DOCUMENT RESUME IR 015 609 ED 343 583 Readiness: Children and Their Schools. Getting Ready TITLE for Readiness: A Case Study. The ERIC Review. ACCESS ERIC, Rockville, MD. INSTITUTION Office of Educational Research and Improvement (ED), SPONS AGENCY Washington, DC. ERIC-92-5023 REPORT NO PUB DATE 92 33p.; "The ERIC Review" is published three times a NOTE year; each issue is devoted to a single major E.ducation-re1ated topic. For previous issue see ED 340 387. ACCESS ERIC, 1600 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD AVAILABLE FROM 20850-3166 (subscription free; obtain back issues from EDRS). Collected Works - Serials (022) -- Information PUB TYPE Analyses - ERIC Clearinghouse Products (071) -- Reference Materials - Bibliographies (131) The ERIC Review; v2 nl 1992 JOURNAL CIT MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Case Studies; *Classroom Environment; Disabilities; DESCRIPTORS Disadvantaged; Federal Programs; High Risk Students; *Parent Role; Preschool Education; Primary Education; Program Descriptions; *School Readiness; Social Experience; *Teacher Role; Young Children ERIC; *National Education Goals 1990; *Project Head IDENTIFIERS Start ABSTRACT "The ERIC Review," announces research results, publications, and new programs relevant to each issue's theme topic. This issue exammines children's readiness to enter school, via two principal articles: "Readiness: Children and Their Schools," by Lilian G. Katz; and "Getting Ready for Readiness: A Case Study," by Laura J. Colker. In addition, the following features related to (1) an announcement of a packet, school readiness are provided: "Striving for Excellence: The National Education Goals" prepared by (2) highlights of 11 recent federal school readiness the ERIC System; (3) a list of 14 resource organizations, 9 federal initiatives; agencies, and 2 ERIC clearinghouses; (4) a 30-item annotated general (5) a brief article, "Early School Entry Is Essential reading list; (6) an ERIC digest, for Many Gifted Children," by Craig Howley; "Preparing Children with Disabilities for School," by Dianna Pinkerton; and (7) an annotated list of 34 new publications produced by the ERIC clearinghouses and the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. (BBM) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDW., are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** Vol. 2 Issue 1, 1992 U. S. Department of Education U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement Office of F.ducational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (MCI For people concerned about o This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization onginating it 0 Minor changes have been made to improve education reproduction quslity Points of vie* or opinions stated in this duct, ment do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy diness: ildren and Their Schools .e Getting Ready for Readiness: A Case Study IC Educational Resources Information Center BEST COPY AVAILIBLE n Important Message to Our Readers children's readiness to enter school. School readiness is addressed This issue of The ERIC' Review examines in the fi-st of six national education goals formulated by the President and the nation's governors to dramati- cally improve educational opportunity and achievement in this country by the year 2000. These six national education goals are as follows: By the year 2000, all children in America will start school ready to learn. 1. By the year 20(X), the high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. 2. By the year 20(X), American students will leave grades four, eight, and twelve having demonstrated 3. competency in challenging subject matter including English, mathematics, scionce, history, and their minds well, so geography; and every school in America will ensure that all students learn to u. they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and producti% e employment in our modern economy. By the year 20(X), U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement. 4. By the year 20(X), every adult American will be literate and will possess the knowledge and skills 5. necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. By the year 20(X), every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a 6. disciplined environment conducive to learning. Achieving the national education goals will require the efforts and cooperation of all citizens. Parents, schools, and communities all have roles to play in preparing young children to enter and succeed in school. As Lilian Katz notes in this issue's lead article, children need to be ready to enter schools, and schools need to be ready to educate the children who enter. A case study of a pilot program to adapt early childhood education practiccs to elementary schools and articles on school readiness as it relates to gifted children and children with disabilities are also included in this issue. A list of resource organizations, federal school readiness initiativ:s, and additional readings will help you pursue the topic. or to find out what the system can do for you and your institu- To make comments about The ERIC Review tion, write to ACCESS ERIC or call the toll-free number, 1-8()OUSEERIC (873-3742). The