Giving Compass' Take:

• The OHS, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and AASA, The School Superintendents Association recently agreed that K-12 leaders should collaborate with early education providers to ease the transition from preschool to kindergarten. 

• What are other ways that superintendents and principals can get involved in early education and development? What are the benefits? 

• Learn about the power of education data for early childhood learning. 


Transition into school is harder for new kindergartners — and their parents — when the family has never visited the new school, when they haven’t met the new teachers or other staff members, and when they are unfamiliar with the practices, routines and expectations of the classroom.

The Office of Head Start is hoping to ensure more children leaving the federally funded preschool program have those experiences and that Head Start and K-12 leaders collaborate on ways to improve the transition process.

In December, OHS, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to work across these systems in an effort to guide how Head Start centers and schools address transition.

In December, OHS, the National Association of Elementary School Principals and AASA, The School Superintendents Association, signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to work across these systems in an effort to guide how Head Start centers and schools address transition.

“The AASA and NAESP have large memberships and can encourage public school leaders to engage with their Head Start partners, and to expand the partnership beyond traditional transition activities,” said OHS Director Deborah Bergeron, a former high school principal. “When Head Start programs and schools collaborate on education goals and alignment, parent engagement and more, along with preparing children for the kindergarten they will enter, outcomes improve for the entire community.”

“The intention is really to provide the support, make sure folks are aware of the resources and help them to understand what some of the obstacles might be,” says Jennifer Boss, director of the National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching, and Learning, a technical assistance provider for the project that involves the expertise of nonprofit Zero to Three and six other partner organizations. Many of those resources related to transition are featured on OHS’ Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center.

Read the full article about partnerships for early childhood education by Linda Jacobson at Education Dive.