Kindergarten Readiness: Why Horizontal Enrichment Outperforms Academic Pushdown

Presented by Dr. Nereyda M. Hurtado, Implementation Research and Development Manager, Collaborative Classroom; Emily Vener, Experienced Educator, Professional Learning Consultant and Coach, Collaborative Classroom; and Dr. Lenora Forsythe, Director of Implementation Success, Collaborative Classroom Sponsored by Collaborative Classroom Learn more about earning a CE certificate and our accessibility features. Too many children enter kindergarten having been drilled on letters and numbers, yet they remain underprepared for the actual social and cognitive demands of school. This edWebinar will tackle the growing trend of “academic pushdown” in early childhood settings and will make the case for a powerful developmentally grounded alternative: horizontal enrichment. Grounded in decades of research from NAEYC, Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, and Vygotsky’s cognitive theory, this session will reframe what kindergarten readiness actually means and what it takes to achieve it. The goal of this session is to help PreK educators and program leaders understand why developmentally appropriate practice produces stronger long-term outcomes than premature academic acceleration, and how to put that into practice. This edWebinar will be of interest to PreK and kindergarten educators, instructional coaches, and early childhood program leaders looking to protect developmentally appropriate practice while driving strong student outcomes. Dr. Nereyda M. Hurtado is the Implementation Research and Development Manager at Collaborative Classroom. She has dedicated her career to closing the opportunity gap in early childhood education, with a focus on ensuring all children, particularly those from underserved communities, gain the foundational skills they need to succeed. She began her career as a researcher at Stanford University, where she spent a decade studying language development and parenting practices with bilingual and Spanish-speaking families. Dr. Hurtado brings more than 15 years of program development, implementation, and evaluation experience across the academic and nonprofit sectors, including serving as the director of California State-funded preschool and infant/toddler programs, and extensive work as a SEEDS Coach and Trainer supporting early childhood educators and family childcare providers. As the Implementation Research and Development Manager, she leads research efforts that translate evidence into equity-centered resources for educators and program leaders. Dr. Hurtado holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and is bilingual and bicultural, with native fluency in Spanish. Emily Vener is a SEEDS Coach with Collaborative Classroom, bringing over 20 years of early childhood education experience across Minnesota and California. Her career spans dedicated time as a classroom teacher and as an instructional coach supporting fellow educators. Emily holds a degree in child and family studie