materials contained in this journal are in the public domain and may be reproduced and disseminated freely. Isirrimm Office of Educational Research and Office of Research U.S. Department of Education improvement Milton Goldberg Lamar Alexander Diane Ravitch Director Secretaly Assistant Secretary ACCESS ERIC- Educational Resources Making Education Information Center information Accessible ACCESS ERIC' is your gateway to ERIC the Educational Resources Information Center--a nationwide information service designed to make Contents education literature readily accessible. The ERIC System consists of In subject-specific clearaighouses; Readiness: Children and Their Schools 2 several adjunct clearinghouses; and support components. including ERIC System Responds to the National Education Goals 6 ACCESS ERIC. At the heart of ERIC' is the largest education 7 Getting Ready for Readiness: A Case Study database in die workl--containing nearly 735.000 abstracts of docu- Recent Federal School Readiness Initiatives 10 ments and journal articles. Curricu- lum materials. papers. conference 12 Readiness Resource List proceedings. and literature reviews. 12 Organizations and Associations along with articles from nearly 800 education-related journals, can he 13 Federal Agencies found in the ERIC database. 13 Clearinghouses You can access ERIC' at about 3.000 locations around the world: ERIC 14 General Reading List collections and materials are found in every state and in more than 60 18 For Your Information countries. Typically. university, state. 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The ERIC Review, published three times System and its services and products, The ideas and opinions expressed in this a year by ACCESS ERIC with support and refer you to the clearinghouses. publication do not necessarily reflect the from the U.S. Department of which contain vast subject expertise p(isitions or policies of the Department of Education's Office of Educational in various fields of education. Education or OERL Research and Improvement (OERh. announces research results. publications. Gain entry to a world of education For more information about ERIC or a information. C7all 1-800-USE-ERIC, and new programs. The ERIC Review free subscription to Du ERIC Review. Monday through Friday. 8:30 a.m. to also contains information on programs. call ACCESS ERIC toll free at I-8(H)- 5:30 p.m. (eastern time). Requests research. publications, and services of USE-ERIC. can also be made by writing: the Educational Resources Inforniation Center (ERIC). its subject-specific ACCESS ERIC'. 1600 Research ACCESS ERIC Director: Beverly Swanson clearinghouses, and support Boulevard. Rockville, MD 20850. Managing Editor: Carol Laseski It announces major components. Graphics Designer: Grant Hutchins additions to the ERIC collection of READINESS: CHILDREN THEIR SCHOOLS AND rr by Dr. Lilian G. Katz he readiness of America's to have questions about the concept of nutrition, and receive inadequate health children to benefit from readiness. This concept has been debated care. These conditions are frequently a scliooling was one of the for more than a century (Kagan, 1990). source of stress on families and affect major issues discussed by the President how much and how well children's natu- The main issue debated is the extent to and the nation's governors at the 1989 which development and learning are ral disposition to learn is encouraged and education summit. The first of six na- detennined by biological maturational strengthened. tional education goals announced by the processes versus experience. Matur- President in 1990 was: "By the year ationists emphasize internal develop- The second area of concern involves 2000, all children in America will start mental processes that render children such matters as the high incidence of school ready to learn." The following more or less able to benefit from formal retention in kindergarten and the primary specific objectives were further defined instruction. Interactionists take the posi- grades, delayed school entry practices in tion that inherent maturational processes under the goal: some school districts, segregated transi- and experience interact to contribute to tion classes in others, increasing use of children's learning and that virtually all All disadvantaged and disabled III standardized tests to determine children will have access to high quality human beings are born with a powerful, children's readiness to enter school, and built-in disposition to learn. Indeed, the and developmentally appropriate pre- the employment of such tests to deny quantity and rate of learning during the school programs that help prepare chil- some children entrance to school and to dren for school. first few years of life are nothing short of place them in special classes. These spectacular. The fact that by 3 or 4 years trends are due largely to a historic down- Every parent in America will be a of age most children can understand and ward movement of the academic curricu- child's first teacher and devote time use the language of those around them lum: the college curriculum of a previous each day to helping his or her preschool is just one example of learning that takes generation