The Head Start to Kindergarten Transition (H2SK) Project is a treasure trove of research on strengthening transitions from Head Start to kindergarten- explore all the project’s activities, findings, publications, and tools here.
Head Start to Kindergarten: It Takes Two (Systems)
- Introduction
- Landscape of HS2K Transitions
- The 4Ps
- HS2K Theory of Change
- Highlights of Project Findings
- Activity 1: Literature Review
- Activity 2: Key Informant Interviews
- Activity 3: Measures Scan
- Activity 4: Secondary ECLS-K Analyses
- Activity 5: Secondary MOU Analyses
- Activity 6: Secondary MSHS Analyses
- Activity 7: Development of New Measures (KTS2)
- Activity 8: Future Design Options
- Activity 9: Mapping Exploration
- Activity 10: Comparative Case Study
- Resources and Acknowledgements
Introduction
Kindergarten is a crucial rite of passage for children. Head Start is engaging and nurturing, but too many of its graduates struggle once they enter kindergarten. If children and families don’t continue receiving the right supports during the transition to kindergarten, much of the momentum from early care and education (ECE) programs will be lost. We can help children get off to the best possible start in elementary school by improving all aspects of the transition from Head Start to kindergarten.
The Understanding Children’s Transition from Head Start to Kindergarten (HS2K) project is comprised of a collaborative group of education researchers who want to better support children as they enter their K-12 experiences.
Many young children get off to a good start because of their experiences in ECE programs, but it takes considerable coordination among systems, educators, and families to sustain that early momentum.â¯And we have learned that K-12 schools and ECE programs struggle to work together to make the transition easier for families.
The goal of this project is to better understand how to improve children’s transitions from Head Start to kindergarten, but our findings are relevant across the ECE landscape. We know teachers benefit when supported to focus on this transition, but there are big gaps in knowledge about how to put the best ideas into practice. The solution requires rallying leaders from both sides of the transition to work more closely together in support of children. That way, the progress children make in preschool isn’t lost at the kindergarten door.
Find out more about the project on our federal project page. Explore different activities completed under this project using the links in the navigation pane.
Landscape of HS2K Transitions
Understanding the complexity of transitions from Head Start to kindergarten requires first stepping back to consider the landscape in which they occur. The transition ecosystem has a few important features:
- Transitions are fundamentally two-sided, with a sending side and a receiving side. Though obvious in practice, the need for both sides to be mutually engaged has been underrepresented in research and policy.
- Each side of the transition has its own governance structure that influences practice and policy. Classroom teachers are essential to effective transitions, but far from the only important players: Site administrators (e.g., Head Start directors and elementary principals), organization leaders (e.g., Head Start grantee executives and school district leaders), regional entities, state agency personnel, and federal policymakers can all influence aspects of the kindergarten transition.
- There are many different child feeder patterns, complicating cross-system coordination and collaboration around transitions. Geography, family choice, family mobility, community characteristics, and neighborhood school assignments are all factors in determining which Head Start classroom and kindergarten classroom children transition between. Classrooms on either side of the transition may [send/receive] children [to/from] one program on the other side or many.
The 4Ps
The HS2K team recognized that transition practices implemented by teachers were only one part of this complex system. Based on existing literature and practice knowledge, the team hypothesized three other factors that could play crucial roles in how the two systems work together to support transitions. These intersect to influence the quantity, quality, and coordination of practices, the fourth factor.
- Policies specific to supporting transition efforts and the alignment of efforts across systems.
- Perspectives about effective transitions, as in what and how people think about the work.
- Professional supports and development available to teachers and administrators.
- Practices and activities experienced by children and families.
Taken together, these are the “4Ps”—the core mechanisms the HS2K project theorizes shape a child’s transition experience. Although the 4Ps were uniquely defined for this project, similar constructs appear in the literature on effective school leadership and implementation science. Relevant to both Head Start and K-12 systems, the 4Ps allow comparisons across both sides of the transition and form the backbone of many aspects of the project. If teachers, administrators, and education leaders from Head Start and elementary schools commit to a shared set of perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices, then children and families may benefit—a concept reflected in the HS2K Theory of Change.
HS2K Theory of Change
The HS2K Theory of Change provides a systems-level framework to organize the 4Ps in ways that explain and predict successful transitions from Head Start to kindergarten. It illustrates the ways in which transition efforts may be coordinated and aligned both within and across the Head Start and K-12 systems.
The theory of change highlights the two-sided nature of transitions (i.e., Head Start and K-12), the multiple levels of organizations and agencies that influence each side (i.e., federal, state, community/school district, school), as well as the 4Ps. Importantly, the theory of change also represents the hypothesized ways in which the complex systems influence children and families’ transition experiences.
Of note, this theory of change:
- suggests various ways that transition practices can be influenced, including bi-directional influence across the two sides (e.g., an elementary school’s provision of professional learning to kindergarten teachers may also include Head Start teachers) and vertical influence within one side (e.g., the enactment of a state policy related to transition practices may influence more school districts to implement transition strategies)
- assumes that implementation of transition practices is a function of individual organizational systems (both Head Start and kindergarten), cross-system coordination, and independent initiation by families, educators, and community partners
Click here for a short video walking through the HS2K theory of change.
The HS2K theory of change informed and guided all project activities. Through a literature review, measures scan, and key informant interviews we identified the existing knowledge on kindergarten transitions and where in the theory of change evidence was missing. The gaps in existing knowledge informed secondary data analysis activities (ECLS-K, MOU, MSHS) and case study design. In addition, we continued to re-examine the theory of change and create new products that helped identify areas for future research and knowledge generation.
