Transition into Kindergarten: Planning a Year Ahead

It's 6:30 p.m. on a Tuesday evening in November, and Scott Miller is welcoming teachers from seven local preschool programs into Avonworth Primary Center. Kindergarten is already two months underway, but tonight's conversation isn't about this year's students—it's about next year's incoming class. Miller and his kindergarten teachers are sharing early numeracy and literacy activities with preschool educators, discussing fine motor skills development, and reviewing data on how last year's preschoolers are now performing in kindergarten.

This early, collaborative approach to transitions is exactly what's missing in most school districts. Preparing students for the move from one grade to the next can't happen in a rushed month before school ends or over the summer break—it requires year-long, ongoing coordination. Most of that work happens behind the scenes, creating systems at the school and district levels that enable seamless experiences for children, families, and teachers.

Avonworth Primary Center, located in rural Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, serves kindergarten through second grade and exemplifies this approach through the county's Hi5! Partnership, which brings together school districts, early childhood programs, and community organizations. I met Miller, the school's principal, at a meeting about family engagement in DC just a couple of months earlier. After hearing about his work, I knew I had to see it in action.

Around the table that evening, the conversation flows in both directions. Kindergarten teachers report that this year's incoming students require additional support in fine motor skills and social development. Preschool teachers nod—they're seeing the same patterns among their current students. The group discusses strategies to build children's confidence and independence before they reach kindergarten.

Then Miller shifts to assessment: "If you sent us at least three students this year, we're compiling data on how they're performing in kindergarten and will share that with you." This feedback loop enables preschool programs to observe how their former students are transitioning and adjust their teaching strategies accordingly. Because Avonworth Primary and partner programs use similar phonemic awareness resources, children experience continuity rather than starting from scratch.

When the conversation turns to special education, the challenges become more urgent. Preschool teachers explain a troubling pattern: some parents want to discontinue services when their child completes preschool, hoping to see how they'll do in kindergarten "without labels." Others hesitate to mention previous services during kindergarten registration.

The consequence? When kindergartners who need support don't have service information transferred, the entire evaluation process must restart from the beginning. Instead of monitoring progress and adjusting existing support, these children can lose months of crucial accommodations while new evaluations are conducted.

The group tackles this problem together, developing strategies for communicating with families about the importance of continuity. The key message: sharing information about previous services isn't about labeling children—it's about ensuring they get the support they need from day one.

By November, most districts are deep into the current school year with little thought for next year's transitions. But Avonworth's approach demonstrates a different model: collaborative meetings that build trust among educators and establish shared accountability for children's success. Through regular communication and resource sharing, the Hi5! Partnership shows how coordinated efforts can transform what's typically a jarring transition into a continuous learning journey.

Work like Avonworth's doesn't happen in isolation—state policies create the conditions that make it possible or nearly impossible. States that prioritize seamless transitions invest in specific supports, including dedicated funding for preschool-kindergarten coordination, data systems that track children across settings while protecting their privacy, aligned standards between early learning and elementary grades, and professional development that brings together early childhood and K-3 educators.

Pennsylvania's Hi5! Partnership itself benefits from state-level coordination efforts. But in states where early childhood and K-12 operate as completely separate systems—with different funding streams, accountability measures, and administrative structures—even the most dedicated principals struggle to build sustainable partnerships. When states impose information-sharing restrictions without providing clear guidance, create disparate assessment requirements, or fail to fund meaningful transition efforts, they send a message that the work is optional rather than essential.

The most detrimental state policies are those that ignore transitions entirely, leaving coordination to chance and individual initiative. Districts need more than permission to collaborate—they require resources, infrastructure, and policy frameworks that make partnership the path of least resistance, rather than an additional burden on already-stretched educators.

The work Miller and his team are doing in November will shape a more seamless transition into next school year. That's the point—seamless transitions don't begin in August or even June. They begin a year ahead, with every conversation that bridges the gap between early childhood and elementary education and each grade thereafter. You can find New America's work on transition into kindergarten here.