Alignment and coherence as system-level strategies: Bridging policy and practice

Abstract

A system-level perspective on the transition to Kindergarten requires consideration of the differences that exist between the systems of birth-to-five early care and education (ECE) and K-12 education. Challenges in bridging these systems are rooted in paradigmatic and structural differences that make ongoing, meaningful collaboration and alignment between ECE and K-12 difficult and complex to address. With practitioners and policymakers alike experiencing the challenges, the impetus to address them is heightened by the prominent national focus on school readiness and closing achievement gaps by third grade. This chapter explores theoretical rationales for creating more coherence and alignment across the birth through elementary school age range (P-3), providing a picture of how children's learning opportunities would be positively influenced by system-level alignment work. Schools and districts that have engaged in system-level alignment efforts show promising improvement in child-level outcomes. The chapter provides examples of alignment strategies at the level of implementation and proffers suggestions for how research, policy, and practice can contribute to greater coherence between the ECE and K-12 systems. Throughout this volume, the term "transition" is most frequently used to refer to the shifts that children and families experience as they enter Kindergarten classrooms. "Coherence," "continuity," "consistency," and "alignment" are other words used to describe the necessity of bringing together prior-to-school (which includes a wide variety of early care and education settings and programs) and Kindergarten experiences in ways that benefit young children and their families. This chapter expands our understanding of these terms by focusing on system-level strategies that contribute to transition, alignment, coherence, continuity, and consistency. With this system-l evel lens, this chapter also expands the focus beyond the 1 year prior to Kindergarten (PreK) and Kindergarten and addresses the full continuum of learning from birth through elementary school. Efforts to address this developmental continuum have been ascribed a variety of labels - P-3, PreK-3rd, PreK-3, PK-3, 0-8, B-3, and others. In this chapter, I favor "P-3" and focus on the array of early care and education (ECE) programs that serve children before they enter school and their connections with the primary grades of elementary school (K-3). System-level alignment requires a complex array of strategies needed to bring greater coherence between the traditionally disparate systems of birth-to-five early care and education (ECE) programs and PreK-12 education. This chapter addresses practical, theoretical, and policy aspects of P-3 alignment approaches.