Highlights of Project Findings
Findings highlighted in this section have emerged across multiple project activities to support and strengthen the HS2K theory of change.
Two Systems, Two Approaches
We found that policies and governance structures are distinct across the Head Start and K-12 systems in ways that result in different supports for transitions. These differences foster differing perspectives on the supports and guidance children and families need. Perspectives, in turn, can also drive different practices and policies. Learn more about the 4Ps.
From our literature review, we know that when perspectives are misaligned across roles (both within and across systems), children fare less well. These perspectives both inform and are informed by systems-level policies and professional supports, which are set differently in each system. Head Start provides federal funding directly to programs with a single set of regulations (the Head Start Program Performance Standards [HSPPS]) while the K-12 system has distributed policymaking power at more local levels. Head Start’s federal-to-local governance can lead to more consistent application of certain standards across states and locales, including kindergarten transition strategies, whereas approaches in K-12 can vary widely in scope and intensity by state and school district. We learned through cognitive testing during development of new measures, the KTS2 surveys, that even the words and constructs used by Head Start and K-12 differ, making cross-system comparison and coordination more challenging.
This is complicated by the complex feeder patterns depicted in our landscape of HS2K transitions (from Head Start to kindergarten)—children are coming from and going to many different types of settings. We also know from our mapping exploration that there is an average of three to four times as many elementary schools with kindergarten classrooms than Head Start centers within relative geographic proximity. In most places, there are many points of connection between the Head Start and K-12 systems with differing levels of localized decision-making. A single Head Start program may need to coordinate with many different elementary schools within many different school districts. And each of these elementary schools must grapple with individualizing transition supports for children arriving from a variety of ECE settings. In our comparative case study, we saw that transitions require more individualized approaches and resources with this additional complexity—resources that are in limited supply.
Building a Bridge
Across project activities, we found several key features of programs and relationships that appear to help bridge the gap between systems.
Leadership: We found that when leaders of Head Start and K-12 systems are focused on collaboration, supports for transitions were more consistently implemented or sustained without placing the burden solely on individual initiative.
Our literature review discovered that coordinated efforts across Head Start and elementary schools result in better short-term initial school adjustment, long-term social and emotional development, and academic outcomes for children. In our comparative case study, we heard about both practices initiated by teachers and other practitioners and practices initiated and supported by administrators or leadership. For example, leaders facilitated cross-system meetings for teachers and other staff to talk about aligning curricula, assessments, and practices. These types of cross-system meetings were also used for planning transition events and sharing data and information. Our comparative case studies further revealed that Head Start and local education agencies (LEA) leaders thought about cross-system alignment in two ways: (1) within grade level, and (2) across grade levels. Leaders in all cases were working on facilitating within grade level alignment—meaning they were actively working on aligning Head Start with other school-based preschool programming. Cross-system alignment between Head Start (and other preschool programs) with kindergarten was often focused on aligning perspectives on what it means for children to be kindergarten ready. In our secondary MSHS analyses, we found that when directors of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs reported collaboration with partners in Migrant Education in K-12, they offered a greater number of transition practices.
Relationships: We found that relationships between people in different roles within and between Head Start and kindergarten—as well as with families—was an important foundation for supporting children and families through the kindergarten transition.
Leadership buy-in and support for strong partnerships appears to be a crucial precursor to strong relationships. From our comparative case studies, we found that shared goals and perspectives and more clarity around partnership roles and responsibilities helped foster stronger partnerships.â¯Findings from our literature review suggested that strong relationships across systems and roles could facilitate communication and trust, which are, in turn, mechanisms for aligning perspectives.
Articulated and consistently implemented structures, guidance, and expectations: Our findings suggest that intentional planning, dedicated funding, and policies and processes that are written down and known by all are important ways to strengthen supports for transitions from Head Start to kindergarten.
Given that Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) outlining the terms of Head Start and K-12 partnerships are required by federal law for both systems, they offer a promising opportunity for Head Start programs and LEAs to articulate and hold themselves accountable to transition-specific perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices. Our MOU analyses found many specific examples of the 4Ps in action which helped to align expectations, resource allocations, and key activities. These included defining explicit staff responsibilities across systems, determining timelines for shared practices like teaching meetings and data exchanges, and negotiating the details of shared service delivery. However, both detail and content across MOUs were inconsistent, leaving plenty of opportunity for partners to more clearly define their kindergarten transition approaches. In our comparative case study, we found that the perspectives of Head Start and elementary staff about these policies drove how they thought about cross-system alignment and supporting transitions. Those in leadership positions, such as HS directors and superintendents, discussed MOUs policies guiding the partnership, while teachers or others at the practice level rarely mentioned it.
One of the ways systems can align perspectives, create complementary policies, and adopt shared practices is through joint or aligned professional supports. While research on alignment of professional supports is limited, our literature review found that shared professional development, opportunities for ECE teachers to observe kindergarten teachers, and transition summits attended by multiple stakeholders seem to foster aligned perspectives, connections across systems, and trust. From our literature review, secondary MOU analyses, and comparative case study, we know that staff across the systems participate in little-to-no transition-specific or jointly conducted professional supports, making this an important area for future cross-system alignment efforts.
Geographic proximity: Given the complexity of feeder patterns (patterns of children’s movement from Head Start programs to kindergarten), we found that physical location influences the existence and strength of relationships.
