Successful Kindergarten Transition

"This is a terrific book. It is such a treat to see concrete and practical ways to instill positive relationships."--Carollee Howes, Ph.D."Professor and Division Head, Psychological Studies in Education, University of California, Los Angeles" (01/01/2003)

"We have found a serious gap betwen what happens to children prior to school entry and when they enter the school doors ... this work offers a low cost way of making major gains in children's readiness for sucess as they come to school."--Richard M. Clifford, Ph.D."Co-Director, National Center for Early Development and Learning, and Senior Scientist, Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute" (01/01/2003)

Mentioned in the New Book section.--Gail Perry"Young Children, NAEYC" (01/01/2001)

"Both theoretically sound and practically wise . . . [The authors] understand the continuing development agenda of young children and the deeply pragmatic ways that schools and families can work together to enhance children's growth and promote early school success." --Samuel J. Meisels, Ed.D.

Robert C. Pianta, Ph.D., is Dean of the Curry School of Education, Director of the Center for Advanced Study in Teaching and Learning and Novartis U.S. Foundation Professor of Education at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. A former special education teacher, Dr. Pianta is a developmental, school, and clinical child psychologist whose work focuses on assessment and improvement of teacher-student interactions and their role in fostering children's learning and development. Dr. Pianta is a principal investigator on several major grants including the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education and the Virginia Education Sciences Training Program, and he has worked closely with the Gates Foundation-funded Measure of Effective Teaching project. He is the author of more than 250 journal articles, chapters, and books in the areas of early childhood education, teacher performance assessment, professional development, and teacher child relationships, and he consults regularly with federal agencies, foundations and universities. Marcia Kraft-Sayre, L.C.S.W., is Regional Project Coordinator for the National Center for Early Development & Learning (NCEDL) Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten at the University of Virginia. She has also served as Coordinator for the NCEDL Kindergarten Transition Project. Her current work entails managing data collection for a national study of state-funded prekindergarten programs. She is the co-author of several articles about the transition to kindergarten. For 15 years prior to coming to NCEDL, she worked as a clinical social worker with children and families in mental health and medical settings. "