The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent Kinder Hearts School’s at-risk preschoolers are effectively prepared with readiness skills for kindergarten academic success. Based on schoolwide assessments, program mandates, and policy changes, an evaluation of this specific program in a Midwest school could determine whether the instructional model used was indeed effective. This study consisted of analyzing data from three student categories: children who attended private preschool programming, children who attended the school’s at-risk program, and children who had no schooling. The data collected was used to determine professional development needed, grant funding allocation, and program delivery model to use.
The results of the study showed an academic difference in kindergarten between children who attended this school’s state-funded, play-based preschool at-risk program and children who attended private programming. Results did not suggest that children who attended the school’s at-risk preschool program were behind in their kindergarten readiness skills in comparison to other subgroups but did suggest a difference between the groups. This study indicated that a play-based model developmentally targets the whole child, and also leads to the overall developmental growth of the child.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent Kinder Hearts School’s at-risk preschoolers are effectively prepared with readiness skills for kindergarten academic success. Based on schoolwide assessments, program mandates, and policy changes, an evaluation of this specific program in a Midwest school could determine whether the instructional model used was indeed effective. This study consisted of analyzing data from three student categories: children who attended private preschool programming, children who attended the school’s at-risk program, and children who had no schooling. The data collected was used to determine professional development needed, grant funding allocation, and program delivery model to use.</p> <p>The results of the study showed an academic difference in kindergarten between children who attended this school’s state-funded, play-based preschool at-risk program and children who attended private programming. Results did not suggest that children who attended the school’s at-risk preschool program were behind in their kindergarten readiness skills in comparison to other subgroups but did suggest a difference between the groups. This study indicated that a play-based model developmentally targets the whole child, and also leads to the overall developmental growth of the child.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Santos Lopez, Eliza"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D. Doctor of Education","degree_level":"Dissertation - Public Access","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Elizabeth Minor","Donald Angelaccio"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2022,"date_issued":"2022-02-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2022-02-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:05Z","subjects":["at-risk","preschool","readiness skills","kindergarten","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Elementary Education","Language and Literacy Education"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/638","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Elizabeth Minor","Donald Angelaccio"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Santos Lopez, Eliza"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2022-03-08T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation - Public Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["at-risk","preschool","readiness skills","kindergarten","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Elementary Education","Language and Literacy Education"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/638"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent Kinder Hearts School’s at-risk preschoolers are effectively prepared with readiness skills for kindergarten academic success. Based on schoolwide assessments, program mandates, and policy changes, an evaluation of this specific program in a Midwest school could determine whether the instructional model used was indeed effective. This study consisted of analyzing data from three student categories: children who attended private preschool programming, children who attended the school’s at-risk program, and children who had no schooling. The data collected was used to determine professional development needed, grant funding allocation, and program delivery model to use.
The results of the study showed an academic difference in kindergarten between children who attended this school’s state-funded, play-based preschool at-risk program and children who attended private programming. Results did not suggest that children who attended the school’s at-risk preschool program were behind in their kindergarten readiness skills in comparison to other subgroups but did suggest a difference between the groups. This study indicated that a play-based model developmentally targets the whole child, and also leads to the overall developmental growth of the child.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["To What Extent Are At-Risk Preschoolers Effectively Prepared For Kindergarten?"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Elizabeth Minor","Donald Angelaccio"],"dc:creator":["Santos Lopez, Eliza"],"dc:date.available":["2022-03-08T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent Kinder Hearts School’s at-risk preschoolers are effectively prepared with readiness skills for kindergarten academic success. Based on schoolwide assessments, program mandates, and policy changes, an evaluation of this specific program in a Midwest school could determine whether the instructional model used was indeed effective. This study consisted of analyzing data from three student categories: children who attended private preschool programming, children who attended the school’s at-risk program, and children who had no schooling. The data collected was used to determine professional development needed, grant funding allocation, and program delivery model to use.
The results of the study showed an academic difference in kindergarten between children who attended this school’s state-funded, play-based preschool at-risk program and children who attended private programming. Results did not suggest that children who attended the school’s at-risk preschool program were behind in their kindergarten readiness skills in comparison to other subgroups but did suggest a difference between the groups. This study indicated that a play-based model developmentally targets the whole child, and also leads to the overall developmental growth of the child.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.nl.edu/diss/638"],"dc:subject":["at-risk","preschool","readiness skills","kindergarten","Curriculum and Instruction","Early Childhood Education","Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research","Elementary Education","Language and Literacy Education"],"dc:title":["To What Extent Are At-Risk Preschoolers Effectively Prepared For Kindergarten?"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation - Public Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D. Doctor of Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:21:05Z"}