Our literature review found that co-location of ECE settings within elementary schools can be a positive factor in relationships amongst leadership, teachers, and support staff. Our comparative case study supported this finding, where general geographic proximity seemed to play an important role in relationship —especially for those relationships less supported by policies and professional supports and more reliant on individual initiative and spontaneous interaction.
Head Start’s alignment with other programs: We found certain organizational characteristics underlying some partnerships that seemed to simplify and streamline collaboration and coordination: co-location and alignment between Head Start and school-based preschool.
In more than one of our Cases from our comparative case study, participants described a series of initiatives intended to align Head Start with other ECE programs, including state-funded preschool. By merging and aligning the requirements and processes, and sometimes even combining Head Start funding and state or local preschool within a single program location, these sites streamlined transition coordination and collaboration with elementary schools by presenting a single voice representing many children and families from which to negotiate a partnership with local elementary schools.
External organizations as intermediaries: We found that intermediary organizations can serve as systems brokers that can encourage coordination, provide resources, and communicate and amplify messages to families about the kindergarten transition. Different types of intermediaries exist within communities and may play different roles in different contexts.
The complexity of feeder patterns between ECE and K-12 can present an overwhelming challenge to already overtaxed systems with limited resources. Third party intermediaries with dedicated funding, unique mandates, and more limited scope can help reduce the complexity the cross-system coordination and collaboration. One of our Cases from our comparative case study included an intermediary between the Head Start and K-12 systems with its own funding and legislative mandates to bridge the ECE and K-12 systems. This intermediary provided joint trainings, helped marry differing perspectives, and organized systematic transition practices—among other things.
Additionally, local community partners can serve as a connector with families. In our comparative case study, we found that community partners played a pivotal role in supporting and amplifying messages about transitions. Community partners also provided extra resources, space, and materials to support transitions. Several sites hosted transition-related events at local libraries, for example.â¯This extends our very limited knowledge of the role of community partners or intermediary agencies in supporting transitions, which were nearly absent in our literature review. New information about community partners gleaned from the case studies provides additional evidence about their role within the HS2K theory of change.
Activity 1: Literature Review
What Did We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team conducted a systematic review of the literature to document both what we do and do not know about systems-level kindergarten transitions strategies between Head Start and elementary schools.
Why Did We Do This Work?
Past reviews of the literature on kindergarten transitions have not taken a systems-level look at how the two systems surrounding transitions (ECE and K-12) can work together to better support those transitions. The goal of this work was to gain an up-to-date understanding of the existing research on transitions with this systems lens.
What Did We Want to Know? (Research Questions)
- What existing literature and knowledge is there that focuses on the transition from Head Start to kindergarten for children, their families, and their teachers?
- What do we know currently about coordinated perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices (i.e., the 4Ps) within and across Head Start and K-12 systems?
- How do coordinated perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices support the transition from Head Start to kindergarten?
- To what extent are the 4Ps associated with outcomes for children, families, and teachers?
What Did We Learn?
Finding 1: To date, most research had focused on classroom-level practices, with little attention to the systemic conditions that undergird and support those practices.
- For example, while the literature readily reported on parents’ and teachers’ perspectives about the transition to kindergarten, little is known about the perspectives of either Head Start or the K-12 administrators.
Finding 2: Federal policies govern how Head Start addresses kindergarten transitions and how public schools address the needs of special education students. In addition, nearly half of all states in the U.S. have requirements related to the kindergarten transition. However, there was little research on district-level or school-level policies regarding kindergarten transitions.
Finding 3: We know little about the types of transition-related professional supports staff receive, particularly those that are coordinated across Head Start and K-12 systems.
Finding 4: The literature included studies about specific transition practices that teachers and/or program or school staff implemented.â¯However, much of this research was about the quantity rather than the quality of transition practices.
- On average, Head Start teachers reported implementing more transition practices than their kindergarten counterparts. Head Start teachers commonly reported practices that occurred between Head Start and elementary schools, practices that connected children with elementary schools, and practices that connected families with elementary schools.
- There is minimal research on common practices where community organizations work with schools to support the Head Start to kindergarten transition.
Finding 5: Some evidence suggested that cross-system coordinated efforts resulted in better short-term initial school adjustment, long-term social and emotional development, and academic outcomes for children. However, there was little research about the mechanisms through which transition strategiesâ¯support key short- and long-term outcomes for teachers, families, and children.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K project team designed the literature review approach based on the conceptualization of the 4Ps.
- The findings from this literature review along with key informant interviews helped to refine the HS2K theory of change.
- Reviewing existing literature enabled the team to identify existing survey items and tools used to measure kindergarten transition for our measures scan, which then justified the need to create new survey items to capture kindergarten transition strategies at the systems level (development of new measures).
- Gaps in the literature helped to identify opportunities for secondary data analyses of existing data (secondary ECLS-K analyses, secondary MSHS analyses, and secondary MOU analyses) and ideas for how to build the HS2K comparative case study approach.
Activity 3: Measures Scan
What Did We Do for This Activity?
For the measures scan, the HS2K project team created an inventory of existing data sources and measures that collected information related to kindergarten transitions. We shared this summarized information with Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) in a series of Excel tables and in an internal project memo. See HS2K Measures Scan Methods (PDF) for more information on how we approached this activity.
Why Did We Do This Work?
The HS2K project team conducted this scan to determine whether current data sources and measures were sufficient for researchers to understand kindergarten transitions and offer detailed understanding of the 4Ps (perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices) across Head Start and K-12 settings.
What Did We Want to Know?
- RQ 1: What is the extent and quality of available data and tools related to measuring kindergarten transition strategies?
