Kindergarten is unique because it is the first time all young children are enrolled in formal education. This initial at-scale learning experience is a key inflection point for early learning and early school success. It brings together diverse students with a wide variety of experiences. Before kindergarten, children may have been home with family, in a childcare center, Head Start program, private preschool, or a state PreK program.

Kindergarten is a foundational year in a child’s education, in which they develop in areas such as problem-solving and social and emotional skills, while also learning academic content. This important year provides a bridge from early childhood experiences to the early grades. However, while kindergarten is an important time for young children to learn and practice a variety of skills, including social, emotional, reading, STEM, and problem solving, there has been little focus on this stage of education.

To address this, a team from the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) launched a one-year project, Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge, in September 2023. The goal of this initiative is to facilitate state and local efforts to improve the kindergarten experience for every child. The principal investigator for this project—which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education—is Senior Technical Assistance Specialist Christina Kasprzak, MA, director of the FPG Trohanis Technical Assistance (TA) Projects and co-lead of the Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center. The core team includes Sheresa Blanchard, PhD, a state liaison for the DaSy Center, which is a collaborative effort of FPG, SRI International, and other national organizations, and Technical Assistance Specialist Paula Grubbs, PhD, who serves on FPG’s Trohanis TA Projects and ECTA.

Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge is comprised of two learning communities designed to support state leaders and local administrators, educators, schools, and communities in transforming kindergarten into a sturdy bridge to early school success and learning recovery, especially for children who have been historically underserved. Infused throughout the learning communities is an emphasis on high-quality practices for students from historically under resourced or marginalized communities. The team has thought critically about how to improve kindergarten and strengthen family engagement for all students, with a special focus on English language learners, students with disabilities, and students living in poverty.

“A primary function of our work is elevating bright spots and innovation happening for kindergarten age children and their families across the country,” says Grubbs. “The learning communities have been peer-oriented so states and local communities can learn from each other as opposed to having experts come in and talk about a topic.”

The multi-state community of practice offers teams from 17 states the opportunity to come together virtually to share their methods and resources that “center kindergarten as distinct from, but aligned with, practices in the early grades, build and strengthen collaborative networks, and identify support that local education agencies may need to effectively implement evidence-based developmentally informed practices.” By identifying bright spots in each state and sharing them with the learning community, members of this group serve as a resource for other states, including those who are not participating in this effort.

The local learning community enables local leaders from school districts to focus on local implementation of evidence-based and innovative practices that address the unique developmental needs of kindergarten children. Both communities of practice engage in monthly calls to discuss specific bright spots in implementing effective practices, learn about the enabling conditions for kindergarten success, hear from other states and school districts, and problem solve challenges related to topics identified by the needs and interests of the group. The key focus is on creating the conditions for children’s success in kindergarten, which include:

• educational programming that meets the unique needs of kindergarten children;
• evidence-based and innovative models of instruction in kindergarten;
• evidence-based assessment practices to understand children's knowledge and skills and monitor their learning progress;
• supporting social. emotional, and behavioral learning opportunities for kindergarten children;
• individualization and differentiation of instruction and services for all kindergarten children, including those with disabilities and English learners;
• evidence-based and innovative models to support attendance and engagement in kindergarten;
• intentional and systematic alignment for continuity of services, supports, instruction, transitions, relationships, and data-sharing across the preK-3 continuum;
• professional development and support in the implementation of developmentally informed kindergarten practices for teachers, school leaders, and staff;
• authentic partnerships that facilitate the capacity of parents, caregivers, and families to extend kindergarten children's out-of-school learning and increase kindergarten engagement and attendance;
• interagency, cross-sector, and community-wide collaboration to support children and families during the kindergarten year;
• strategic blending and braiding of funding streams to facilitate preK-3 vertical alignment and collaboration; and
• policies and practices to reduce gaps and create a more seamless learning experience for children in two key transitions: into kindergarten, and from kindergarten into first grade.

To reach as many leaders as possible, the team has also added newsletters and office hours, which provide scheduled times with no formal agenda so that participants can come together to discuss a topic. Since the states all have different goals and starting points, each state has a unique definition of progress and set of goals. For example, some states are working on improving kindergarten entry assessments to include culturally appropriate items and create a partnership building opportunity with families.

Grubbs, who is leading the learning community, says that she and her colleagues hope to see additional avenues for state and local communication and broader dissemination of the work states are doing to improve kindergarten. “A primary function of our work is elevating bright spots and innovation happening for kindergarten age children and their families across the country,” she says. “The learning communities have been peer-oriented so states and local communities can learn from each other as opposed to having experts come in and talk about a topic.”

Because of the importance of having those bright spots available as resources for other states, the team’s next steps include posting that information on its public-facing web pages and sharing that information as broadly as possible through webinars and conferences.

“This learning community has highlighted for me the ways in which kindergarten is truly a bridge between the birth to five world of early childhood programming and the early grades world of school experiences, and the crucial importance of the kindergarten year to later school success,” says Grubbs.

“This learning community has highlighted for me the ways in which kindergarten is truly a bridge between the birth to five world of early childhood programming and the early grades world of school experiences, and the crucial importance of the kindergarten year to later school success,” says Grubbs.