ABSTRACT
The ecology of school readiness relates to how White middle class teachers perceive school readiness or non-school readiness in low-income Black children in their classrooms. This chapter examines how children who do not necessarily understand the culture of the school can be labeled non-school ready when they exhibit certain attributes and behaviors. It examines the expectations that lead to this early identification, usually made within the first month of school as districts now mandate the grouping of children into various categories (high, medium and low) through district-wide assessments in reading and math. The chapter carefully examines and analyzes how White middle class early childhood educators go about identifying and classifying school readiness in children and their specific expectations based on district-wide mandates. It further explores how the particular teachers identify school readiness in individual children, specifically, in Billy, Michael, Jay, Lina and Derek.