moves down into the high place long before children begin school. child learn: parents will have access to school curriculum, the replaced high In other woids, children are born ready the training and support they need. school curriculum moves down into the to learn! elementary school, which pushes the Children will receive the nutrition elementary curriculum further down to However, what children learn during the first years of formal education. This and health care needed to arrive at their first few years, how they learn, and school with healthy minds and bodies, trend means that children are receiving and the number of low birthweight ba- how much they learn depends on many more formal, whole-group academic bies will be significantly reduced through factors. Among the most important instruction at increasingly younger ages, factors are the children's physical well- which may now be so incompatible with enhanced prenatal health sytems. being and their emotional and cognitive the children's neumlogical and mental This article will explore major issues relationships with those who care for capacities as to produce excessive stress and failure among young children during them. The school readiness goal reflects related to readiness that those who are striving to achieve the goal will need to two broad concerns about these factors. the first year of school. The first concern is related to character- address. istics of the children themselves, such as These two areas of concern suggest that reaching the school readiness goal will ,he fact that increasing numbers of young The Concept of Readiness children live in poverty and/or in single- parent households, have limited profi- After considering the readiness goal IX Lilian G. Kat/ is Director of the ERIC ciency in English, are affected by the and its more specific objectives, policy- Clearinghouse on Elementary and Early drug abuse of their parents, have poor makers, educators, and parents are likely Childhood Education at the University of Illinois. 2 Yoimg children are also more likely to Social Readiness require a twofold strategy: one part adjust easily to school life if they have focused on supporting families in When children enter school they have experienced satisfying relationships their efforts to help their children get to he ready to function in an environ- with a few peers. The evidence is now ready for school and the second on ment different from that of the family, compelling that children who fail to helping the schools to prepare for the an environment in which individual achieve minimal competence in social children by being responsive to the needs are not well known, in which relationships with thdr peers during the wide range of backgrounds. experi- group norms and expectations prevail. early years are at risk of developing ences. languages, and needs children in which there can be a large number of a variety of social maladaptations, bring with them to school. different relationships, and in which including academic failure, dropping one's place is neither clear nor given. out of school, and later mental health In sum, one of the main issues em- difficulties (Katz and McClellan, bedded in the national school readi- ness goal is that when many children 1991). approach their first school experi- Children are more Parents and preschool teachers can ence, they are not ready to learn what help pave the way for a child's ad- likely to cope success- most schools want them to learn. The justment to school by providing arguments among specialists, educa- fully with their first ample opportunities for interaction tors, and the public at large on these with peers in which the child can issues are not about whether young school experience if children should obtain good ground- learn such social skills as taking they come to it with a ing in the basic skills; the mint point turns, making compromises, and it should be approaching unfamiliar children. A of contention is when backlog of positive young child who is not yet able to accomplished. experiences of being approach peers with confidence will Some of the causes of the presumed benefit from much support, guidance, in a group away from y unreadiness of children for school and patience from the teacher. home result from the conditions in which . . . they are growing up. and some reside One of the most important influences within the school itself. Thus, one of on children's social development is the important problems for communi- experience within the family. It ties, parents, and educators to address should be noted that the whole range of Children are more likely to cope suc- is how communities and their agencies social difficulties identified during early cessfully with their first school experi- can help families get their children chiidhood can be observed among chil- ence if they come to it with a backlog off to a good start. Another issue to be dren of all social classes and ethnic of positive experiences of being in a addressed is how the schools can better backgrounds (Katz and McClellan. group away from home with very fit- respond to the children on their door- 1991). However, because not all the miliar adults. Children for whom a steps. In other