School Readiness

Research shows that the first few years in a child's life are vitally important, and that the care and attention a child receives early on pays incredible dividends in the future. The ability for children to develop strong, stable relationships with parents or other caregivers, engage in stimulating and enriching activities, and live in a healthy, safe environment is key to their success in school and in life. The Peninsula Partnership is engaged in a number of programs and evaluation efforts to promote school readiness, including:

Learning Together

The Partnership is leading San Mateo County’s school readiness initiative, called Learning Together. Learning Together is funded by First 5 San Mateo County and provides home visiting and parent education services to families with young children in East Palo Alto, East Menlo Park, Redwood City and San Mateo. Home visitors use the nationally recognized Parents As Teachers curricula, which includes interactive parent-child sessions. Parent education workshops reinforce the knowledge gained at home through peer support and interaction. Parents are also encouraged to engage in shared book experiences with their children by participating in the Raising A Reader program.

Through the program, parents have shown statistically significant gains in positive parenting behaviors. In 2006-2007, the program will expand to reach more families thanks to $1.2 million in new funding ($600,000 in local dollars matched with $600,000 in state dollars) over the next four years.

Raising A Reader

Raising A Reader is an early literacy program offered at early learning settings across San Mateo County that helps to foster healthy brain development, parent-child bonding and early literacy skills by engaging parents in a routine of daily “book cuddling” with their children from birth to age five. As a local affiliate of the national Raising A Reader® program headquartered at Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the Partnership is responsible for coordinating the program at some 400 sites, including family childcare homes, preschool and home visiting programs throughout San Mateo County.

Kickoff to Kindergarten

The Kickoff to Kindergarten program is designed to prepare children for the transition into school by introducing the skill sets necessary to succeed in the kindergarten classroom. The program targets those children who have not participated in a licensed, preschool program and/or are English language learners. Since 2001, Kickoff to Kindergarten has served more than 6,000 children throughout San Mateo County. Participants have shows statistically significant gains in readiness skills.

Stretch to Kindergarten

Our newest early childhood initiative Stretch to Kindergarten is a pilot program in Mountain View, which the community foundation hopes to expand to other communities in Santa Clara County. Learn more

Transitions to School

In recent years, there has been widespread interest in implementing practices to ease children’s transition from preschool to school. The Peninsula Partnership is leading the county’s efforts to identify and put in place promising transition strategies that can provide greater continuity between local early care and learning programs and public schools. This work is being done as part of San Mateo County’s Preschool For All and school readiness initiatives.

School Readiness Assessment

Research shows that when children enter kindergarten with the appropriate skills, this acts as a spring-board for future success in school and in life. Recognizing this critical window, many communities have set for themselves the ambitious goal of ensuring that all children are ready for school, particularly those who are most vulnerable. But what does school readiness mean, and how do communities know when they have achieved it?

The national education goal panel defines three readiness domains:

  • The readiness of children for the social and academic institution of school;
  • The readiness of schools to meet the diverse needs of incoming students and their families; and
  • The readiness of families and communities to prepare children for school.

The effort to document children’s school readiness in Silicon Valley began in 2001 when the Partnership for Children, Youth and Families pioneered a study in San Mateo County based on the national education goals panel framework. In 2004, an expanded version of the study was implemented in Santa Clara County by the Santa Clara County Partnership for School Readiness. In 2005-2006 and 2008-2009, both groups, working with Applied Survey Research, combined expertise and resources to take the most detailed look yet at kindergarten readiness in the Silicon Valley.

Because of the breadth and depth of the information collected, both counties have a detailed portrait of the region’s diverse kindergarten population, the wide range of cognitive and social skills these young children bring to school, and the factors that influence these skills upon kindergarten entry. For example, children’s ability to “self regulate,” such as control impulses, play cooperatively with their peers, pay attention and follow directions, and English language proficiency were two key factors associated with readiness. Both counties are working together to better understand these findings and work with local experts on the implementation of best practices to address identified needs.

Click here to access the summary and comprehensive report.