Every child deserves a great start in kindergarten. While all kindergarten-bound children and families must navigate new settings and expectations, multilingual learners and their families can encounter additional challenges in the preschool-to-kindergarten transition. Multilingual families may be faced with important decisions about their child’ s placement and language of instruction along with communication barriers and cultural differences. Well-informed early childhood educators in both preschool and kindergarten can do much to support children and families through this transition.
In our work with preschools, public schools, and Head Start programs, we( the authors) have observed a variety of challenges that impact multilingual children’ s comfort, confidence, learning, and success( see“ Common Challenges for Multilingual Families” below). We also have gained a deep understanding of the needs of multilingual children and families during the transition to kindergarten and the strategies that truly make a difference. As a preschool educator, director, or administrator, you can embed linguistically responsive approaches into your setting that not only help multilingual learners enter kindergarten with confidence, but that also support the full inclusion of all children( a key part of advancing equity). This includes assisting families in understanding the assessments and recommendations they receive from a school or school district.
Common Challenges for Multilingual Families
As a group of educators with varied experiences, we have worked in preschools, public schools, teacher preparation programs, Head Start programs, and government agencies. We also have worked with a range of professional organizations involved in early childhood education and bilingual education. Following are some of the challenges we have observed multilingual families confronting as their children move from preschool to kindergarten.
› A family who was very involved in their child’ s Head Start program was surprised by the lack of opportunities to participate in activities and decision making at their new school.
› Several preschool families heard from a neighbor who believed that children were less successful when placed in bilingual education kindergarten classes. Worried about their children’ s future, they didn’ t know where to go for advice or more information.
› Families whose children did well in a predominantly English-speaking preschool were surprised when their children were placed in a bilingual education kindergarten class.
› A grandparent who gained custody of their grandchild soon after moving to the United States missed a number of important notices because they were overwhelmed by the school’ s digital engagement platform.
› A mother threw away kindergarten notices in her child’ s backpack because she couldn’ t read them.
› A family received an official letter from the school district that was written in a formal style they found hard to understand. They didn’ t realize it required them to respond about their wishes for their child’ s kindergarten language placement.
› Kindergarten teachers at one school discovered that families had very different experiences and expectations about their roles in early childhood education based on their experiences in their home countries.
Spring 2026 Educating Young Children 29