words, how can schools children within a particular family prekindergarten or kindergarten class is respond effectivdy to tk wide range of achieve the same success in developing the first group experience outside of the individual differences in background, social competence, the family does not home will require plenty of time and development, and prior experience with provide a single environment, and the support to adjust to group life and the stories, books, pencils, group settings, processes by which individual children classroom routines and to be able to and so forth that diNrentially equip within it acquire social competence are function independently in the class. It is children to adapt to their first school not easy to dkcern. Thus a parent may rarely helpful to push or cajole a child setting'? have a few worries about the social who is new to the "big school" into development of one child, whereas for conformity. Indeed, it is developmen- other children in the family, entry into Getting Children tally appropriate for a young child to be new peer groups went smoothly. Ready for School somewhat wary and cautious in an environment full of people who are Some young children are unable to The term "readiness" is commonly largely strangers! Young children are meet the expectations of the class be- used to mean readiness to learn to read. also more hkely to approach new rela- cause they are having social difficul- However, children's ability to adapt to tionships with adults with confidence if ties, such as feeling rejected by peers. the school situation and its demands in- they have already had some previous Some children create social difficulties. volves more aspects of their develop- positive experience with nonfamily for example, by starting fights with ment than the knowledge and skills authority figures. Participation in a peers, because they cannot meet the involved in reading. Children's general good preschool program affords such expectations of the class. However, it' social development and intellectual experience. However, some children children are having social difficulties backgrounds should also be taken into may be wary of the school setting be- such as being unable to approach unfit- account when considering ways of cause their previous group experiences miliar peers because their mastery of helping children to prepare for experi- have been unpleasant. In either case, their peers language is limited, or ences they are likely to encounter in the newcomer's hesitation should be because the activities available and school. treated with respect and patience. topics addressed are unrebted to their own cultural background, their social For example, children growing up in The community, working with local the inner cities of Americ have plenty difficulties may be exacerbated (Katz preschools, adult education programs, and McCkllan, 1991). of experience and stimulation. But children's librarians, and other similar experience and stimulation are not, in agency and resource people, can help by The available evidence indicates that and of themselves, conducive to opti- providing experiences for preschoolers helping families with their children's mal intellectual development. What which help them make sense of their social development should be put high young children require is adult heir) in everyday worlds. Preschool teachers on the list of strategies to address the making sense of their exr orience and and others could help familiarize chil- readiness goal. Local community agen- giving meaning and order to the stimu- dren with songs and stories and provide cies, working with groups, individual lation that surrounds them. A young opportunities for conversation using parents and teachers, and other important words and phrases in Eng- school personnel (e.g., social workers lish. Adults should also encourage and psychologists) can help by pro- and help children translate songs, viding resources for parents that stories, and important words and specifically address strategies for phrases into other languages that fostering their young children's may be spoken by children in the social development. neighborhood school. The school district or individual school may Intellectual Readiness have to take leadership for bringing the relevant agencies, specialists, and Children are more likely to feel com- resource groups together to enable petent in school if they can under- optimal use of the available re- stand and use the language of the sources in the community. peers and adults they meet within it. In many communities, the number Parents and preschool teachers can and variety of languages spoken is so strengthen intellectual preparedness large that it is not possible for all of by providing children ample opportu- the children in a class to have a nity for conversation, discussion, and teacher who speaks their language cooperative work and play with peers and materials available to them in with whom they are likely to start their own language. However, com- school. Parents of children not en- munities and school districts must rolled in a preschonl program can make every possible effort to identify help by talking tr . staff at the adults who can help children of