Stability for Children in Out-of-Home Care
Click Here, Casey Family Programs

Improving the Quality and Continuity of Practice across Early Childhood Education and Elementary Community School Settings
Click Here, Early Childhood Community School Linkages Project

Kindergarten

Kindergarten

PreK-3rd: Putting Full-Day Kindergarten in the Middle
Click Here, by Kristie Kauerz, Foundation for Child Development, June 2010

Go to Kindergarten page

Laws, Regulations, Statutes

Laws, Regulations, Statutes

Minnesota Examples

Minnesota Examples

Presentations

Presentations

Advancing Quality School Readiness Programs Using a Comprehensive Integrated Model
Click Here, Dr. Susan Landry, Ph.D. Children’s Learning Institute, The University of Texas Health Science, 2012

Research

Research

Go to Research & Studies

Tools

Tools

Transitions

Transitions

A Community Effort to Support the Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten
Click Here, UChicago Consortium, July 2018

Concordance between Teachers’ and Parents’ Perceptions of School Transition Practices: A Solid Base for the Future, The
Click Here, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 60(2), 168–181, 2016 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2014.996598

Connecting the Steps: State Strategies to Ease the Transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten
Click Here, Aaron Loewenberg, New America

Countdown to Kindergarten - Boston
Click Here

Improving Kindergarten Transitions to Support School Readiness: A District Leaders Peer Learning Community Conversation
Click Here, Ounce

Parental involvement during the transition to primary school: Examining bidirectional relations with school adjustment
Lau, Eva Yi Hung and Power, Thomas G. Children & Youth Services Review. May2018, Vol. 88, p257-266. 10p.
Results revealed that mothers' involvement in language and cognitive activities during kindergarten predicted better school adjustment after the school transition. Mothers were also more involved at their children's primary schools when their children demonstrated lower cognitive skills in kindergarten. The findings highlight the importance of examining both home-based and school-based involvement over time during the transition to primary school and the bidirectional relations between maternal involvement and children's school adjustment.

Parenting Plays Key Role as African American Boys Move from Preschool to Kindergarten
Click Here, UNC’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG)

Promoting Seamless Transitions from Preschool to Kindergarten and Beyond
Click Here, Voices in Urban Education, Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Brown University

Ready for Success: Creating Collaborative and Thoughtful Transitions into Kindergarten Click Here
Harvard Family Research Project, September 2012

Recommended Transition Practices for Young Children and Families: Results from a National Validation Survey
Click Here University of Kentucky, Human Development Institute, National Early Childhood Transition Center

Right from the Start: Transition Strategies for Developing a Strong PreK-3 Continuum
Click Here American Federation of Teachers, Pew Charitable Trusts

Smoothing out the Bumps of Transitioning to Kindergarten. State Technical Assistance Report
Click Here, Fonseca, Manuela, Preschool Development and Expansion Grant Technical Assistance (PDG TA)

State Legislation: Transitions
Click Here, Education Commission of the States

Supporting Transitions: Early Educators Partnering with Families
Click Here, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC), Head Start

Supporting Transitions: Program Policies and Practices
Click Here, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC), Head Start

Supporting Transitions: Using Child Development as a Guide
Click Here, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC), Head Start

Supporting Transitions: Working with Early Education Partners
Click Here, Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC), Head Start

Terrific Transitions: Ensuring Continuity of Services for Children and their Families
Click Here, by The SERVE Center at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2005

The Role of Principals and Teachers in Kindergarten Transitions
Click Here, Aaron Loewenberg, New America

Transition and Alignment: Two Keys to Assuring Student Success
Click Here, Mimi Howard, Director, Early Learning Institute Education Commission of the States

Transitions and Alignment From Preschool to Kindergarten
Click Here, Education Commission of the States, September 2018

Transitions to School: What Helps Children Succeed? Essentials for success in preschool and beyond
Click Here, American Psychological Association

Using Local, State, and Federal Dollars to Improve Pre-K to K Transitions
Click Here, By: Laura Bornfreund, Danielle Ewen, Davida McDonald

Presentations

Successful Transitions from PreK to the Early Grades
Click Here, Kristie Kauerz, AFT TEACH Conference, Washington, DC, July 12, 2011

Webinars & Videos

Webinars & Videos

Charles Payne on Successful PreK-3rd Transitions
Click Here, Erikson Institute, Charles Payne, Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor, School of Social Service Administration, University of Chicago

Cybele Raver on Successful PreK-3rd Transitions
Click Here, Erikson Institute, "Socioemotional and Academic Connections: Successful PreK-3rd Transitions" by Cybele Raver, Director, Institute of Human Development and Social Change, New York University

* Kauerz, K. & Coffman, J. (2013). Framework for Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating PreK-3rd Grade Approaches. Seattle, WA: College of Education, University of Washington.