1. Transitional Kindergarten
Parent Engagement Toolkit
Ernesto Saldaña
Preschool California November 8, 2011
Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Summit

2. Presented by Preschool California Page 2
Purpose: To provide local education agencies (LEA’s) with tools and resources that communicate the benefits of transitional kindergarten (TK) and support parent outreach.
Presented by Preschool California Page 2

3. Presented by Preschool California Page 3
Presentation Outline
Overview of parent focus groups
Effective TK messaging
TK messengers and tips
Methods for parent engagement
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4. Overview of Parent Focus Groups
Goal: Identify best ways to reach out to parents, especially low-income parents, to communicate benefits of TK
Conducted six parent focus groups, two each in:
Orange Cove (Fresno County)
One focus group with Spanish-speaking Latino parents
Bay Area (Oakland)
One focus group with African-American parents
Los Angeles
Majority of parents had children who had attended or are attending preschool
Targeted parents from low-income communities, Latino and African American parents
Why? – Underserved communities with limited access to information may view TK as “holding back” their children
Wanted to understand why they may see it that way, what messaging can help them understand it as a benefit
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5. Identifying Effective TK Messages
Primary question: What messages and information resonate most with parents when highlighting the benefits of TK? Used information and feedback from focus groups to develop list of positive parent messages on TK
Goal was to understand two things:
What messages were most positive for parents when talking about TK
What messengers were most important to communicate the benefits of TK
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6. TK Messaging for Parents
TK provides children with the gift of time to learn skills that will help them build a strong foundation for success in elementary school.
California’s kindergarten curriculum and standards have changed over the years, and many of the skills children were once taught in first grade are now taught in kindergarten. TK is the right program at the right time.
TK serves as a bridge between preschool and kindergarten, giving children more time for hands-on, interactive learning.
#1 – “Gift of time” scored high during the focus groups. Parents really liked it. This phrase was best used after you describe the program a bit. Pointing to “strong foundation” was important to emphasize the success their children would have in the program.
#2 – Parents understand that kindergarten is different now than it used to be. Reminding them of that helps explain why TK is necessary.
#3 – helps to explain differences between preschool, TK, and K where possible. Calling it a “bridge” can be nice because it makes it distinct from both, but can also be tricky because not all kids attend preschool.
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7. TK Messaging for Parents (Continued)
TK gives children the opportunity to spend time learning important social, emotional and academic skills that will help them succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
TK provides young learners with a high-quality early education at no cost to parents, to ensure that they have an opportunity to continue learning.
It helps children adjust to the school environment & develop strong learning skills.
TK provides young 5 year olds with an opportunity to start their kindergarten experience with children their own age, and with teachers that can tailor lesson plans to their needs.
#1 - Parents seemed to understand value of TK when talking about social and emotional development.
#2 - One of the first questions they asked after learning about it was if it was free.
#3 – Emphasize benefits of the program to help with adjustment to elementary school.
#4 - Most parents like to know that teaching can be tailored to where children are in their learning. Not one size fits all.
Other considerations in messaging:
A majority of people have a hard time locating TK. They know K, they know pre-k, they don’t know how TK falls in the mix. Overall folks seemed concerned about some form of remediation thinking TK is 2 yrs of pre-k or 2 yrs of K.
What’s the difference btw TK and K? Folks want to know the difference. Wherever possible, describe the differences in detail.
Wealthy districts have had this = This did NOT work with low-income families, reacted strongly negative. Low-income =‘s children’s failure. I also believe they felt we were telling them they have failed their children b/c they are low-income.
“Developmentally appropriate” works for prek and K-12 administrators, it does not work for parents. They felt it conveyed special needs.
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8. Developing and Using Consistent Messaging
Consistent messaging is critical to successful outreach
Work with your communications office to develop messaging that articulate the benefits of TK
Adapt messaging for use in outreach materials, staff trainings, talking points, brochures, etc.
Provide talking points on benefits of TK to potential messengers, including front office staff at elementary school, school faculty, school administrators, school board members and district administrators
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9. Presented by Preschool California Page 9
Messengers
Primary question: Who do parents look to when it comes to issues related to their children’s education?
Who says it and where parents hear it from definitely influences how parents perceive different issues.
Our field research identified some specific messengers and sources of information that are most effective among parents.
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10. TK Messengers: Teachers, Principals and School Staff
Serve as most direct link to education system for most parents
Principals
Less direct contact with families, but still important messengers in TK outreach efforts
School staff
Interact regularly with families (particularly front office staff)
TIPS
Make information and resources available to all elementary school staff, teachers and principals
Offer communications training on new law and TK program to all elementary school staff
Make sure teachers are accessible to parents to answer questions about
TK, particularly during height of school registration
Important to have people at school who can serve as “point people” when parents have questions
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11. TK Messengers: Parent Ambassadors
Parents trust other parents when it comes to information about their children’s education
Peer-to-peer perspective validates school information
Parents have been on of the strongest assets in recruitment efforts across the state
TIPS
Identify potential parent ambassadors, offer them personalized briefing with principal or teachers
Provide materials and resources on TK to distribute to other parents
Give them formal opportunities to be involved (e.g. participating in parent info meetings, providing quotes for parent bulletin endorsing TK)
Involve them in planning and outreach efforts
Parent ambassadors can include:
parents formally involved in school leadership councils
parent center staff and volunteers
trusted parents in the community who may not be in formal school leadership roles, but are very involved in their community (e.g. churches, CBOs, community volunteer projects, etc)
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12. TK Messengers: Child Development Centers
Local Child Care & Child Development Centers
Very effective messengers because of their direct access and frequent interaction with families
Trusted by many families when it comes to information about their children
TIPS
Share information about TK and implementation plans with local providers
Designate a contact who can be available to answer questions as they come up during implementation
Schedule regular articulation discussions on connecting zero to five to early elementary, and invite local child care and development providers to participate
Building relationship with local child care/child development centers is critical
Be sure to make clear that law impacts children in K and will not take children away from their pre-k programs
Presented by Preschool California Page 12