- RQ 1a: Do the identified data sources include measures that capture content related to each of the 4Ps?
- RQ 1b: To what degree do the identified data sources allow for links to be made among the 4Ps and the short- and long-term outcomes hypothesized in the HS2K theory of change?
- RQ 1c: To what extent do the identified data sources provide information that can be analyzed (but has yet to be analyzed by others) to better understand conditions necessary for the 4Ps to lead to successful transitions?
- RQ 1d: To what degree are the data robust (i.e., representative of the U.S. population; have a large enough sample for subgroup analyses) and allow for examination of special populations?
- RQ 1e: To what extent do the identified data sources capture information that, if analyzed, may help us fill gaps in the literature?
- RQ 2: What, if any, available measures are reliable, valid, and feasible for inclusion in a research study and can be used as part of the development of HS2K case studies? For example, do we recommend that new measures be developed based on gaps in current coverage of the 4Ps and/or important conditions that support the 4Ps?
What Did We Learn?
Finding 1: There were 12 data sources and 44 unique measures (30 of which were associated with at least one of the 12 data sources) related to kindergarten transitions. [RQ 1]
Finding 2: Existing data sources and measures had inconsistent representation of the 4Ps, most did not include information from both the Head Start and kindergarten side, and there was little attention given to transition supports for special populations other than children with disabilities. [RQ 1b]
Finding 3: Existing data sources and measures did not allow for adequate analysis of the relationship between the 4Ps and short- and long-term outcomes of children and families. [RQ 1c]
Finding 4: There was scarce psychometric information about the identified measures (e.g., the norming sample or psychometric details) which leads to questions about the validity of the measures. [RQ 2]
Finding 5: Most existing data sources (10 of 12) were more than ten years old, which means they may not include information aligned with several relevant federal policies and regulations (e.g., ESSA; updated Head Start Act regulations).
Based on these findings, the HS2K project team concluded that existing data sources and measures are unlikely to provide a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of transition processes and supports being addressed as part of the HS2K Project. We recommended development and testing of new measures that would align with the 4Ps and go beyond teacher and program practices or perspectives.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- Some data sources and measures explored under this activity were originally identified in the HS2K literature review.
- The approach to this activity, and what information was sought, was shaped by the HS2K theory of change and the 4Ps.
- The identified gaps in measurement led to additional measure development, which were then included in the HS2K Future Design Options.
- Key missing information based on this scan shaped protocol development for the HS2K comparative case study.
- The lack of information about subgroups of children motivated our secondary analyses about Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Transitions.
Activity 4: Secondary ECLS-K Analyses
Combinations of Transition Activities using Existing National Data
What Did We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team conducted analyses on existing data from a set of nation-wide surveys given to kindergarten teachers and parents (from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011)).
Why Did We Do This Work?
Existing literature on the practices designed to support children and families through the kindergarten transition has largely focused on individual practices, asking teachers to check off a list of practices offered. This analysis used large-scale data to take a more holistic view and learn about the combinations of kindergarten transition activities offered to children and families, with reports from both teachers and parents.
What Did We Want to Know? (Research Questions)
- RQ 1: Are there common combinations of transition experiences for children and families in the United States?
- RQ 2: Do children who attended Head Start before kindergarten experience different combinations of transition supports than other children?
- RQ 3: Do combinations of transition experiences predict child and family outcomes in kindergarten?
What Did We Learn?
Finding 1: Children and families experienced four common combinations of transition activities. [RQ 1]
Finding 2: For children who previously attended Head Start and other children from lower-income backgrounds who had not attended Head Start, teachers and parents reported fewer types of transition practices than for higher-income children. Head Start and other lower-income children were more likely to be in the Limited Face-to-Face Activities and Limited Information Received Transition Activity Groups. Specifically, they were less likely to visit to the kindergarten classroom, have parents attending an orientation, and report that schools sent home information about the kindergarten program to families. [RQ 2]
Finding 3: The combination of transition activities provided to children and families predicted children’s initial school adjustment and parent involvement in kindergarten. Children and families with more of a variety of transition activities provided showed better outcomes in these areas. [RQ 3]
See our ECLSKS-K Brief for more information on these findings and both practice and research implications.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K literature review and measures scan highlighted a gap in the literature that shaped the design of this activity: that there was minimal research on the combinations of practices offered to and experienced by families.
- Some of the limitations identified in the ECLS-K data informed the HS2K project team’s approach to the development of new measures.
Activity 5: Secondary MOU Analyses
The Role of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between Head Start and Local Education Agencies (LEAs)
What Didâ¯We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team analyzed content from existing memorandum of understandings (MOUs) between Head Start programs and local education agencies (LEAs). We analyzed 23 existing MOUs between 10 sites involved in the Office of Head Start & Public Schools Collaboration Demonstration Project.
Why Did We Do Thisâ¯Work?
Our literature review taught us that there was a lack of knowledge around how existing program- and school-level policies may support coordination and collaboration around kindergarten transition. Head Start programs and LEAs are federally required to establish MOUs, which can be a key policy lever to encourage connections between Head Start programs and K-12 systems. Yet, we know very little about them. This analysis sought to fill this gap.
What Did We Want to Know? (Research Questions)
- RQ 1: What are the structural features of MOUs across different sites?
- RQ 2: How do MOUs describe kindergarten transition perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices?
- RQ 3: How frequently do MOUs reference or address requirements regarding kindergarten transitions in existing state and federal policies?
What Did We Learn?
