Back to school: Expert tips when little kids make big transitions (re-broadcast)
‘It’s another version of empty nesting’: Ira Lit on preparing families—and teachers—for elementary school
A Stanford education professor talks about what it really means to get ready for school.
A Stanford education professor talks about what it really means to get ready for school.
August 6, 2026
Bringing a child to school for the first time is a “significant marker in the life of a family,” says Ira Lit, a professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Education and director of STEP Elementary. “It’s another version of empty nesting, when your last kid goes off to elementary school.”
Lit joined GSE Dean Dan Schwartz and Senior Lecturer Denise Pope on School’s In to talk about what families and teachers can do to make the transition easier for everyone—including one idea that upends the traditional way parents and teachers connect.
