In a perfect world, every child would enter kindergarten happy, healthy, and eager to learn. They’d run into their classrooms anxious to see friends and already in love with their teachers. But it’s not quite a perfect world here in Portland, OR. A large percentage of our children of color and those from low-income families aren’t ready to learn when they enter the Portland Public Schools (PPS). A recent study found that many children who grow up in impoverished areas haven’t attended a preschool program.

But “school readiness” goes beyond quality preschool programs. School readiness also includes “ready schools” and “ready communities.” As researcher Rima Shore has noted, ready schools smooth the transition from home to school.

Although Portland’s school district doesn’t have the resources to reach every preschooler with limited learning experiences, that didn’t stop Allyson Yoshiwara, PPS’s early childhood administrator, from creating a small, research-based kindergarten-transition program for families who live in poor neighborhoods. With only $12,000 and commitments from community partners—like the library—Allyson scheduled three weeks of “practice kindergarten” at two elementary schools, offering children five three-hour sessions and parents two morning sessions each week. The program attracted 35 four- and five-year-olds who had been on a Head Start waiting list for a year, and 39 parents who admitted feeling very uncomfortable in a school setting.

Kindergarten teachers developed the classroom curriculum, aligning it with the district’s learning objectives. And Multnomah County Library’s and PPS’s staffs created—and taught—a parent curriculum that was based on early reading research and best practices in adult education. The results were extraordinary. Not only did young participants gain familiarity with their future classrooms, but they also developed critical skills necessary to succeed in kindergarten, including how to write their names, sort and classify objects, follow directions, leave their parents without getting upset, and speak clearly to convey ideas. Parents were quick to notice the difference. “My son felt comfortable knowing he already knew kids in his class,” a mother told us, after her son had started kindergarten. “He wasn’t afraid, because he knew where to go and what to do.”

The parent data was as significant as the student data, and Allyson suspects it may in fact be a primary cause of the positive student data. Parents reported feeling more comfortable and confident promoting learning at home. They practiced how to read interactively with their children, promote math skills using household materials, and increase their children’s vocabularies. Surveys showed that parents routinely read to their children at bedtime and understood the importance of getting to school on time and regular classroom attendance. Best of all, parents reported feeling much more at ease when they interacted with their children’s teachers and principal.

This change in parents’ behavior—in their involvement in their children’s education—is precisely what makes a quality transition program. Research indicates that when parents are involved in their children’s schooling, students earn higher grades, have better attendance, demonstrate more positive attitudes and behaviors, have greater graduation rates, and pursue higher education more often than those whose parents aren’t engaged in their learning.

To improve school readiness in Portland’s low-income communities by getting children enthused about learning and fostering parent involvement was exactly Allyson’s mission. Supporting a quality transition to kindergarten is the responsibility of many, including parents, preschool and elementary teachers, and community organizations such as libraries and schools. The achievement gap between children from affluent families and those from poor families will persist, but being part of the “ready community” by helping parents prepare their children to learn is the library’s job—and it’s great fun for us, too.