WHY?

Family Involvement in School Readiness

School readiness involves how socially, physically, and intellectually ready children are to enter a formal schooling environment. The role of caregivers in preparing children for school is to facilitate home-based involvement prior to the start of school. For example, in the home, caregivers can create school-like and out-of-school routines and provide social environments for children to interact with people outside of their home. In addition, home-based involvement at this level often includes reading with the child and facilitating creative or educational activities in the home (Ogg & Anthony, 2019). Another role that caregivers can take during this stage is to actively stay informed with local school districts to ensure they are registering children for kindergarten, keeping up with school calendars, and staying informed with upcoming school events. Han and Neuharth-Pritchett (2014, as cited in Varshney et al., 2020) claim that the quality and quantity of these types of parental home engagement are consistent predictors of children’s academic readiness.