Improving the Transition to Kindergarten for Students and Families Through Home Visits

• In Event: Supporting Family, School, and Community Partnerships in an Early Childhood Context

Abstract

This paper explores how home visits support the transition into five-year-old kindergarten in the 2018-19 school year in a midwestern city. Twelve kindergarten teachers conducted two home visits guided by Moll’s Funds of Knowledge with a random sample of eight of their students. We base our findings on data of a sample of interviews with ten teachers, nineteen parents, and seventeen students. Home visits helped the teachers enrich their understanding of the students and their families. Additionally, the relationships built through prior to the school year were valuable assets in the transition into kindergarten. Both teachers and parents strongly believed that they benefited from home visits, yet they recognized the logistical challenges of implementing it district-wide.

Authors

• Moonjoo Woo, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Lauren Lauter, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Eric Grodsky, University of Wisconsin

• Elizabeth Vaade, Madison Metropolitan School District

• Culleen Witthuhn, Madison Metropolitan School District

• Mary Elizabeth (Beth) Graue, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Katherine Magnuson, University of Wisconsin

• Phoebe Jordan, University of Wisconsin - Madison