PreK-12 Is the New Reality: How Do We Make It Work?

Preschool attendance is now the norm, and preschool is increasingly built into K-12 school systems. In many respects, as kindergarten has become the new first grade, preschool is becoming the new kindergarten.

In this article, we draw on our four-year study of school district efforts to create more seamless pathways from preschool to elementary school. We offer a framework based on this and others’ research for considering strategies to ensure the long-term benefits of investment in preschool and to improve student learning in the early grades.

There are good reasons for the expansion of preschool. High-quality preschool can help K-12 districts and schools be more effective overall and reduce the achievement gap which is typically substantial before children enter kindergarten (Reardon, 2013).