From Kindergarten to Beyond

by Danielle Marie Holland

The Kinders to College initiative by Federal Way Public Schools (FWPS), launched during the 2023—2024 academic year, aims to introduce college and career readiness to the youngest scholars in Federal Way. At the heart of the program, every kindergarten student can explore higher education by visiting a local Seattle college campus.

"I wanted to launch Kinders to College in FWPS because all scholars, from as early as kindergarten, should be aware of the college and career opportunities available to them," stated Superintendent Dani Pfeiffer. "With repeated exposure to multiple post-secondary pathways, over time students will build an appetite for success," she said, noting, "They'll also know the avenues to take to get there."

The program was part of a broader initiative that provides South King County students with college-related activities throughout the year. Devised as a component of Goal 5 of the district's strategic plan, Persistence to Graduation: High School Graduation through Successful Transitions, the program aims to connect every student with successful transitions to prepare for post-secondary experiences.

FWPS currently serves over 21,000 students, of whom 80% identify with an ethnicity other than white, 30% are multilingual learners, and 66% receive free or reduced lunch. Special education students make up 14% of the student body, and 107 languages are spoken among the students. In 2023, 1,420 students graduated from FWPS. Of these graduates, 232 were the first in their families to graduate high school, and 402 went on to become first-generation college students.

Following the success of the 2023 graduates, who earned over $5.5 million in scholarships in the past year, FWPS believes that fostering scholars' ability to visualize a fruitful academic pathway early on will lead to an increase in meaningful engagements with colleges and careers after high school.

This year, the program collaborated with community colleges, four-year universities, and trade schools to facilitate college visits for 1,500 kindergarteners across 16 different institutions and offered fun experiences for kindergarteners, as well as hands-on educational experiences for college partners. Many institutions were able to collaborate with their early childhood departments or programs to support these visits.

At Saint Martin's University, Education Field Director Jeremy Delamarter worked with his early childhood courses and students to plan and facilitate the visit. University students were able to enrich their classroom learning by teaching the visiting students.

At the University of Washington, the program collaborated with UW's Jumpstart program at the Community Engagement and Leadership Education Center. Jumpstart is a national program committed to providing equal educational opportunities to all young children and breaking cycles of poverty. The Jumpstart students designed and led kindergarteners in hands-on classroom activities, introducing them to different careers like dentistry, art, entomology, and pediatrics.

As kindergarteners marched through Red Square, an elementary counselor remarked that it felt like the children were marching toward their future. "This initiative has proven to be more than just an educational experience. It has fostered a sense of belonging and aspiration among the young scholars," she said.

Federal Way parents played a vital role in the success of the inaugural year of the program, with many volunteering to support supervision of students during the visits or to help with campus tours. College partners were also important, as they made this opportunity possible, with their investment in the future.

"Over time, and with additional funding, we'd like to continue to grow the Kinders to College program and expand to additional transition grade levels," said the FWPS College and Career Readiness team. Its goal is to help students make connections to future careers at a young age and to use these visits to colleges, trade schools, and four-year universities to help create that vision. The team shared, "Ultimately, we hope that our scholars see a limitless future for themselves and graduate ready to take the next steps required to excel in their chosen profession."

Danielle Marie Holland is an essayist, transformative writer, and podcaster. Danielle is a regular contributing writer at Parents Magazine, and her work has been published in DAME, Insider, Rewire News Group, and beyond. Her book The Body Still Remembers is forthcoming via Hinton Publishing.

📸 Featured Image: Students enthusiastically participate during a Kinders to College program at Bellevue College. (Photo courtesy of Federal Way Public Schools.)