all children's future .00l about the language backgrounds in the school. kinds of stories, songs, and special child in a crowded environment in activities and field trips usually offered In a similar way, young children are which many people come and go, often at the school and by introducing related more likely to have confidence in their in unpredictable ways, may find it topics to their children. ability to cope with school if they can stimulatingespecially at first; but relate to the ideas and topics introduced without someone's help in explaining Getting the School by the teacher and discussed by other and understanding why people come children in class activities. Parents and Ready for the Children and go, where they go, what they do, preschool teachers can help by familiar- what they are planning, and the like. izing children with a wide range of The most important strategy for ad- the stimulation can be incoherent and stories, songs, and linguistic expres- dressing the school readiness goal is to overwhelming. After a few years of sions likely to be encountered in the prepare the school to be responsive to incomprehensible stimulation, children school setting. the wide range of experiences, back- give up being able to make sense of grounds, and needs of the children ex- their experience, and eventually natural "At-risk" children are often assumed to pected to Lome to the school. Aspects of curiosity about their world and the be deficient in experience and to suffer school practices to be considered in this disposition to learn about it are likely from lack of stimulation and therefore effort include the curriculum, staffing to weaken and even disappear. to be intellectually unprepared for patterns, and age considerations. school. However, very few children Althuugh all children are born with the actually lack experience or stimulation. Appropriate Curriculum predisposition to learn, in a few cases Although the content and nature of the that predisposition may be weakened A position statement on school readi- experiences available to children in by the time a child enters school be- ness issued by the National Association different settings are likely to vary cause of insufficient adult response to for the Education of Young Children widely, they are nevertheless experi- the child's explorations and questions. (1990) points out that, given the nature ences that can stimulate children's As Rogoff (1990) points out, all sig- of children's development, "the curricu- intellectual development. nificant learning, especially in the early him in the early grades must provide years, occurs in social contexts and is meaningful contexts for children's embedded in social relationships. learning rather than focusing primarily on isolated skills acquisitions" (p. 22). vision viewing or listening to stories. be given to small groups of children ar In other words, the school readiness individuals as needed. However, the disposition to go on learn- goal should be addressed by adopting ing, which is a major goal for all of curriculum and teaching practices that education, is strengthened primarily by Horizontal relevance. The younger are developmentally appropriate. the children, the more important it is engagement in active exploration and The nature of development is such that what they learn is meaningful in investigation as well as interaction with that curriculum and teaching practices real environments and objects. the present. Horizontal relevance con- in the early years are appropriate if trasts with vertical relevance, which is they take into account the following characteristic of learning designed to Application of skills. Skills can be developmental principles; prepare children for the next lesson or acquired and strengthened through a variety of processes--observations, the next grade or another future experi- Informality. The younger the child, ence and lacks meaningfulness in the imitation, trial and error, coaching, and the larger proportion of timo should instruction. They can be improved be allocated to informal ver.ius for- with optimum drill and practice. In mal learning experiences. As chil- young children, skills are best dren grow older, their capacity to the moie developed and strengthened when , benefit from formal, whole-group they are applied in meaningful con- informal the learnifng instruction increases. However, in texts and free from performance the case of young children, when a environment is, the criteria (Katz, 1991). single formal method of instruction is more access the teach- used for a group of children diverse AF?ropriate Staffing in background, experience, language, er has to information Teachers are more likely to be able aptitudes, interests, and developmen- about where the learn- to accommodate the diversity of tal rates, a significant proportion of experiences, backgrounds, lan- the group is condemned to fail. ers are in their guages, and interests of their pupils if tyy deveiopmert their classes are small and if they There are at least three kinds of in- . have the .services of a qualified full- formal activities to be provided for time aide. To address both the social young children; (1) spontaneous and the intellectual development