BPI Brings Innovation in Pre-K to Kindergarten Transitions

For over four years, BPI, in partnership with the Chicago Public Schools Office of Early Childhood Education (OECE), has supported a community-wide approach to strengthening children’s transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten via the Pre-Kindergarten to Kindergarten Transitions Project (PKTP).  Not only does the program engage stakeholders from all elementary schools and childcare centers in the Altgeld-Riverdale community, it strives to ensure that all children—regardless of the preschool they attend—have exposure to common experiences that will help them in making a successful transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten.

The program has been highlighted in a new brief published by New America, a civic platform that focuses on public policy, research, and technology. The brief, “Moving into Kindergarten: How Schools and Districts are Connecting the Steps for Children and Families,” highlights the history and achievements of the BPI program.  Significantly, the project has been successful in bringing together educators in a professional learning environment where they can share teaching methods and other best practices.  “If not for PKTP, I don’t think the teachers from the different Altgeld-Riverdale schools would be talking to each other. It’s been an incredibly helpful opportunity for teachers to interact with their peers from across the neighborhood,” says BPI’s Emily Powers, project director of the PreK–K Transitions Program.

A summary of the brief can be found on New America’s blog.  For a PDF version of the brief, please click here to download.