School readiness of low-income children at risk for school failure

The goal of this research project was to gain information about the readiness skills of kindergarten children in 11 inner city schools with the highest poverty rates in the Salt Lake City School District. Kindergarten teachers and principals in these schools were interviewed regarding their perceptions of the readiness skills needed for these children to be successful in their schools. A summary of the readiness skills of the kindergarten children was derived from a state mandated Pre-Kindergarten Assessment. Most principals stressed children's social and emotional development as a priority in school readiness. The majority of teachers emphasized literacy as a prerequisite for school success. Yet, the Pre-Kindergarten Assessment revealed that one fourth of the children could not identify the front of a book and two thirds of the children did not know where to start or which direction to go when reading. Half of the parents of these children reported that they rarely read to their children and that they had only visited a library once or not at all. The gap between the readiness skills educators think these children need and the skills children enter school with presents a serious problem for educators and policy makers. Multiple intervention strategies are recommended including providing education and home activities to enhance children's readiness skills, coordinating access to early childhood programs, and educating parents on available community resources.