Bridging the Transition to Kindergarten: School Readiness Case Studies from California’s First 5 Initiative

Abstract

Recent advances in science have underscored how critical children's first five years of life are to their later success in school and life. It has also been recently recognized that early childhood interventions, particularly those that combine child-focused educational activities with parentchild relationship building, can positively influence children's readiness for school, particularly for those at-risk for poor developmental outcomes. Though early childhood services have traditionally received fewer resources than those for school-aged children or adults, many states have tried to address this inequity by sponsoring early childhood initiatives aimed at providing comprehensive health and social services to children ages 0 to 5 and their families. The current article presents an overview of one such initiative-California's First 5-and provides three Southern California case studies of how it is being implemented at the county level. Implications for policy makers, school psychologists, and other educational stakeholders are discussed.

Delivering The Parent-Implemented Communication Strategies (pics) Intervention Using Distance Training And Coaching With A Father And His Child Who Is Hard Of Hearing

“…Children with DDs are more prepared for school when they receive EI in language. EI prepares children for school whether they are English Language Learners (ELL; Bates et al, 2006), children from families of low socioeconomic status (Hart, 2000), children who are DHH (Harrington et al, 2009;Yoshinaga-Itano, 2003), or children with language delays for other reasons (e.g., social deprivation; Smith & Gibbard, 2011). EI may result in better academic outcomes for children and may decrease costs for schools, local education agencies (LEAs), and state governments when educating children with language delays.…”

“…As stated above, children's early language abilities lead to school readiness (Bates et al, 2006;Bergeron, 2009;Calderon, 2000;Harrington et al, 2009;Hart, 2000;Smith & Gibbard, 2011;Yoshinaga-Itano, 2003) and are related to progress in other developmental domains (Yoshinaga-Itano). Parents have a direct impact on their young children's language abilities (Harrison & McLeod, 2010;Hart & Risley;Kim & Mahoney, 2004;Shimpi & Huttonlocher, 2006;Warren & Brady, 2007).…”