This strategy provides access to high-quality, culturally responsive early care and education. It provides classroom experiences for children and their families, who may not have had any preschool experiences, to prepare for the transition to kindergarten.
Regions funding this strategyFeatured Stories
Funding Plan Highlights
Cocopah
The Cocopah Tribe Regional Partnership Council will implement the Summer Transition to Kindergarten Strategy. Upon entering kindergarten, children in the Cocopah Region must attend school outside of the reservation. The regional council is aware that this represents an environment of new experiences at many levels for the children. Additionally, there are children in the region who have not had an early preschool experience and may benefit from a Summer Transition to Kindergarten Program. The intent of the evidence-informed strategy is to provide classroom experiences for children who are entering kindergarten in order to prepare for the transition. The expected result is that children and their families are more familiar with and prepared for the kindergarten classroom environment and the family involvement opportunities and activities offered in school. The strategy will target children ages 4 and 5 and their families living in the Cocopah Region. With this grant agreement, Arizona PBS will implement the PBS KIDS Super Why! Camp curriculum over a series of 24 sessions for 4-year-old children and their parents or caregivers. Arizona PBS is partnering with the Cocopah Head Start, Cocopah Education Department and the Somerton School District to target children during their transition year into kindergarten. Arizona PBS will provide at least half of the sessions on a school campus to help familiarize the Cocopah children and their families with the school setting. Experiencing and becoming comfortable with the physical school location as well as a literacy-focused curriculum, the regional council intends to support a smooth transition to kindergarten.
Pascua Yaqui Tribe
The Summer Transition to Kindergarten Strategy provides classroom experiences for young children without any preschool experiences, as well as for children with social and emotional issues that may need more support. It is also for children with limited preschool experiences in order to prepare them for the transition to kindergarten. In addition, the program provides bus transportation to the children and coordinates services with other family support programs such as the summer meal program. The children also have exciting and interesting field trip experiences and the parents and caregivers participate in parent engagement activities.
Tohono O’odham Nation
The United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona’s (UWTSA) Great Expectations for Teachers, Children, Families and Communities (Great Expectations) offers comprehensive professional development opportunities to the four regions of Pima County; Pima North, Pima South, Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Tohono O’odham Nation. This grant represents a collaborative effort that involves 14 partners offering 17 Communities of Practice (CoP) that work together to offer meaningful professional development while building an accessible professional development system that includes offering pathways to higher education. The intent of the program is for a better prepared cadre of early childhood professionals to support the young children birth through age 5. One of the CoPs is: Children and Their Learning: Kindergarten Transitions for Tribal Preschool Children – Tohono O’odham Community College.
Strategic Partnerships and Investments Highlights
Graham/Greenlee
The Graham/Greenlee Regional Partnership Council created a partnership with the Gila Valley Community Foundation that funds kindergarten camps in the amount of $25,000 yearly to provide preschool experiences for children in school districts with the highest poverty in the region and who are likely to not have been exposed to pre-kindergarten opportunities.
Find more details about strategies related to Early Care and Education in the FTF Strategy Toolkit.