Understanding Cross-System Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten: A Comparative Cross Case Study of Head Start and K-12 Partnerships

When children transition from Head Start to kindergarten, they may face different environments and expectations, which can cause disequilibrium and challenges for young children who benefit from routines. These kindergarten transitions occur within a broader context of distinctly different systems, with differing and sometimes contradictory governance structures, policies, philosophies, and accountability metrics. 

To date, much of what is known about supporting children’s transition to kindergarten narrowly attends to the classroom-level practices implemented by ECE programs and kindergarten teachers separately. There has been limited attention on the multi-layered perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices—what we call “the 4Ps”—within and across the ECE and K-12 systems that are also needed to adequately support these transitions.

The HS2K Case Study was designed to help address gaps in the literature and further explore and refine the HS2K theory of change that was informed by literature and practice knowledge. This study is one of the first to focus on the kindergarten transitions, professional supports, and practices from multiple perspectives across the two systems that influence transitions. Through this study, we aim to provide holistic and rich descriptions of the strategies, relationships, and practices supporting kindergarten transitions across selected partnerships between Head Start and K-12 entities. In doing so, we aim to better understand the complex ecology influencing the experiences of children and their families. 

This study was the first to deeply explore approaches to kindergarten transitions from two systems that straddle that transition period—Head Start and K-12. By exploring existing partnerships, we were able to collect data from numerous members of the educational community within the specific locales of our cases. This offers an opportunity to better understand alignment in perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices within these communities—both within systems and across systems. The following represent some of the key findings of this study: 

• Most of the cases relied heavily on relationships to sustain partnerships, especially at the leadership level, rather than on policies to drive transition efforts. However, relationships are subject to breakdowns when people leave positions or change jobs over time. 

• Most transition efforts were practices and strategies focused on children and families, and within-system practices were more common than practices that connected the two systems together. In addition, none of the cases focused on providing joint professional supports as a mechanism for supporting and sustaining transition efforts. 

• Some cases had more alignment and/or activity in one or more of the 4Ps than others. In other words, not every partnership was strong in each of the 4Ps and some cases focused more on one or two of the Ps than on all four. 

• Strong cross-system partnerships take committed leaders from both Head Start and LEAs who are focused on supporting transitions and alignment across the systems. 

• Using common and aligned frameworks and assessments in Head Start (along with other preschool programs) and in kindergarten helps provide a common language that supports kindergarten transition practices and strategies across the systems. 

• It was important for cases to formalize approaches to kindergarten transitions and opportunities for collaboration across the systems in policies such as MOUs and/or other policy documents. 

This study represents five cases, each inclusive of a Head Start-LEA partnership. We interviewed Head Start and LEA staff from each case that were involved in supporting Head Start to kindergarten transition efforts. We conducted interviews with Head Start and LEA staff and focus groups with Head Start parents from our five cases between April and September 2022, and held follow-up interviews with a subset of focus group parents following their child’s transition to kindergarten from December 2022 through January 2023. 

Topics of interviews and focus groups included background for staff (e.g., role and responsibilities), perspectives on the transition and transition supports, family engagement in the transition processes, transition policies, partnerships between Head Start programs and district/elementary schools, and final reflections. We also asked participants to describe the composition and structure of the people and community partners they work with directly around transitions, both within and across systems. We used both deductive and inductive techniques to code the interview and focus group data, and findings from the five individual case studies formed the basis of the cross-case analyses presented in this report. 

In addition to interviews, we collected relevant documents (i.e., MOUs, parent handbooks, event flyers) and asked each Head Start and LEA staff member we interviewed to complete a short staff collaboration survey. Staff collaboration surveys were intended to provide a better understanding of the professional relationship structure within each case including the types of staff within and across systems who collaborate with each other to support the transition process. 

While providing an in-depth descriptive look at transitions within five cases, our study findings highlight the diverse approaches to partnerships and transition perspectives, policies, professional supports, and practices. Understanding that communities are in very different places with their partnerships and approaches, some implications that are rooted in our findings include: 

For Policy & Practice 

• Head Start-LEA Partners Started Their Work in Different Places: Some of the Cases in the study had longstanding relationships, while others were newer. Some had existing relationships primarily focused on special education or horizontal alignment with district preschool programs, but little focus on transitions. Some cases had MOUs that were used to inform practices, and in other cases most participants knew little about the contents of their MOUs—particularly non-leadership staff. However, there is something to be learned from each of these cases: No one partnership has it all figured out, and that is likely to be true of many partnerships. Case study partners worked to build upon the strengths they each had.  

• Head Start-LEA Partners Invested in Activities Aimed at Building and Sustaining Relationships: Relationships take time and effort to cultivate and maintain. An important implication of this study is to ensure that Head Start staff and kindergarten staff—from the classroom up to the leadership levels—have ample opportunities to connect and communicate with one another in shared spaces. Examples mentioned by study participants included placing classrooms close to each other, creating opportunities for joint professional development, and making the time for staff to visit each other’s classrooms or buildings. 

• Shared Professional Supports and Joint Planning Opportunities across Head Start and K-12 are Still a Work in Progress: We did not find any instances of shared professional supports across partners within our cases. Based on our prior review of the existing knowledge base (Ehrlich et al., 2021), this seems like a promising area for policymakers and educational administrators to explore. Increasing opportunities and incentives for shared trainings that focus on transitions might in turn help with the development of relationships across systems. 

• Many Approaches to Partnerships and Supporting Kindergarten Transitions Were Not Written into Policy: Relationships are necessary to support successful transition approaches; however, they are subject to breaking down over time when people leave positions or change jobs. For example, some participants discussed the importance of formalizing approaches to kindergarten transition in policies such as MOUs and other policy documents as a way to make transition supports systematic. 

For Research 

• Future research could provide a more comprehensive examination of places where true vertical alignment is occurring between Head Start (or other ECE programs) and kindergarten. This would enable the field to gain a better awareness of how the 4Ps may be shared or aligned in those locales. 

• It would be valuable to investigate whether there are locales with more prevalent cross-system/joint professional supports that bring together leaders or classroom staff that serve both preschool and kindergarten students. If so, do these experiences lead to smoother transitions and better outcomes for children, families, and educators? 

• Given that intermediaries and community partners played important (but different) roles in most of our cases, more research is needed to understand these roles and how they facilitate cross-system relationships, and/or play other roles in community transition processes. 

Gordon, Molly F., Hafford, C., Barrows, M.R., Ehrlich Loewe, S.B., Cook, K.D., Gutwein, M., Carrazza, C., Feldman, R.C., Halle, T.G., & Kauerz, K. (2023). Understanding Cross-System Transitions from Head Start to Kindergarten: A Comparative Cross Case Study of Head Start and K-12 Partnerships, OPRE Report # 2023-247, Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.