Fridays at Washington-Carver Elementary School find kindergarten classrooms awash in yellow "Ready, Set, Grow!" T-shirts.

The show of unity by students and teachers was sparked by a pilot program led by Ball State University and offered in conjunction with the Indiana Department of Education and Muncie Community Schools to help preschoolers make a successful jump to kindergarten.

When the Indiana Department of Education approached Ball State's Teachers College to coordinate the Ready Schools pilot program in Muncie — one of six pilot programs being offered nationwide — faculty members immediately saw its potential, said Patricia Clark, associate professor of elementary education and the program's coordinator.

"Studies have shown the relationship between a positive transition to kindergarten and later school success," she said. "The Ready Schools program connects preschool and kindergarten programs — programs that historically don't communicate much — and gets them to communicate, connect and establish better ways to ensure a successful transition."

At the beginning of the initiative, Clark assisted the schools in taking inventory of what they were doing to help the young students. A multifaceted plan was designed to connect preschool and kindergarten programs, administrators, parents and students.

"These groups have expressed a desire to learn from each other, and now they will have a structure to meet regularly and exchange ideas," said Eva Zygmunt-Fillwalk, assistant professor of elementary education. "Everyone has a stake in making this program work."

The partners' dedication has been the key to the program's success. Zygmunt-Fillwalk and Clark were able to secure a $300,000 grant from Indiana's Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to support the program. The school corporation has also secured a grant from the Indiana Department of Education and has pledged its resources to the initiative, Clark added.

At Washington-Carver many events, such as family literacy night (6 p.m., Oct. 11), have sprung from this initiative. There have also been open houses for students, parents, and community and business leaders, Popsicle nights for prospective kindergarten students and their parents, and visitations by entire preschool classes to meet with the kindergarten classes during the school day.

If the classrooms filled with yellow — a color often symbolizing happiness and peace — are any indication of the children's success, then these students are already off to a great start.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Clark at (765) 285-8571 or pclark@bsu.edu; Zygmunt-Fillwalk at (765)285-5388 or emzygmuntfil@bsu.edu  or Jean Ann Clevenger, principal at Washington-Carver, at (765) 747-5434. To download a print-quality photo of the students clad in yellow, go to www.bsu.edu/photoservices and look under "news.")