Finding 1: 18 out of 23 MOUs we examined specifically mentioned kindergarten transitions. [RQ 2]
- The majority of MOUs did not provide significant details about kindergarten transition. This suggests that MOUs may be just one document or tool needed to ensure comprehensive transition approaches.â¯
- Very few MOUs provided details for how kindergarten transition strategies would be implemented (e.g., timing, dosage, resources).â¯
Finding 2: No standard template was used across MOUs, but perspectives about the kindergarten transition and collaboration were most often found in the MOU’s purpose statement and goals. However, not all MOUs included clear purpose statements or goals, and few explicitly described supporting kindergarten transition as part of their purpose.â¯[RQ1, RQ2]â¯
Finding 3: MOUs remain an important potential vehicle by which to align transition-related activities with key legislation, statutes, and requirements, and create collaboration and communication structures.
See our MOU Brief for more information on these findings and both practice and research implications.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K literature review motivated this work, given the lack of information available about MOUs between Head Start programs and LEAs (overall and specific to kindergarten transitions).
- Findings from this activity informed protocol development for the HS2K comparative case study related to how Head Start and LEAs set and implement policy.
- Given the potential of MOUs and their role in supporting transitions, the HS2K project team included items about MOUs in the development of new measures.
Activity 6: Secondary MSHS Analyses
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start Transitions
The HS2K project team analyzed a national survey of Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) center directors. We examined questions about the transition practices offered to children in migrant and seasonal families who may encounter different challenges or barriers during critical transitions, including kindergarten transitions.
Why Did We Do This Work?
The HS2K literature review and measures scan found little evidence or measures to help the field understand the kindergarten transition supports available for subpopulations (aside from children with disabilities). This analysis was designed to fill that gap for the MSHS population.
What Did We Want to Know? (Research Questions)
- RQ 1: What transition supports do MSHS programs provide to children and families when they transition to kindergarten?
- RQ 2: What transition supports do MSHS programs provide to children and families when they transition from their MSHS center to another ECE program?
- RQ 3: What ways do MSHS centers coordinate with their local schools to support children and families’ transitions?
- RQ 4: Which program characteristics are associated with the types of transition practices the program used?
What Did We Learn?
Finding 1: MSHS programs offer multiple types of supports to children and families when they leave their MSHS center for whatever reason. MSHS programs prioritize transition practices that facilitate a family’s ability to move to the next program. For example, they not only offer informational meetings about transitions, but also provide child portfolios that families can bring to their next program. This provides families with the information needed to ensure a more successful transition. [RQs 1 and 2]
Finding 2: However, transition practices with local schools, such as sharing child records with schools, were less present. Increasing the coordination between MSHS programs and schools could address systemic barriers for children in migrant and seasonal families. [RQ 3]
Finding 3: When MSHS programs collaborate with Migrant Education partners (on the K-12 “receiving” side of the transition), they are more likely to offer a greater number of transition supports. [RQ 4]
See our MSHS secondary analysis report to learn more
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K project’s literature review and measures scan found a lack of information about subgroups of children, which motivated this analysis.
Activity 7: Development of New Measures (KTS2)
Kindergarten Transition Systems Surveys (KTS2)
What Did We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team generated a new set of survey measures focused on learning more about key systems-level approaches to Head Start to kindergarten transitions. This activity included the drafting of new survey items with the consultation of psychometricians and cognitive testing of a selection of items with both Head Start and K-12 respondents to refine the items.
Why Did We Do This Work?
The HS2K project team’s literature review and measures scan suggested there were gaps in what the field knows about systems-level supports for kindergarten transitions and a lack of tools to measure this information. The development of these new measures was intended to support future research so it can capture the degree of coordination, collaboration, and alignment of kindergarten transition policies, perspectives, professional supports, and practices (i.e., the 4Ps) both within and across Head Start and elementary school systems.
What Did We Want to Know? (Guiding Questions)
- How can we measure the degree of coordination, collaboration, and alignment of kindergarten transition policies, perspectives, professional supports, and practices within and across Head Start programs and elementary school systems?
What Did We Create?
- A set of four Kindergarten Transition Systems Surveys (KTS2) containing novel items intended to measure the content, quality, and quantity of existing kindergarten transition strategies (i.e., the 4Ps) at the program administration level and at the center/building administration level. The four surveys are:
- Head Start Program Administrator Survey
- Local Education Agency (LEA) Administrator Survey
- Head Start Center Director Survey
- K-12 Principal Survey
- An item bank, within each survey, inclusive of both “core” and supplemental items. Each survey includes questions about the 4Ps, including coordinated and collaborative strategies implemented across Head Start and LEA systems.
- Core items capture high-priority constructs of the 4Ps related to the HS2K theory of change.
- Supplemental items also address constructs of the 4Ps that individual research ventures can mix and match with “core” items at their discretion.
- Select items were tested using cognitive interviews; however, further pilot, measurement, and survey reduction work will be required before the surveys are ready for public use.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K literature review, measures scan, and secondary ECLS-K analyses motivated the need for this activity.
- The structure of these surveys and the key constructs addressed were shaped by the HS2K theory of change and the 4Ps.
- The secondary MOU analyses of MOUs between Head Start and LEAs lead to the inclusion of MOU-related questions on these surveys.
- These surveys were included in the HS2K Future Design Options, to help fill research gaps.
Activity 8: Future Design Options
What Did We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team developed two design options for a future national descriptive study that could help the field learn more about Head Start and Kindergarten systems-level supports and cross-system collaborations across the country.
Why Did We Do Thisâ¯Work?
