For several years, the staff at NH State PIRC has been hearing from schools all over NH that children entering kindergarten as less and less prepared academically, socially, and behaviorally. The alarming part of this equation is that research shows that children who remain behind their peers by the third grade are likeliest to drop out of school.   According to the National Education Goals Panel of 1995 the definition of School Readiness has three critical components. 1. Readiness of children for the social and academic institution of school 2. Readiness of families and communities to prepare children for school 3. Readiness of schools to meet the diverse needs of incoming students and their families PIRC has long offered workshops and technical assistance to schools and parent groups to promote early literacy and school readiness. In 2009, Manchester School District, a longtime collaborator with PIRC, approached us with their plan to launch a district-wide initiative called ReadyManchester. Since its inception, ReadyManchester has partnered with over 80 community organizations to create a comprehensive school readiness program to ensure our youngest children arrive at school with the necessary skills, knowledge, and support to achieve sustained success in kindergarten.  Carroll County United has recently begun a similar program. In additional to programmatically and financially supporting the ReadyManchester project, NH State PIRC has trained over 150 teachers, child care providers, and community volunteers all across the state to deliver kindergarten readiness workshops for parents. Workshops topics include: Gross Motor and Fine Motor Skills, Visual Discrimination, Memory, Early Math, Social Skills, Health, and Language. PIRC is also offering Kindergarten Literacy Train-the-Trainer sessions as well. (For more description of these workshops, click here. For a list of free train-the-trainer sessions and dates, click here.) NH State PIRC also works with many schools through our Solid Foundation program. A large percentage of these schools has opted to promote school readiness as part of their school improvement efforts. PIRC has been able to support these schools with technical assistance and funds for action planning. (To inquire about becoming a Solid Foundation school, click here.) Stay tuned for news about our upcoming release of Ready Here I Come! DVD for parents.       Watch the Video . Ready Here I Come!  Getting Every Child Ready for Kindergarten Guests: Jo-Ann Mulligan, Preschool Reading Specialist, Manchester School District; Beth Shea, Kindergarten Teacher, Northwest Elementary School, Manchester. Hosted by Karen Gerdts. Early Childhood and Partnership DevelopmentCoordinator, NH State PIRC