Head Start Children's Entry into Public School: An Interim Report on the NationalHead Start-Public School Early Children Transition Demonstration Study

摘要

The report describes an innovative Congressional initiative to provide Head Start-like services to former Head Start children, families, schools, and communities from kindergarten through third grade. In 1990, Congress legislated a new National Head Start/Public School Early Childhood Transition Demonstration Project designed to have Head Start agencies and local education agencies work together to assist low-income children and their families in making successful transitions from Head Start through the primary grades of public schools. The program was designed to provide supportive social and health services for the child and family throughout the early elementary school years. In addition, a strong focus was placed on the active involvement of parents in the education of their children and on the use of developmentally appropriate educational practices in schools. The report describes the status of the Transition Demonstration Project at its midpoint. The interim report describes the overall evaluation effort and presents findings about the early program implementation; the characteristics of families, children, and schools during the kindergarten year; and future plans for data collection and analysis.