To date, much of what is known about supporting children’s transition to kindergarten focuses on classroom-level practices implemented by early care and education (ECE) and kindergarten teachers, with little attention to the organizational conditions that support or hinder the implementation of those practices. These design options would help to expand our knowledge to better understand how programs and schools approach collaboration and supporting transitions at a national level.
What Do We Want to Know? (Proposed Research Questions)
If conducted in the future, the designed studies seek to be able to answer these research questions:
- What does collaboration look like at the systems level between Head Start programs and local education agencies (LEAs)/schools to support children's transition to kindergarten?
- How do kindergarten transition approaches vary by system-level supports and cross-system collaborations?
- What are the patterns of transition from Head Start programs to kindergarten in various schools?
- What are the outcomes of successful transitions for leaders, teachers, families, and children?
What Did We Recommend?
Future studies could document the current landscape of systems-level transition supports, helping the field better understand how systems-level approaches in Head Start and LEAs are implemented, under which conditions there are facilitators and barriers, and how those approaches can be improved under various contexts. The HS2K project team offered two different possible ways of designing a future study to answer the questions above. Both design options would address multiple parts of the HS2K theory of change, studying within- and across-system perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices (the 4Ps).
- Design Option 1: This design takes a “cluster” level approach to sampling, data collection, and analyses of how Head Start programs and LEAs/elementary schools collaborate within sets of geographic areas. The goal of Design Option 1 is to understand the systems-level patterns of collaboration across multiple Head Start programs and LEAs within a geographic area (or cluster).
- Design Option 2: This design takes an individual-level approach to sampling and data collection. The goal of Design Option 2 is to follow groups of children from Head Start programs into kindergarten to capture their experiences and outcomes on both sides of the transition.â¯
- See our Design Options report to learn more.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K project team built these design option recommendations based on the project’s theory of change, measures scan, literature review, and development of new measures.
- The Head Start to Kindergarten Proximity Map enabled the team to estimate sample sizes and number of clusters for this design options report.
Activity 9: Mapping Exploration
Exploring the Locations of Head Start and Kindergartens Nationally
What Did We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team brought together national data on the locations of all Head Start programs and centers as well as Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and elementary schools across the country. We used these data to explore how Head Start and kindergarten programs were spatially located, in relation to one another to determine Head Start-to-elementary “configurations” within geographic areas. As part of this work, the team developed the Head Start to Kindergarten Proximity Map, now available for public exploration along with a video walking through how to use it. See HS2K Mapping Exploration Methods (PDF) â¯for more information on how we approached the analyses for this activity.
Why Did We Do This Work?
There are no existing maps of all Head Start programs/centers and all elementary schools with kindergarten. Seeing them together side-by-side allows researchers to explore configurations within locales. Because most children attend an ECE program and go to school close to where they live, there is value in understanding how Head Start programs and elementary schools that are geographically close to one another collaborate to support kindergarten transitions.
What Did We Want to Know? (Research Questions)
- RQ 1: How are Head Start programs and elementary schools with kindergarten geographically positioned across the country? RQ 2: Are areas of the country without any Head Start programs within a 2-mile radius different than those with Head Start programs?
- RQ 3: How many programs and schools would there be within a “cluster” that is 2-miles vs. 3-miles in radius?
- RQ 4: Are there specific types of Head Start-kindergarten configurations that can be identified in the data?
What Did We Learn?
Finding 1: 25% of the national population living below the federal poverty line lives in an area that does not have a Head Start center within 2 miles of the census tract they live in (a “cluster” around their census tract). [RQ 2]
- In fact, every state in the U.S. has a 2-mile area without a Head Start center. If randomly selecting a “cluster”, about 40% would not have any Head Start programs in them.
- Areas of the country with more people (including more under the age of 5) are more likely to have Head Start nearby. On the other hand, areas of the country with higher proportions of people who identified as White, who had high school diplomas, and with incomes were less likely to have Head Start centers nearby.
Finding 2: On average, in each 2-mile cluster, there are approximately 4.2 times more elementary schools with kindergarten than Head Start centers. When narrowing this down to elementary schools receiving Title I funds, there are an average of three schools for each Head Start center. [RQ 3]
Finding 3: Almost 60% of all geographic clusters had Head Start-elementary school configurations that would be considered have a “small-to-small” ratio (an average of two Head Start centers and six elementary schools within a 2-mile radius). Far fewer clusters had what we would call a “many-to-many” ratio. [RQ 4]
See our mapping tool to learn more.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- Exploring the distribution of Head Start programs/centers and elementary schools with kindergarten enabled the team to estimate sample sizes and number of clusters for the Future Design Options the HS2K project team developed. This was particularly important for the design that recommended future research focus on groups of Head Start programs and elementary schools that are geographically close to one another.
- The HS2K project team was better informed about distal relationships among Head Start programs and elementary schools which shaped our case study protocols.
Activity 10: Comparative Case Study
What Did We Do for This Activity?
The HS2K project team conducted a comparative multi-case study to describe approaches to supporting transitions from Head Start to kindergarten in five diverse Head Start and LEA (Local Education Agency) partnerships.
Why Did We Do This Work?
The HS2K literature review found that there was limited understanding of systems-level approaches to support Head Start to kindergarten transitions for children, families, and teachers. This case study was designed to help fill this gap by looking across cases to better understand the 4Ps within and across systems (both Head Start and Local Education Agencies [LEAs]), how families and children experience the kindergarten transition process, how program- and school-wide decisions are made around supporting transitions, and what factors influence transitions.
