Leveraging University-School District Research Partnerships: Exploring the Longitudinal Effects of an Early Kindergarten Transition Program

With increasingly tight budgets, many public school districts lack research personnel to evaluate program efficacy or investigate best practices that raise student achievement. We highlight an example of a successful university-district partnership that offers district-driven research support while providing opportunities for practitioner-scholars to learn first-hand how to perform rigorous evaluation work. This article details the Early Kindergarten Transition program evaluation study conducted by a university-district partnership as well as testimony from district leadership on the utility of the research deliverables and long-term benefits of the research collaboration.