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# U.S. Department of Education Announces Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge Learning Community  

# U.S. Department of Education Announces Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge Learning Community  

September 7, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
The U.S Department of Education (Department) is  announcing the launch of the Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge Learning Community, a  multi-state effort to make kindergarten a transformational experience at the  start of each student’s formal education journey. State education agencies  (SEAs) and local education agencies (LEAs) will be invited to participate in a  community of practice where they can benefit from peer learning, receive  technical assistance, and share best practices to transform how students  experience kindergarten including the transitions into kindergarten and 1st  grade.  

  “Getting kindergarten right has to be top of mind for all  of us, because what happens there sets the stage for how a child learns and  develops well into their elementary years and beyond,” said U.S. Secretary of  Education Miguel Cardona. “Ensuring that kindergarten is a sturdy bridge  between the early years and early grades is central to our efforts both to  Raise the Bar for academic excellence and to provide all students with a more  equitable foundation for educational success. The kindergarten year presents an  opportunity to meet the strengths and needs of young learners so they can  continue to flourish in the years to come.” 

  Kindergarten is critical to our efforts to Raise the Bar  for academic excellence because it opens the door to two timely and  consequential opportunities to meet the strengths and needs of diverse young  learners essential for later school success  Kindergarten provides the  first formal at-scale learning opportunity for students to receive many of the  critical supports and interventions that are essential for on-track  development. Children arrive at kindergarten from diverse settings and  experiences, with a wide range of developmental and linguistic strengths,  learning differences, developmental delays, and disabilities. In this way,  attending kindergarten is a critical lever for meeting physical and behavioral  health needs that would otherwise go undetected, undiagnosed, and untreated.  Kindergarten also presents a crucial opportunity to build partnerships and  trust with parents and families, and to work with them on nurturing the habits  and routines, including everyday attendance, that are essential to accelerating  learning recovery and assuring early and long-term school  success.   

  This announcement comes as Secretary Cardona is embarking  on his “Back to School Bus Tour 2023: Raise the Bar” featuring stops in Kansas,  Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Throughout the week, Secretary  Cardona, Deputy Secretary Cindy Marten, and Under Secretary James Kvaal will  join national, state, and local school leaders to speak with students, parents,  and educators for events that celebrate the back-to-school season and  underscore the Administration’s commitment to helping students recover from the  impacts of the pandemic and continue on the road to success. As part of the bus  tour, Administration officials will highlight academic and mental health  programs and efforts to recruit and support educators funded by President  Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which provided historic resources to K-12  schools, colleges, and universities to reopen schools and help students of all  ages recover. 

  Many states and school districts across the country are  already making progress on these opportunities. The Kindergarten Sturdy Bridge  Learning Community builds on the U.S. Department of Education’s continued  commitment to advancing early learning and school readiness for the nation’s  youngest learners. In December 2021, the Department launched two new multistate  communities of practice to support states in addressing the impact of lost  instructional time from the pandemic on students’ mental health and academic  well-being. The Department has also been working with states and stakeholders  to identify ways to leverage federal funding to support high quality early  learning and the early learning workforce, including by leveraging $1 billion  in Title IV, Part A funds of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to support  preschool-aged students who are served by high-need LEAs through a range of  allowable activities that encourage students’ healthy growth and  development.  

  The Biden-Harris Administration has also proposed a  first-ever preschool incentive demonstration program at the U.S. Department of  Education to expand access to high-quality preschool in school and  community-based settings for children eligible to attend Title I schools. This  proposed $500 million investment in President Biden’s FY24 budget request to  Congress would further support school districts and participating schools in  aligning high-quality preschool programs with kindergarten through 3rd grade  instruction, facilitating  a successful transition from preschool to  kindergarten and from kindergarten to 3rd grade. Consistent with President  Biden’s Executive Order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and  Supporting Caregivers—a first of its kind, government-wide commitment to  support caregivers, direct care workers, and families caring for children,  people with disabilities, and aging loved ones—this fall, the Department will  issue additional guidance to school districts and grantees on utilizing federal  funds to expand access to high-quality preschool in high-need schools. 

  Additionally, the Department’s current Full Service  Community Schools competition includes an invitational priority for applicants  to focus on effective strategies for transition between early childhood  settings and the early grades, promoting cross-sector collaboration and family  engagement . Awards will be issued in late 2023. 
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