HEAD START®

Effective Transition Practices: Facilitating Continuity

Training Guides for the Head Start Learning Community

Table of Contents | Preface | Introduction | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Continuing Professional Development | Informational Resources Section

PREFACE

Invitation

To Embark on a Journey

Please join members of our early childhood community as we discover new transition strategies and promising practices for young children and families.

What to bring:

Experiences with children, families, and change
Stories of your own transitions
Symbol of personal support (stuffed animal, photograph, quotation, etc.)
Journey bag (backpack, tote, duffle bag, etc.)

Journey points along the way:

Introduction to the Journey
Transition and Change
Transition and Continuity
Partnerships for Continuity

We look forward to traveling with you as we consider transition issues and engage in interactive workshops. In this personal and professional journey, you can expect to learn new ways to prepare children and their families for transition and change. At each journey point, you will collect valuable resources from programs nationwide. This training will help you navigate the changing waters of transition. We hope you will accept this invitation.

Bon Voyage!

Where: ___________________

When: ____________________

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The image of children and their families sailing smoothly through transitions from birth through age eight captures a Head Start vision of continuous development and progress. A child's success in school can be linked, in part, to effective transition practices and activities. When new information and the collective support of a community continue to be accessible to families, they are better prepared to navigate their journey through transitions, adapt to change, and move forward.

In many communities, however, Head Start, elementary schools, and other early childhood programs and child care providers function in isolation from each other with little or no coordination. When this occurs, the transition of a child from one setting to a new one can result in discontinuity, jeopardizing the long-term benefits of a child's quality early experiences.

With limited resources and an increase in the complexity of problems facing children and families today, no one staff member or single agency can ensure continuity. Everyone has a stake in providing families and children with high quality programs and services throughout early childhood. Developing effective transition practices to facilitate continuity is everyone's job. Therefore, this foundation guide is for all Head Start staff-all of whom are already heavily invested in the continued progress and promise of the children and families they serve.

This guide will be useful for those programs that have just initiated transition activities, as well as those that have longstanding efforts. As a manager, you can support the process of continuous quality improvement by incorporating this transition training material into your staff development program. You can adapt the activities to meet your program needs.

This foundation guide will chart the course for a broader understanding of the elements of effective transition and the role of individual staff in facilitating continuity. Future transition guides will build upon the skills developed in this guide.

Your transition efforts will be most successful if you involve parents and other key players from the broader early childhood community. Initiate a relationship; create a partnership; or invite staff from a local school, preschool, or child care facility to participate with you and your staff in a joint training session. This collaborative approach could shift the perspective from turf issues and barriers to charting a course for successfully moving forward.