School readiness is a process of assuring children have access to the best available resources prior to entering first grade. Available resources support children and their families, and focus on maximizing children’s holistic development from birth. Acknowledging that each child’s development is significantly impacted by previous experiences, school readiness also entails the capacity of schools and programs to welcome families and be prepared to serve all children effectively within the developmental domains of health and physical development, social and emotional development, language and communication, cognition and general knowledge, and individual approaches to learning.

Since each child’s degree of readiness differs and is highly individualized, kindergarten readiness also entails the capacity of schools to be prepared to serve all children effectively regardless of a child’s individual developmental level in each of the five developmental domains of school readiness.