What Did We Want to Know? (Research Questions)
- RQ 1: What strategies and practices are Head Start programs and 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?
- RQ 2: What characterizes relationships/partnerships 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?
- RQ 3: What are the key perceived 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 perceived outcomes?
What Did We Learn?
- Most cases did not have an institutional or agreed upon definitions of when transitions begin or end or what constitutes a successful transition, leading to differences in perspectives about transitions. [RQ2]
- Most of the Cases relied heavily on relationships to sustain partnerships, especially at the leadership level, rather than on policies to drive transition efforts. [RQ1, RQ2]
- Most transition efforts were practices and strategies focused on children and families, and within-system practices were more common than practices that connected the two systems together. [RQ1]
- In addition, none of the Cases focused on providing joint professional supports as a mechanism for supporting and sustaining transition efforts. [RQ1]
- We also learned that Cases can have more alignment and/or activity in one or more of the 4Ps and less in others. In other words, not every partnership was strong in each of the 4Ps and some Cases focused more in one or two of the Ps than in all four. [RQ1, RQ2]
- We learned that strong cross-system partnerships takes committed leaders from both Head Start and LEAs who are focused on supporting transitions and alignment across the systems. [RQ2]
- Using common and aligned frameworks and assessments in Head Start (along with other preschool programs) and in kindergarten helps provide a common language that supports kindergarten transition practices and strategies across the systems. [RQ1, RQ2, RQ3]
- To adequately support transitions, staff at multiple levels need protected time to convene regularly to reinforce staff responsibilities and plan transition practices and strategies across the partnerships. [RQ1]
- Doing so takes dedicated staff as well as adequate resources and funding to support transition-specific collaborative efforts between Head Start and Kindergarten.
- Relationships are necessary to support successful transition approaches, however they are subject to breakdowns when people leave positions or change jobs over time. [RQ2]
- We find that it is important to formalize approaches to kindergarten transitions and opportunities for collaboration across the systems in policies such as MOUs and/or other policy documents. [RQ1, RQ2]
See our Case Study report to learn more.
What Other HS2K Activities Informed or Were Informed by This Activity?
- The HS2K project team developed the HS2K theory of change based on a literature review and existing practice knowledge gathered from key informant interviews. This comparative case study was designed to learn more about that HS2K theory of change and how it might be reflected in real practice.
- The 4Ps guided the development of protocols, to enable the HS2K project team to explicitly learn more about each—policies, professional supports, policies, and practice—with in-depth and rich examples of what the 4Ps look like in practice, across these systems, and how they are experienced by those working “on the ground” to support transitions and children and families going through the transition.
Resources and Acknowledgements
Glossary
Alignment: The extent to which systems offer similar or complementary opportunities, or opportunities that build upon one another in ways that reflect a logical progression. Strategies and actions implemented at the organization level to create alignment are intended to strengthen the coordination and continuity between Head Start and K-12 and create meaningful similarities across the systems. Examples of strategies in which alignment can be seen include professional learning opportunities, data systems, learning standards, assessment approaches, instructional approaches, transition activities, family engagement strategies, and more (Kauerz, 2018).
- Horizontal alignment: Alignment within a single age/grade level, such as between different pre-k programs or different classrooms within the same grade. In this study, this represents alignment efforts between Head Start and other preschool programs.
- Vertical alignment: Alignment across different progressive age/grade levels such as between pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. In this study, this also represents alignment between the Head Start and K-12 systems.
Blended Classrooms: Preschool classrooms that serve children eligible for different ECE funding streams.
Case: The combination of the Head Start program (and the center they identified) and the LEA that the program identified as working most closely with around transitions. A case also included the partner elementary school Head Start and LEAs identified who participated in this study.
Co-location: When Head Start children are taught and cared for in centers or classrooms physically located within an elementary school building or campus that also houses kindergarten students. Co-located Head Start children may attend blended classrooms with other pre-k children (e.g., those whose program is state- or district-funded) or attend classrooms exclusively for Head Start.
ECE: Early care and education
Head Start Agency: A local public or private non-profit or for-profit entity designated by Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to operate a Head Start program to serve children age three to compulsory school age (per section 641(b) and (d) of the Head Start Act). The Office of Head Start categorizes Head Start programs as one of seven agency types: Community Action Agency (CAA); school system; charter school, private/public non-profit (non-CAA) (e.g., church or non-profit hospital); private/public for-profit (e.g., for-profit hospitals); government agency (non-CAA); or tribal government or consortium (American Indian/Alaska Native).
Head Start Center: A Head Start program facility. A Head Start program may have one or more centers. In this report, when a Head Start program is located within a school building, we consider that to be different than a stand-alone Head Start center.
Head Start-Local Education Agency Configurations: The constitutions of Head Start programs/centers and Local Education Agencies (LEAs)/school districts that share feeder patterns of children between Head Start and kindergarten.
- One-to-Many: There is only one Head Start program in an area. Children from one Head Start program enroll in kindergarten in multiple schools within multiple LEAs (which can be of the same or different school(s) from where Head Start classroom(s) are co-located).
- Many-to-One: Head Start children from multiple Head Start programs may disperse into multiple elementary schools within one LEA. The LEA also receives children from multiple Head Start programs.
- Many-to-Many: Children from multiple Head Start programs enroll in kindergarten in multiple LEAs; LEA receives children from multiple Head Start programs.
Head Start Program: An agency, or their delegate, that is a local public or private non-profit or for-profit entity designated by the Administration for Children & Families to operate a Head Start program to serve children age three to five, pursuant to section 641(b) and (d) of the Head Start Act.
