A. Ability to master new experiences. The ability to grapple with and master new experiences defines the initial task of school success. Children are asked to listen and relate to unfamiliar adults, to follow specific rules, to interact with a large group of children, and to manage daily tasks by themselves. Children who can build on familiar experiences and who can pick out the novel features of a new experience and compare the “new” with the known will quickly gain mastery of the new situations required by school, such as getting your lunch in the cafeteria. On the other hand, children who are easily overwhelmed, who panic at new experiences, and who are unable to bring knowledge of the familiar to bear on new demands may have a difficult time assimilating new knowledge in to a coherent context. Each new piece of learning disorients them, and they are unable to understand how to manage successfully in school.

B. Lack of experience. Some children simply lack the experience of being in a group of children of their own age. Others may lack access to books and learning materials in their homes. Because of the enormous burdens of poverty, family trauma and stress, domestic violence, inappropriately low expectations for preacademic development, or diverse cultural backgrounds, these children are unfamiliar with the tasks required for success in school (such as waiting in line, sharing materials, taking turns, or following verbal directions).

C. Ability to tolerate separations from primary caregivers. The relationships that children develop with teachers are different from their relationships with parents and extended family. Children are expected to establish and maintain the teacher’s attention in a large group through such socially acceptable ways (e.g., waiting to be called on, or holding up their hands to answer a question or make a request).

D. Independence in most activities of daily living. Separated from primary caregivers, children are required to be independent in such caregiving functions as eating, toileting, napping, dressing, and taking care of their possessions.

E. Executive function and the ability to control impulses. Executive function refers to the skills that children develop to help them order and coordinate their thoughts and behavior, process information in a coherent way, hold relevant details in their shortterm memory, avoid distractions, and focus on the task at hand. These skills include decision making, selective attention by filtering out unimportant information, and inhibiting impulses. To succeed in school, young children also need strong self-regulation skills, including organization and planning, attention, and working memory. Children should have the self-control to sit in a circle without bothering other children, to attend to adults for a limited amount of time (5-10 minutes), and to listen to and follow adult directions, some of which might be delivered from the other side of a busy room. Children are required to regulate their impulses to delay their own needs, urges, and feelings; to defer snack when they are hungry; to modify their wishes or accept alternatives to the plans they want to pursue; and to tolerate the feelings of others without resorting to inappropriate outbursts. Finally, they should be able to persist and follow through on a difficult task. Self-regulation skills have been linked to mental health, social competence, and academic achievement, more adaptive and healthy coping mechanisms and have been shown to predict academic success more reliably than IQ tests.

F. Appropriate play skills. Early school success is dependent, in part, on the child’s ability to get along with peers, to manage in a group, and to engage in developmentally appropriate play. Children should be able to play with other children without resorting to hitting, biting, or yelling to resolve conflicts. They should be able to manage the give and take of peer relationships, both within a structured play activity like a board game and in fantasy play. Children should also be able to differentiate fantasy play and stories from reality. Opportunities to engage in sustained, mature play can foster strong executive function and self-regulation skills.

G. Mental health concerns. There is growing awareness of mental health concerns in young children. From 9.5%-14.2% of children younger than 6 years have emotional problems serious enough to hurt their ability to function, including anxiety or behavioral disorders and depression. Early stresses, including child abuse or neglect, domestic or community violence, extreme poverty and food insufficiency, and parental mental health concerns and/or substance abuse, can prime neurobiological stress systems to become hyperresponsive to adversity. Known as “toxic stress,” these early stressors interfere with developing brain circuits and pose a serious threat to young children not only by undermining their emotional well-being but by impairing early learning, exploration and curiosity, and school readiness.