Kindergarten Readiness

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Parenting Brief. I’m your host, Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez, an Arizona working mom and chief of the Office of Children’s Health at the Arizona Department of Health Services. We connect parents with expert tips and advice to make the journey of parenthood a little smoother.

Starting kindergarten opens up a whole new world for your kiddo to discover, and it takes a bit of preparation for you and your child to be ready to take that step. Whether you’re feeling excited or a little bit anxious, I think we can all relate. That’s why we’re talking with an education expert. To lay out everything you need to know

Today we’re talking to Laura Lee, the director of Early childhood at the Arizona Department of Education. Thank you so much for being [00:01:00] here today. 

Laura Lee: Thank you. 

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: I think many people have heard, or at least starting to hear the term kindergarten readiness. I know that even at my kids’ school, this is a term that I see like on their website.

I’ve seen schools on social media posting about this, especially as we’re nearing like the start of the new school year. So what. Exactly does kindergarten readiness mean? 

Laura Lee: So with kindergarten readiness, really what we’re doing is we’re preparing our early learners for that transition, for that environment, for their learning, for those concepts, and for all the centers that that, that they will be introduced to.

So essentially it’s really the effectiveness and preparedness so that they can thrive in those communities, in their kindergarten classrooms and at those schools of choice. 

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: Are those standards something that parents are able to access as they prepare or even determine whether or not their child is ready for kindergarten?

Laura Lee: Absolutely. And we actually encourage [00:02:00] parents to access those standards and early childhood knowledge in general, and parents can access those standards and download them on the Arizona Department of Education website, specifically under early childhood. And when they get to that website, they’ll see an option for publications and manuals, and they’ll see that the AZELS, which is known as the Arizona Early Learning Standards, that are also board approved standards.

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: Arizona’s education system is set up differently than a lot of states just in that we have school choice or open enrollment options. Can you explain a little bit about what that means and how understanding that system plays a role in parents preparing for that kindergarten enroll? 

Laura Lee: So with Arizona’s Climate, kindergarten is not mandated in the state of Arizona, and so it is really important that parents research options that best fit the child’s needs.

Rather it is a full day program or a half day program, or if their child is on the individual education [00:03:00] plan. Those are some things to keep in mind. In addition for parents and guardians to be aware of arizona kindergarten requirements. I highly recommend that they reach out to their local schools of interest to determine factors such as if the school is offering full or half day, or if the school is in their local district or if it’s out of district as examples, especially with the school choice options.

So a good place to start is the school’s websites of interest and to learn about any open house dates, school tours as examples, um, where. You know, many parents and guardians questions can be answered in addition to gaining more details about the kindergarten program. So with kindergarten not being mandated, the state of Arizona, therefore schools who offer kindergarten, they get state funding for half day, and the other funding comes from a different funding source.

So parents also have to keep in mind if, you know, if the school is offering full day programming at no cost, or if the parent will have to incur some of those calls for the additional hours. [00:04:00] If the program is only offering half day and a child is, um, eligible for admission to kindergarten when the child has reached the age of five by September 1st of the current school year, so for an example for this upcoming school year, that would be September 1st of this year.

However, though some districts do permit children to enter earlier that is approved by their governing board, their local governing board, and determine like if it’s the best fit for that child. And, and that can look like entry assessment. So parents have to keep that in mind too. Um, when they’re looking at kindergarten options based upon the age of their child, is there an entry assessment if they’re looking to enroll before the age of, uh, five by September 1st, and then usually that is a child who’s.

Um, turning five between the end of August and then the end of October. So really the best resource is to visit directly to those school’s, websites, their open houses and their tours, and, and to be aware of which direction that they would like to go that is the best fit for their [00:05:00] child. 

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: With that school age, beginning at that five years old, by that September 1st mark for most of the school districts, when should parents start looking at those kindergarten options?

Figuring out what schools, um, may work best for their families, um, so that they are prepared to be able to go through that enrollment process. 

Laura Lee: So I think it’s a really good time to start when the child is four, to begin thinking about what those options are and when to start looking for that. Um, in addition, you know, partnering with the, with the child’s preschool, if the child is in preschool or a Head Start or early education program, that the, that the child is attending is key.

So, you know, providers. May have firsthand information about kinder information, enrollment dates, or enrollment activities, because the goal is to really have a, a smooth transition for families, um, as much as possible, especially for the child [00:06:00] who’s entering this new environment. And that’s rather if the child enters preschool, you know, attended preschool, head start childcare or at home provider, family care provider, private, or even stays home with mom or dad or guardian.

So really that preparation is key. And some of those, you know, other items of preparation is the, also the documentation. So really beginning to. Look at what those options are while the child is four years old. Gives the parent and our guardian time to research different options. Location, what is the best fit for the family?

What is the best fit for the child based upon the child’s individual needs? And also based upon just the whole child and the whole family in general. 

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: And what type of documentation should a family be prepared to provide, uh, for that enrollment? 

Laura Lee: Yeah, so some of those, uh, documentation that parents and guardians should be prepared for is, you know, ensure they have accessibility to these documents.

I will say that because sometimes things get lost or you need to [00:07:00] request copies, but some of those examples are like immunization records, um, birth certificates, proof of residency, and sometimes schools will even inquire like a legal custody paper if that’s applicable. And those are just some of the examples.

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: It can be a huge transition to start kindergarten, especially for those families who may not have had kiddos enrolled in a preschool program. What tips do you have, uh, for parents that maybe they can start doing before their kid enter school to make that transition easier? 

Laura Lee: Yeah, great question. So, really.

I would stress that parents are their child’s first teacher. So it’s important that parents first recognize and honor themselves in that manner. Um, so therefore, it does not matter if the child has attended a preschool program or stayed home. The parenting guardian placed the biggest role in supporting children’s transition.

So start having those [00:08:00] conversations about kindergarten over time, and that helps supports the child with understanding and it allows the family to even have those open conversations that could address questions and fears, routines, environmental changes for their little ones.

Jessica Stewart-Gonzalez: Thanks for tuning into this episode. If you know another family getting ready for kindergarten, be sure to share this episode with them. They’ll appreciate it. Take a second to check that you’re following the show by tapping the plus button in the top right corner. Until next time, this is Jessica. You’ve got this.