13. TK Messengers: Community Organizations
Local Community Organizations
Includes community centers, community-based organizations (CBOs), churches, etc.
Seen as advocates for their community and trusted source for accessing new and critical information
TIPS
Schedule meeting or TK classroom tour with local community organizations in your area to provide information about TK
Have a TK “point person” available as designated contact for organizations
Have some asks ready, such as including information about TK in their newsletter or on their website, or presenting at community meetings about the benefits of TK
Can help create positive buzz around TK
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TK Messengers: Media
Media
Most families use some form of media to get information about changes in laws, issues in education
Some parents have already heard about TK from media coverage, interested to find out more
For diverse communities, ethnic media (i.e. print, TV, radio) highly trusted source of information
TIPS
Make positive newspaper clips about TK and other positive media coverage available to parents during meetings, in packets
Incorporate video clips in presentations on the benefits of TK where possible
Work with communications office to engage local media on TK, or call reporters to tell them about program, invite them to visit classroom
Send press release about launch to local media outlets during back to school time
We are happy to help direct you to positive media coverage from your region or close by
Telemundo clip is great video clip to show during parent recruitment meetings. Have English translation so parents can read along if they don’t speak Spanish
Also have them visit K classroom. Highlight differences between them
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15. Methods for Parent Engagement
One-on-one conversations
Gives school staff opportunity to provide information, address misinformation and concerns, discuss parents questions in depth
Meetings
Small group meetings (3 to 5 parents) best, creates welcoming environment for parents to ask questions, share their thoughts
Classroom Tours
A tour of a nearby program with a small group of parents can help them understand what happens in the classroom
Provide time after tour for questions and discussion
Parent Help Line and TK Liaison
Having designated person or team of people available to answer questions will help parents build relationships, feel more comfortable with the program
Establish bilingual help center with phone number parents can call
TK Hotline – A good example is used by Long Beach USD where they an inquiry form on their website as well as a hotline for TK. Parents call in and district staff return their call and answer their TK questions.
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16. Methods for Parent Engagement (cont.)
Resource Table
Establish TK table at “Kindergarten Roundup,” other district education events
Be sure person staffing tables has talking points on TK, outreach materials for families to take home
Flyers and Banners
Post flyers and banners during registration at school and district offices, childcare centers, community centers and other local organizations
Make sure they have phone number parents can call for more information
Brochure
Create parent brochure to highlight benefits of TK
Website
Have parent friendly information on TK available on school and district website
Presented by Preschool California Page 16

17. Thank you! www.tkcalifornia.org www.preschoolcalifornia.org
For additional TK information visit the following websites:
Contact: Ernesto Saldaña
In the toolkit you will find a parent FAQ and customizable parent brochure.