READY! FOR KINDERGARTEN
A program of The Children's Reading Foundation.
Developed in partnership with the Kennewick (WA) School District

Who attends READY! classes?
Parents and primary caregivers of children ages birth to 5.

What are READY! classes?
90-minute classes sharing information and learning activities for parents to enjoy with their children at home.
• Classes are divided into five age groups from birth to kindergarten. If a parent registers for the 2-year-old class, the lesson will be specific activities for 2-year-olds.
• Available in English and Spanish.

Why READY!?
The achievement gap exists the first day of kindergarten and persists through the grades. The education parents receive in READY! empowers them to prepare their children to enter school with the skills of a typical 5-year-old.

When are READY! classes?
Age-appropriate classes are offered three times a year. A parent will have attended 15 classes by the time his/her child starts kindergarten.
Fall – How and why to read aloud: literacy and print
Winter – A child's brain development; logic and numbers
Spring – Vocabulary and conversation; positive relationships

How are READY! classes designed?
Targets: Each research-based class directly aligns with skills that are significant indicators of success in school.
• We call them “targets” because these are skills parents can aim for in supporting their child's intellectual growth.
Tools: These “toys” make learning together at home fun and memorable. Just five minutes a day is all it takes.
• Floor puzzles, shape stackers, magnetic letters, counting games and age-appropriate books are a few examples.
Training: Instructors demonstrate each activity and have parents practice using the materials in class.
• Parents choose what activities and materials to use at home based on the interests and abilities of their children, and their family values and culture.
• Information is available to help parents assess their children's progress and steer them to the next steps in guiding their intellectual growth.

Cost
• $135 per child per year provides the tools, handouts and PowerPoint lessons; first time attendees receive an additional $18 of materials.
• Sponsoring agency supplies instructors, training, classrooms, childcare and advertising. Dolly Parton's Imagination Library (DPIL) optional.
• $200 a year per child funds entire program in Kennewick (includes DPIL).

READY! Research

Fall 2008: 79% of children whose parents attended READY! classes met the kindergarten reading readiness standard compared to 55% of children whose parents did not attend, regardless of family income level. READY! attendees out performed non-attendees in math readiness, too. Also, there is a corelation between number of classes attended and entering scores - more exposure is related to higher scores. See the full report at www.readyforkindergarten.org.

Communities and School Districts offering READY!

Nationwide: 

  • Anchorage School District, AK
  • Juneau School District, AK
  • Gitanmaxx Band Council, BC
  • Westminster School District, CA
  • Kiowa County/ Plainview, CO
  • Early Learning Coalition, FL
  • Lindop SchoolDistrict 92, IL
  • Community Consolidated School District 59 & 146, IL
  • Panhandle Alliance, ID
  • Butte View Elementary, ID
  • Mankato Area Public Schools, MN
  • Franklin Public Schools, NE
  • Grand Forks School District, ND
  • Truth or Consequence, NM
  • Monadnock Regional, NH
  • Parents as Teachers/ Sullivan County, NH
  • Grant County ESD, OR
  • Elgin, OR
  • Eastern Oregon Children's Reading Foundation, OR
  • Crane Elementary Schools, OR
  • Clakstine School District, OR

In Washington State:

  • Anacortes 
  • Benton Franklin Head Start
  • Bethel Public Schools
  • Cascade School
  • Cashmere
  • Central Kitsap
  • Central Valley (Spokane)
  • Cheney
  • Chewelah
  • Columbia School District
  • Communities in Schools, Whatcom County
  • Curlew School District
  • Doorstep Ministries/Kent
  • East Valley
  • ESD 112
    • Castle Rock
    • Toutle Lake
    • Kalama
    • Longview
    • Kelso
    • Woodland
  • Elma
  • Franklin Pierce
  • Granger
  • Grant Street Elementary
  • Hoquiam/Emerson School
  • Kennewick School District
  • Lake Stevens Education Foundation
  • Mabton School District
  • Manson School District
  • Morgen Owings Elementary School
  • Mount Baker
  • Ocean Beach School District
  • Olympic ESD 114
    • Bremerton
    • Brinnon
    • Clallam Bay/Cape Flattery
    • North Mason
    • Orchard Heights Elementary/South Kitsap
    • Parenting Matters, Sequim
    • Port Gambles/S'Kallam Early Learning Center
  • Orondo School District
  • Orting School District
  • Othello School District
  • Puyallup School District
  • Quincy School Disctrict
  • Republic School District
  • Samish Indian Nation
  • Sedro Woolley School District
  • South Bend
  • Sumner School District
  • Tacoma
  • Tukwila Children's Foundation
  • United Way of Kitsap County
  • Warden School District
  • Westminster
  • White Pass School District

Cost Comparisons (Yearly in Kennewick)
• Remediation: $3,600 average per child (excluding special education)
• ECEAP: $4,250 per child, half day

Guiding principles
• Honors parents as a child's most influential and most loved teacher
• Builds relationships between parent and child and family and school 
• Instills children with a joy and passion for learning that lasts a lifetime

Parent testimonials
•  “READY! provided us with tools and activities that we would not have otherwise been able to afford or thought to use with our child.”
• “READY! classes invite parents to share and learn great information on how our children learn and grow. We are grateful that we have READY! for Kindergarten as part of our lives.”
• “Thanks again for putting on a great program.  Of all the classes we have attended so far in maintaining our foster parent license, READY! for Kindergarten is by far the best program we have been involved with and we look forward to coming each session.”