National policymakers are spending an increasing amount of time talking about integrating pre-kindergarten and the first years of school. If they want good ideas about how to do it they should look at Washington State.

Washington has emerged as a leader in the PreK-3rd movement, boasting  success stories that show off steps that lead to better transitions from early learning to kindergarten, according to the new report “Starting Strong in Washington State: Early Learning Lessons and Success Stories from Superintendent of Public Instruction.”

While the success stories are interesting, the report’s ideas of what works are more compelling. The analysis recognizes two of the elements in any successful PreK-3rd effort: involved parents and leadership.

Toppenish Superintendent Steve Myers is known as ‘the preschool superintendent’ in his district. “It only takes one person in your district,” Myers says. – “Starting Strong.”

There was also a twist on the trend of K-12 tests and curriculum invading pre-kindergarten. Instead, educators should “push” early education’s values of social and emotional development into the rest of the K–12 system, said Kristie Kauerz, senior intervention manager at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education.

One of those values is a connection with students, their families and teachers, according to the head of Fruit Valley Community Learning Center in Vancouver, Wash., Debra Elliott, who roams the school to get to know her families.

Now, I have already written about the great PreK-3rd success in Bremerton. So, I will end with one of the more impressive results of that effort.

…In 2009, 66 percent of Bremerton kindergarten students entered school knowing their letters—up from just 4 percent in 2001. – “Starting Strong.”

The report is only a few pages and worth checking out.

(Thanks to the Foundation for Child Development for highlighting this report.)