Sonya Douglass Horsford
Abstract:School readiness continues to be an area of growing concern in education and public policy circles. The notion that "all children should arrive at school ready for the first day" has important implications not only for parents, early childhood educators, and K-12 schoolteachers, but also policymakers, business owners, and our local and state economies. The purpose of this policy brief is to define school readiness, present the most recent conceptualization of school readiness in the state of Nevada, and consider the challenges inherent in building bridges between the separate and distinct domains of early childhood and K-12 education. The brief concludes with a summary of selected policy recommendations for advancing school readiness in Nevada as part of the state's broader goals of increasing educational opportunity, equity, and achievement among its children and youth.