Understanding Children’s Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten (HS2K)

The purpose of this project was to better understand how to improve children’s transitions from Head Start programs to elementary schools. Central to this project is a systems approach that recognizes that effective transitions require intentional engagement from both the sending programs (Head Start) and the receiving programs (elementary schools). This approach also recognizes that transition strategies and practices must be implemented at multiple levels — among classroom teachers in Head Start and kindergarten, families and teachers, elementary school principals and Head Start directors, Head Start grantees and school districts, and state and federal agencies. Specifically, the project aimed to explore the definition of “successful transitions” by addressing the following research questions: 

1. What strategies and practices are Head Start programs implementing to support children as they transition from Head Start to kindergarten? What is the content, quality, and quantity of these strategies and practices? How are they experienced by children, families, teachers, and other direct service providers? 
2. What strategies and practices are elementary schools implementing to support children as they transition from Head Start to kindergarten? What is the content, quality, and quantity of these strategies and practices? How are they experienced by children, families, teachers, and other direct service providers? 
3. What characterizes relationships among Head Start programs, elementary schools, and other community partners that support children’s successful transitions from Head Start to kindergarten? What are the specific facilitators of, and barriers to, successful transitions? 
4. What are the key short- and long-term outcomes of transition strategies and practices for children, families, Head Start teachers, and kindergarten teachers? What are the key contextual factors and mechanisms that result in these key outcomes? 

See “Head Start to Kindergarten: It Takes Two (Systems)” to explore all of the activities completed under this project to address these questions.

The project included several key tasks: 

• Review of the knowledge base regarding kindergarten transitions, including a literature review and qualitative interviews with key informants, that catalogues current transition strategies, operationalizes “successful” strategies, and situates those strategies in various community and organizational contexts. Read “Understanding Cross-Systems Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten: A Review of the Knowledge Base and a Theory of Change.” 
• Development of a theory of change for kindergarten transitions that takes into account important contexts within Head Start and elementary schools, and assesses whether current strategies align to the theory of change in promoting positive outcomes for children, families, and Head Start and kindergarten teachers. Watch “Improving Transitions to Kindergarten through Systems-Level Coordination and Collaboration” on YouTube.
• Scan of existing measures and data sources to determine alignment with the theory of change and identify any gaps or limitations in measurement that could inform development of new measures. 
• Implementation of a comparative multi-case study describing approaches to supporting transitions from Head Start to kindergarten. Read the report, “Understanding Cross-System Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten: A Comparative Cross Case Study of Head Start and K-12 Partnerships” and brief, “Systems-Level Strategies to Facilitate Kindergarten Transitions: Key Study Findings and Examples from Case Studies of Head Start & K-12 Partnerships.”

Building on this foundational work, the project included a number of additional activities: 

• Development of design options and resource estimates for a national descriptive study of kindergarten transitions. Read “Design Options for Head Start to Kindergarten Transitions Descriptive Study.” This work also included a state-level policy scan of transition policies and a mapping exercise intended to support decisions around a potential future descriptive study. See the “HS2K Head Start to Kindergarten Proximity Map” to explore the spatial relationships among Head Start centers, schools with kindergarten, and census-tract level demographic characteristics.
• Instrument development for systems-level measurement of kindergarten transition strategies in Head Start and public K-12.  
• Secondary analyses of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K: 2011) dataset. Read “Studying Combinations of Kindergarten Transition Activities Available to Children and Families.”  
• Document review of memoranda of understanding (MOUs) between Head Start programs and local education agencies (LEAs) that participated in the Head Start — Public School Collaboration Demonstration Project (CDP). Read “Facilitating Kindergarten Transitions: The Role of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between Head Start and Local Education Agencies.” 
• Secondary analyses of Migrant and Season Head Start (MSHS) Study (2017) dataset. Read “Supporting Transitions in Migrant and Seasonal Head Start.”

The project sought input from individuals with a variety of perspectives and expertise at critical junctures throughout the project, including in the preparation of the report on the review of the knowledge base, the design of the case study approach, and in the development of reports describing findings.  

OPRE contracted NORC, with subcontracts to Child Trends, the National P-3 Center, and independent consultant Dr. Kyle DeMeo Cook to conduct the project. The point of contact is Kathleen Dwyer. 

The comparative multi-case study was registered on the Open Science Framework under the title Head Start to Kindergarten Transitions Project — Case Studies. 

Information collections related to the comparative multi-case study were reviewed and approved by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under OMB #0970-0581. Related materials are available at the Understanding Children’s Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten (HS2K) page on RegInfo.gov. 

The most currently approved documents are accessible by clicking on the ICR Ref. No. with the most recent conclusion date. To access the information collections (E.g. interviews, surveys, protocols), click on View Information Collection (IC) List. Click on View Supporting Statement and Other Documents to access other supplementary documents.