Intermediary Organization: An organization that serves to coordinate communication, collaboration, and/or alignment between two other entities (in this case, between Head Start programs and school districts). They may lead the planning, coordination, and management of cross-system tasks.
K-12 System: Public school systems that encompass kindergarten through grade 12.
Kindergarten Transitions: The process of moving into kindergarten from a prior set of experiences. In this report, we specifically focus on the transition from Head Start into kindergarten. We consider the transition to kindergarten to be an ongoing process rather than an event that happens as a single point in time.
Local Education Agency (LEA): A public board of education or other public authority legally constituted within a State for either administrative control or direction of, or to perform a service function for, public elementary schools or secondary schools in a city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision of a State, or for a combination of school districts or counties as are recognized in a State as an administrative agency for its public elementary schools or secondary schools. In most cases, but not all, an LEA is the same as a school district.
MOU: Memoranda of understanding.
The 4Ps: Four main factors both within and across organizational systems (Head Start and K-12) posited by the HS2K Project to influence children’s transition experiences. The first three Ps — (1) Perspectives, (2) Policies, and (3) Professional supports—intersect to influence the quantity, quality, and coordination of the fourth P, (4) Practices.
- Perspectives are different stakeholders’ (child/family, educator, administrators/schools/centers) vision, values, and beliefs about transitions to kindergarten, including their and others’ roles in supporting transitions to kindergarten.
- Policies are explicit (written/formal) documentation of organizational regulations; standards; agreements/memoranda of understanding (MOUs); procedures; and guidance around supporting transitions to kindergarten.
- Practices are concrete activities designed to support children/families during the transition to kindergarten. Transition practices can be enacted by Head Start or kindergarten separately or jointly through coordinated transition practices. They can also occur at various levels within/across each system (e.g., Head Start Grantee/LEA leadership, Head Start directors/principals, teachers, and staff).
- Professional Supports are professional development/learning opportunities and other resources that support teachers, site administrators, grantee/LEA administrators, and policymakers to enact strong transition approaches (e.g., professional development, coaching, dedicated planning time).
Transition Practices/Approaches: Systems-level approaches—such as those that help create more alignment in instructional approaches and expectations—and individual-level practices—such as providing information to families or data to children’s future teacher—that are designed to create a smoother transition experience for children and families.
Acknowledgements
This synthesis of project findings emerged from the Understanding Children’s Transition from Head Start to Kindergarten Transition (HS2K) Project, funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE). Our team would like to acknowledge and thank the many individuals within OPRE for their guidance, support, and critical feedback. We are grateful to Kathleen Dwyer and Nina Philipsen for their leadership of the project and insightful guidance every step of the way. We also appreciate the careful reviews and feedback from Kylee Probert and Elleanor Eng towards the conclusion of the project. From ACF’s Office of Head Start, we are grateful for Amanda Bryans’ input throughout the project, including on the design, analysis plans, and results of this case study.
We thank all the people who participated in all of our primary research, including key informants, cognitive interviewees, and individual educators, staff members and parents who participated in the comparative case study. We are especially grateful to the leaders within the five Head Start and LEA partnerships who agreed to participate in the comparative case study and allowed our team to interview their staff and the parents/legal guardians of children in their programs/schools.
The leadership team for this project—Stacy Ehrlich Loewe, Kyle DeMeo Cook, Tamara Halle, and Kristie Kauerz—would also like to acknowledge the many researchers and support staff who played a role in many different aspects of the HS2K Project. These include: Fumi Agboola, Fernando Agudelo, Mitch Barrows, Cristina Carrazza, Megan Edgin, Rachel Feldman, John Francis, Andrew Gold, Molly Gordon, Eileen Graf, Melissa Gutwein, Carol Hafford, Eric Hedberg, Sarah Kabourek, Lisa Lee, Mu-Hsien Lee, Megan Lewis, Eram Lickfett, Michael López, Andrew Malpica, Ji-Eun Park, Ben Peck, Dean Resnick, Jenny Seelig, Brandon Sepulvado, Gretchen Streett, Nola duToit, Keshav Vemuri, Chang Zhao (NORC at the University of Chicago); Marta Alvira-Hammond, Sara Amadon, Gayane Baziyants, Kristen Darling, Sarah Her, Van-Kim Lin, Chrishana Lloyd, Michael Martinez, Christina Padilla, Dana Thomson, Alex Verhoye, Rebecca Vivrette (Child Trends); and Stephanie Olmore and Andrew Schaper (National P-3 Center).
Technical Working Group
We would also like to extend a special thank you to the individuals who served on our technical working group. We thank Beth Rous (University of Kentucky) for providing feedback on our case study design and analysis plan. We are grateful to Angeline Spain (Chapin Hall) and Deborah Stipek (Stanford University) for their carefully reading of an earlier draft of the report and for providing insightful suggestions and helpful feedback on the report. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of these members.
Suggested citation
Ehrlich Loewe, S. B., Barrows, M. R., Cook, K. D., Gordon, M. F., Halle, T., Kaurez, K., Hafford, C., Lin, V. K., Darling, K. Head Start to Kindergarten: It Takes Two (Systems). A Synthesis of Findings from the HS2K Study, OPRE Report # 2023-244, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, March 2023.
Disclaimer
This report is in the public domain. Permission to reproduce is not necessary.
NORC wrote this report under contract with the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (#HHSP233201500048I/ 75N98022F00247). The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of OPRE, ACF, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.