The Ready Freddy Program is based on the premise that a quality transition to school will bring life-long benefits to a child. Research shows that the early elementary years (K-3) are critical for long term success in school. Quality transition involves helping students become familiar with the school environment, reducing the child’s anxiety, and engaging parents to foster good attendance as well as positive family involvement with the school. The links below include information for Researchers about creating a quality transition to school and what it can mean to a child’s academic future.
Transition to Kindergarten
Learn about the key ingredients that make up a Quality Transition to Kindergarten.
Attendance
This summarizes how attendance in Kindergarten makes a difference in a child’s academic success.
Parent Engagement
Learn how engaged parents can help make the Kindergarten transition process successful.
Branding Kindergarten
A recognizable mascot has made a big difference in the kids comfort level and feelings about school. Read how Freddy the Frog is helping to make the transition to school pleasant for many children who may have struggled.
Our Videos
See our videos “The Ready Freddy Program,”that describes an overview of our program, “Getting your child ready for Kindergarten” includes parents talking about their experience with K-Clubs and how that impacted their child’s transition to school and “Hands Across the Hill” details a first day of school celebration is Pittsburgh’s Hill District.
In the News
Find links to all the recent articles that mention the Ready Freddy Program in the news.
Our Research
Read a journal paper written by Ready Freddy Staff and other colleagues that appeared in the American Journal of Community Psychology in December of 2012: Blending Theory with Practice: Implementing Kindergarten Transition Using the Interactive Systems Framework