The study found that such practices were widespread, but that educators at lower-income schools reported a higher rate of impersonal “low intensity” practices, such as sending a letter home, or holding an open house.Īmy B. In 1998, the National Education Goals Panel, made up of governors, congressional members, school leaders, and researchers, drafted a report called “Ready Schools” with the ambitious goal of having all children starting school ready to learn. Programs to ease children’s entry into school have been around for decades, with varying levels of policy attention. “It’s getting me used to not being in constant control of her all the time and seeing that she will excel no matter who’s in charge.” Boosting Readiness “I’d say it’s helped me about as much as it’s helped her,” Hendershot said. While the children work with the teachers, the parents have their own sessions. The transition activities help children learn about skills such as sharing and taking turns. Lyla will start kindergarten in the Bethel district, where more than 50 percent of the children are eligible for free-and-reduced price lunches, and most children, like Lyla, did not attend preschool. In Eugene, Ore., a transition program that gives children a chance to practice kindergarten-level social skills has been a boon for 5-year-old Lyla Hendershot, said her mother, Lacey Hendershot. You draw on it later,” Milton-Hoffman said. The positive feelings “are kind of like a bank. It’s challenging to do some years-this year, for example, the 300-student school is still down one kindergarten teacher-but it has been a worthwhile practice in creating a positive relationship with students and parents right away, said Principal Sherri Milton-Hoffman. At Maconce Elementary in rural Ira, Mich., where about 75 percent of the children are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches, the principal and the kindergarten teachers have made an effort to conduct home visits with every incoming child. The same research, however, has shown that the pupils for whom this impact is strongest-children from low socioeconomic backgrounds-tend to attend schools that are the least likely to offer transition activities. Parents initiate more involvement in school during the kindergarten year, and children end the year with measurably higher academic achievement. Research demonstrates that children and teachers reap tangible benefits when schools engage in more transition activities. These programs do more than calm first-day jitters or ease the minds of anxious parents.
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