Adjust transition programs based on family suggestions: longer student sessions, better district-family communication, work-friendly parent sessions, and staffing continuity into fall¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Participants proposed adjustments to better meet the needs of all stakeholders: "increasing the length of the student sessions, improving communication between district and families, re-structuring the parent information sessions to be more conducive to working families, and staffing the program with more individuals who would stay on as teachers during the transition from summer to fall." The authors synthesized these suggestions into implications for practice substantiated by current relevant literature.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Programs should gather family feedback to identify barriers such as work schedules and communication gaps

Constraints¶

• Suggestions come from participants in one district's program and were proposed, not tested, as improvements

Target Learners¶

• children entering kindergarten
• their families

Target Learning Goals¶

• kindergarten readiness
• family engagement and communication with schools

Related Strategies¶

• Use prior-years administrative data to forecast school-by-grade enrollment for staffing planning in districts with choice or mobility

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Merideth, C., Cavanaugh, B., Romas, S., Ralston, N., Arias, E., Tarasawa, B., & Waggoner, J. (2021). Family perceptions of participating in a structured summer kindergarten transition program. Early Childhood Education Journal. https://www.nwea.org/research/publication/family-perceptions-of-participating-in-a-structured-summer-kindergarten-transition-program/