Head Start and Receiving Elementary Schools: Transitions That Work

Head Start and Receiving Elementary Schools: Transitions That Work (Trailer)

[Music]

Boy: Kindergarten rocks.

Woman: That's right. We love our friends.

Narrator: Head Start helps families and children thrive in a comprehensive learning setting.

Boy: I missed you.

Woman: Oh, I missed you too.

Narrator: Head Start combines high-quality teaching practices ...

Children: A ball.

Man: What do you think? This is gonna sink or float?

Narrator: ... Research-based curricula ...

Woman: You did the "M." You went up and down and up and down, just like your "M."

Girl: Yeah!

Woman: What's next?

Narrator: ... and strength-based family engagement practices to create an optimum-learning setting for school readiness.

Children: Now we're ready to go.

Susan Yang: Children are school ready. The children really feel confident in their abilities to ask questions, to learn how to take turns, to wash their hands, to really understand the importance of all aspects of their development so they're ready and prepared to go to school.

Man: Here we go. Aaah! [Laughter] So, what pulled him down?

Children: Gravity.

Man: Gravity. And it went so fast, didn't he?

Narrator: Head Start children have been taught skills in each learning domain and come to their receiving elementary school prepared and ready to continue learning. Transition to kindergarten activities that include families, children, educators, and staff are an opportunity to establish strong relationships and partnerships.

Lisa Heaman: So, you've got an alignment of the standards, an alignment of curriculum, an alignment of professional development, and then an alignment of transitions.

Connie Mueller: We have pretty darn good outcomes.

Man: Suzy, can you write your name?

Suzy: Yes.

Narrator: These practices help sustain the gains children have made in their Head Start program and support continued progress for children and families.

Lisa: We always try to make sure that there's this built-in opportunity for them to experience pieces and parts of the day that a kindergartner may have.

Children: Hooray!

Lisa: Just providing fun opportunities for preschoolers to get used to the environment and get used to the adults and have really positive, joyful experiences and kind of map in their brain and link in their brain.

Connie: Also making sure that they meet the kindergarten teacher, and the kindergarten teacher needs to come down to the preschool too, because teachers are incredibly important to preschoolers.

Woman: Head straight to the bus.

Narrator: When Head Start and schools partner, children succeed.

Girl: This is my class.