of dramatic play, (2) arts and craft ac- children who are potentially at risk for tivities, and (3) cooperative work on present. As children grow older, their academic difficulties requires the skill- extended group investigations and capacity to benefit from learning that ful deployment of at least 2 adults for exploratory and constructive projects in has vertical, or future. relevance in- every 18 to 20 children in the kindergar- which the teacher role is consultative creases. The developmental emphasis ten. Furthermore, having two adults in rather than didactic. Although young must be that what the children learn each class makes it easier to staff children benefit from having all three during the early years is designed to classes with adults who speak more kinds of informal activities on a regular help them make sense of their own than one language. Small child/staff basis, it is the last kind that provides a experiences and environments. Young ratios provide teachers with the oppor- context for challenging all aspects of children might study buildings in their tunity to spend unhurried time with children's intellectual and social own neighborhoods or animals encoun- every child, to address each child's growth (Katz and Chard, 1989). tered in their own environments rather unique needs, and to develop good than ancient castles or exotic creatures relationships with parents. An important part of this developmen- of the past such as dinosaurs. As chil- tal principle is that the more informal dren grow older, it is the responsibility Age Considerations the learning environment is, the more of schools to help them understand the access the teacher has to information experiences and environments of oth- The National Association for the Educa- about where the learners are in their ersthose who are far away in both tion of Young Children's Position State- development, what is easy for them, time and place. But during the early ment on School Readiness (1990) points what confuses them, and what kinds of years, the nature of intellectual devel- out that, contrary to what is commonly help they really need. Formal instruc- opment is such that content and skills assumed, there are no tests by which to tion tends to reduce teachers' access to emphasized should have horizontal determine reliably whether a child is information about the learners they are relevance. "ready" to begin school. "Therefore, the trying to help. Thus the curriculum only legally and ethically defensible during the first years of school must II Interactive learning processes. The criterion for determining school entry emphasize small-group work, As the younger the children, the more they is whether the child has reached the children work together on various in- learn through interactive processes legal chronological age of school vestigations, teachers are in an ideal versus passive, receptive processes. entry" (p. 22). (For a counterpoint to position to make observations of indi- That is not to say young children can- this statement, see "Early School Entry vidual children's progress and needs. not learn from passive, receptive proc- Is Essential for Many Gifted Children" On the basis of these observations, esses; indeed, young children learn a on p. 19.1 teachers can plan systematic instruction great deal from experiences in which in the basic skills and other learning to their role is a passive one, such as tele- Katz, Lilian (1, Demetra Evangelou, and References Some school districts are experiment- Jeanette Allison Hartman (1990). Tlw ing with mixed-age grouping in the Case for Mixed-Age Grouping in Early Kagan, Sharon L. (December 1990). early grades as a way of reducing grade Childhood. Washington. DC: National "Readiness 2000: Rethinking Rhetoric and retention rates and encouraging chil- Association for the Education of Young Responsibility." Phi Delta Kappan, 72 (4): dren to help each other in all areas of Children. 272-279. EJ 418 153. learning (Katz, Evangelou, and Hartman, 1990). Katz, Lilian G. and Diano Mc( Katz, Lilian C. (1991). "Pedagogical Issues L.1, nit (1991). Tile Teacher's Rot:, in in Early Childhood Education." In The Development of Young Children. Urbana, Care awl Education of Anwrica's Young Realizing the goal of having all our IL: ERIC Clearinghouse on Elementary and Children: Obstacles and Opportunities, children ready for school and all our Early Childhood Education. ED :131 edited by S. L. Kagan. Ninetieth Yearbook schools ready for the children by the of the National Society for the study of year 20(() will require the hest efforts National Association for the Education Education. Chicago: University of Chicago of all involved: parents, teachers, of Young Children (November 1990). Press. administrators, and everyone in the "NAEYC Position Statement on School community who has a stake in the Readiness." Young Children, 46 (1): 21-23, Katz, Lilian C. and Sylvia C. Chard (1989). well-heing of its children. And that's EJ 421 837, Engaging ClUldren's Minds: Du' Project Approach. