You are seeing this message because your web browser does not support basic web standards. Find out more about why this message is appearing and what you can do to make your experience on this site better.

www.HFRP.org

The Harvard Family Research Project separated from the Harvard Graduate School of Education to become the Global Family Research Project as of January 1, 2017. It is no longer affiliated with Harvard University.

Terms of Use ▼


View all interactive cases

illustration of Tanya Robinson      “I’m happy that Maya’s mother is coming in to meet with me. I’m glad she requested that we have a conference. I always appreciate parents’ input, especially since, over the years, I’ve seen parents less and less involved in their children’s learning.”



“I’m happy that Maya’s mother is coming in to meet with me. I’m glad she requested that we have a conference. I always appreciate parents’ input, especially since, over the years, I’ve seen parents less and less involved in their children’s learning. The kindergarten transition is so important to children’s later learning development and overall adjustment to school, so family involvement needs to start right away. Children’s learning experiences at this crucial point help set the stage for their attitudes toward school as they get older and ultimately influence their future success. Families need to know that kindergarten has changed a lot over the years—that it isn’t what it used to be, and that a lot is required of their children.

“I’ve had some concerns about Maya. She’s been very quiet and doesn’t seem to follow directions. I can’t get a good handle on whether she knows the information we’ve been working on so far. I like to give these things some time. I see in her file that she was in a Head Start program, but I have no idea what kind of curriculum she was exposed to, what kind of standards, if any, they adhered to, and how she was assessed, if at all. I receive basic demographic information from the district about my incoming students, such as how old they are, where they live, and how many siblings they have, but I never get any information on how they are doing academically. For the past few years, we’ve been using the Common Core Standards. Unfortunately, however, more and more, I’m seeing that children are not where they need to be to meet the foundational skills it requires.

“I know that a few days before school started, there was a ‘kindergarten day’ in our local community, hosted and staffed by a local nonprofit organization, where children and families could come together to learn about kindergarten. One of the important goals of the event was to generate excitement about the transition ahead of them. It seems that the main focus of the orientation was on how parents are partners in the educational process. Presenters showed them different activities that they could do with their children at home and in the community to support their children’s learning, with an emphasis on reading. I didn’t go because I was still on vacation, but I was able to get hold of some of the flyers that were sent out to parents, and they seemed to be very helpful. For example, they urged parents to come visit kindergarten classrooms, make sure their children have regular bedtime routines, and talk with their children about what happens at school each and every day. I’ve saved some of these handouts and will be sure to give some to Maya’s mom. I wish, however, that parents had also been given information about the Common Core and the expectations we have for kindergarten preparedness.”

Next, complete three short reflection questions and click "done" to gain additional insights. Please note: Once you click "done" your responses are no longer retrievable. You may want to copy and paste your responses into a word document.



illustration of Maya Warren
illustration of Maya's mother illustration of Teresa Guzman illustration of Tanya Robinson

small image of a data table illustration of Esther Lasher  
illustration of the people in the Bridging Worlds Case
Maya Maya’s mother Preschool teacher Kindergarten teacher    Up Next --> Supporting data Educational director
Piecing it all together

© 2016 Presidents and Fellows of Harvard College
Published by Harvard Family Research Project