Listos: School Readiness Lab
Helping Latino families get ready for kindergarten
At Listos: School Readiness Lab, we work with Latino families to help children get ready for kindergarten. Our name, Listos, means “ready” in Spanish. Our goal is to help every child start school ready to learn.
We partner with doctors and teachers in Woodburn, Portland and Hillsboro. Together, we help parents understand how young children learn and how to be their child’s first teacher. We also help families find and enroll their children in preschool.
Our lab is the first in the country to bring community health workers, called kinder coaches, into primary care clinics—and to have their services covered by Medicaid. Families helped us design this new model, so the support fits real family routines and goals.
Our work is guided by research and by what families tell us matters most.
On this page you can:
Research projects
Our research focuses on programs that support parents as their child’s first teacher.
We start by listening to families and learning about their hopes for their children. What we learn helps us build bilingual, culturally relevant programs that fit easily into family life and children’s health care.
We study how these programs help parents feel confident, help children learn, and make it easier for families to access preschool and other opportunities.
School readiness checklist
We created a bilingual English-Spanish school readiness checklist for families and doctors to use during well-child visits. This checklist helps guide conversations about how to get children ready for kindergarten.
Kinder coaching
Kinder coaching is a one-hour visit between a parent, child, and a trained community health worker (kinder coach). During the visit, the kinder coach talks with parents about their child’s development and shares ideas for learning at home.
These visits:
- Boost parent confidence
- Help children builds skills they’ll need in kindergarten
- Help families access community resources like preschool, the library and food assistance
Kinder ready clinic pilot study
We are testing different ways to help families support early learning and feel confident about preparing their children for school.
The families who participate in this study have two check-ins at their clinic: one when their child is 2 ½ years old and one when their child is 3 years old. At the check-ins, we learn how children are developing and whether families feel ready for kindergarten.
All families get learning materials, a school readiness checklist and TipsByText, a bilingual text message program that sends ideas for learning at home. Families also get $40 after each check-in.
Some families also get a visit from a kinder coach. By comparing the families who got a kinder coaching visit to those who didn’t, we learn how well these programs help families get ready for kindergarten.
Join the kinder ready study
Latino families can join this study who have:
- A child approaching age 2 ½
- Oregon Health Plan
- A primary care provider at OHSU Doernbecher Pediatrics Marquam Hill or Bethany Village
Fill out the kinder ready family form or email postigo@ohsu.edu to learn more.
Oregon kindergarten teachers who work with Latino families can share feedback on our programs.
Fill out the teacher feedback form or email postigo@ohsu.edu to learn more.
Research partners
We are proud to work with partners at OHSU and beyond to create programs that help young children learn and get ready for school.
Our partners include:
- Portland State University
- Hillsboro: Hillsboro Pediatric Clinic
- Woodburn: Pacific Pediatrics
- OHSU Doernbecher Pediatrics Clinic
- AB Cultural Drivers
- Health Share of Oregon
- Early Learning Washington County
Research funders
Our research is possible thanks to the generous support of national and local funders who share our mission to give every child a strong start in life.
Our funders include:
Publications
Qualitative Methods: Centering Patient Voices in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics Research
Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 2025
Underwood Carrasco VI, Culver JN, Junqua J, Zuckerman KE, Martin-Herz SP, Peterson JW
The Latino School Readiness Gap: Engaging Families in Design Thinking for Primary Care Interventions
Academic Pediatrics 2025
Peterson JW, Carrasco VIU, Postigo M, Robles A, Reyes N, Stevenson E, Zuckerman KE
The Needs and Experiences of Black Families in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Pediatrics 2025
Ondusko DS, Klawetter S, Hawkins Carter E, Osborne M, Peterson JW, Underwood Carrasco VI, Platteau A, Suzette Hunte R
Educational Values of Latino Families Participating in a School Readiness Intervention: Hopes and Implications for Pediatrics
Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 2024
Peterson JW, Robles A, Underwood Carrasco VI, Zavala J, Almanzar N, Zuckerman KE, Bruce J
Meet the team
Our team is close and caring, with members from many backgrounds. Together, we share one goal: helping Latino families and children get ready for school.
Jaime Peterson, M.D., M.P.H., leads our lab. Dr. Peterson is a pediatrician with expertise in early education and health equity. Her passion for her research comes from her experiences as a middle school teacher and as a primary care provider at a county health center serving Latino children.
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Appointments and titles
- Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics, School of Medicine
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Maya Postigo, B.A., research assistant
Maya Postigo grew up in Cochabamba, Bolivia and moved to Portland to earn her B.S. in psychology from Lewis & Clark College. She is passionate about promoting culturally responsive mental health care and community-driven research that uplifts communities. Postigo loves Bolivian folk dance, exploring new places, making art and collecting plants.
Miriam Escobar, M.A., CHW, kinder coach
Miriam Escobar is a busy mom of three girls and one boy, plus two dogs, a cat, and many indoor plants. She and her family love hiking and camping in the Tillamook Forest. Escobar says her children inspire her to make the world a better place for families.
Sandra Silva, CHW, kinder coach
Sandra Silva is from Chile and has lived in Oregon for 20 years. She has more than 15 years of experience as a preschool teacher and parenting class facilitator. Silva has an adult son and is passionate about dancing salsa, walking in the forest and cooking healthy meals.
Isha Sylla, B.S., CHW, kinder coach
Isha Sylla earned her B.S. in public health from Portland State University. She is passionate about maternal and child health and community building. Her family is originally from Senegambia in West Africa, and she loves traveling and trying new foods. One of her favorite places to visit is Morocco because of its rich culture and diversity.
Luciana Escalona, student intern
Luciana Escalona is a student at Portland State University in the PSU FORWARD program. She is from Woodburn, Oregon, and her family roots are in Oaxaca, Mexico. Her background inspires her commitment to serving her community, especially families with farmworker and immigrant backgrounds. Escalona enjoys hiking, exploring the city, and graphic design.
Alejandro Robles, B.S., student intern
Alejandro Robles is a student at OHSU. A proud Mexican-American with roots in Jalisco, Mexico, he grew up on a farm in rural Oregon, where he developed a love for horses and ranch life. Robles credits his supportive family for encouraging him to work hard and stay focused as he pursues a career in medicine.
Lissa Feldman, M.P.H., volunteer
Lissa Feldman holds a Pre-K-8 teaching certification and is an expert in early childhood education. Recently retired from teaching preschool with Portland Public Schools, she provides guidance on early childhood curriculum, programs, and teaching tools. Lissa loves knitting, embroidery, pickleball, stand-up paddleboarding and traveling.
Join the kinder ready study
Latino families and Oregon kindergarten teachers may be able to join our kinder ready study.
Donate
Support our work to help families get ready for kindergarten.