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing just about everybody! Rogotf, B. (1990), Apprenticohip in Corporation. Thinking: Cognitive kvelopment in Social Context. New York: 05:ford University Press, ERIC System Responds to the National Education Goals Education The ERIC System has prepared a packet, Striving for Excellence: The National goals and Goals, to help teachers, parents, and community members learn more about the ERIC explore promising programs and practices for achieving them. Consisting of 30 separate research and Digests grouped around the goal areas, the packet synthesizes and summarizes school completion; student achievement and program findings related to school readiness; high safe, disciplined, citizenship; science and mathematics; adult literacy and lifelong learning; and Clearinghouses contributed to the and drug-free schools. Each of the 16 subject-specific ERIC individuals. packet, which may be freely reproduced, in whole or in part, by organizations or $5* and is available from Striving for Excellence: The National Education Goals costs ACCESS ERIC, 1600 Research Boulevard, Rockville, MD 20850-3172. *Add $2 handling for each publication shipped to Canada and $4 handling for each publication shipped to other foreign countries. 1-800-USE-ERIC (873-3742) 6 MP_ GETTING READY FOR READINESS: A CASE STUDY by Laura J. Colker better understanding of why learning Head Start is administered locally by Atypical school day in deficits were occurring in the primary more than 1.200 community-based D.C., this Washint;ton . grades. To illustrate, a class of children organizations and school systems with clementmy school funding from the LS. Department of whose average social development finds 8-year-old Jamul sitting Health and Iluman Services MIN. Its level was 96,61 on the Vineland Adap- quietly in the Ihu.k of his first-grade tive Behavior Scale at the end of ring blankly al a programs include health, education. da.V.WOOM !'a prekindergarten had an average score parent involvement, and social service workslteet most of the other children of only 91.54 at the end of kindergarten components designed to meet the in the class have long since com- the following year (District of Colum- comprehensive needs of low-income pleted. lie appears rotally disen- bia Public Schools, 1989). Even more young .11i1jren within the context of gaged from Iris work aml the others disturbing was the fact that 14 percent the family. ill the classroom until he hears the of first-gratle students in thc school shouts of second-graders playing system were retained at grade level Those who look to Head Start for kicklnill omside. lie turns his head annually. A full one-third of first-grade guidance in implementing the readiness toward the winthns's and listens boys were failing each year (Marcon. goal cite the research on related early- intentiv. The sound of his teacher' s childhood development efforts that 1990). voice asking him what he is doing "denumstrate convincingly that the clearly startles hint. lie turns to- To help determine why such failures educational attainments and life oppor- ward his teacher and responds with tunities of low income and minority were happening. researchers attempted a loud, "Huh!" to link educational practices with children can be dramatically improved educational outcomes. They concluded by interventions paraliel to those Children like Jamal are the focus of the that academically oriented. teacher- day-to-day Head Start carried out in national education goal for readiness. directed classrooms produced children programs" (Collins and Kinney. 1989). which calls for a commitment to who did not fare well in the school restructuring traditional approaches to system. Conversely, children in more Exciting new approaches that build on education. As Dr, Lilian Katz's com- active, child-initiated settings that. like the strengths of programs like Head pelling article notes. there are two Head Start. focused on the development Start in elementary schools are now factors at work in effecting appropriate of social competence, fared better in all being initiated in several districts change: (1) supporting families in their domains, including the academic. In across the nation. This article describes efforts to get children ready for school, this regard. Marcon (1990) wrote. a program in the District of Columbia and (2) supporting schools in their "Choosing to foster cognitive develop- public schools that addresses the needs efforts to help children learn. ment over social, affective, and motor of children who, like Jamal, arc not development can only lead to later being reached by traditional schooling. Although we. as a nation. have a long (p. vii). The results of the way to go toward supporting families in their efforts to ensure that their Building a Case for children are ready for school, we do Readiness have accepted models of approaches I,aura J. Colker is the Education Specialist for the ERIC Document Reproduction that work. Head Start. for exampk, can In 19R7. the District of Columbia SiNwice. She also serves as the Documen- be considered one of the true educa- Public Schools' Office of Educational tarian for the District of Columbia Public tional and federal success stories of all Accountability and Planning launched a Schools' readiness project described in this time (Stewart and Robinson. 1990). 3-year longitudinal study to gain a article. 4