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Ensuring School Readiness Through Successful Transitions

Webinar date: April 14, 2011, 2:00–3:30 p.m. (EDT) 

The U.S. Department of Education, in partnership with United Way Worldwide, National PTA, SEDL, and Harvard Family Research Project, invites you to participate in the sixth webinar in our Achieving Excellence and Innovation in Family, School, and Community Engagement series.

Ensuring School Readiness will explore how and why smooth transitions among early learning environments are critical for school readiness and are the first step toward preparing students for success in college and career. Presenters will focus on what it takes to foster continuity as children move from early learning programs to preschool to kindergarten, and will discuss the specific roles of early learning programs, schools, and families in preparing young children to enter school ready for success.

This webinar will highlight innovative practices, explore the range of supports and services offered to young children and their families, and emphasize how to help families understand how to remain involved in their child's education as the child moves into the early school grades.

Jacqueline Jones from the U.S. Department of Education will discuss the importance of successful early transitions to education reform. Sharon Ritchie from FirstSchool, a research–based preK–3rd grade initiative, will discuss "seamless education" and how to use data to improve practice. Judith Jerald from Save the Children will talk about developing early childhood programming with an eye toward facilitating transitions. And Whitcomb Hayslip will discuss how a Los Angeles-based transitional kindergarten initiative uses deliberate collaboration between teachers and families to prepare children for school success.

Presenters include:

• Moderator: Tom Schultz, Project Director for Early Childhood Initiatives, Council of Chief State School Officers
• Jacqueline Jones, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Early Learning, U.S. Department of Education
• Sharon Ritchie, Senior Scientist, FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
• Judith Jerald, Early Childhood Advisor, Save the Children
• Whitcomb Hayslip, Early Childhood Education Consultant and Former Assistant Superintendent, Los Angeles Unified School District

ABOUT THE WEBINAR SERIES
The Achieving Excellence and Innovation in Family, School, and Community Engagement webinar series aims to provide opportunities for stakeholders representing national, regional, and local organizations to learn about family, school, and community engagement research and innovations, as well as best practices from the field. The series kicked off in April 2010 and will run through September 2011.