EVERETT — On a quiet Valentine’s Day morning, a class of 4- and 5-year-olds at Jefferson Elementary took a seat on the classroom rug, each on a square that matches the color of their assigned desks.

They had just finished breakfast and morning coloring. Eighteen pairs of eyes shot to the paper hearts taped to the whiteboard.

“Red hearts, white hearts, pink hearts, too. I like purple hearts, how about you?” the board read.

The first lesson of the day: colors.

The students are part of “Transitional Kindergarten,” a one-semester class that introduces social skills and daily routines to students before they start elementary school. Since Everett started the early learning program in 2019, the district has seen a steady increase in students succeeding in standardized tests by the time they enter third grade.

In the first weeks of kindergarten, the statewide WaKids evaluation assesses a child’s skills in six “domains” of development: social-emotional, physical, cognitive, language, literacy and math.

Everett kindergartners who have met the standard in five or more domains in the assessment has risen more than 3% since 2018, from 64.2% to 67.3% in 2024. All six categories saw increases, most notably an 8% jump in cognitive skills.

This year, more than 52% of Everett kindergartners met the standard in all six domains, a 5% increase from 2018.

In Marysville, 42% of kindergartners met standards in all six domains, state data shows. In Edmonds, it was 55%.

WaKids scores are an indicator for how a child will score in their math and literacy assessment in third grade, district spokesperson Anne Arnold said.

“This is really exciting data,” Arnold said. “Kids come into kindergarten, and we are now predicting their success in third grade, which predicts their success long-term: high school graduation, and all the other pieces. We are over the moon about it.”

Wednesday marked the 10th day of the semester for the Transitional Kindergarten class at Jefferson. On a normal day, students are mastering the alphabet, counting up to 100 or reciting the days of the week. The program is meant to prepare students to enter a new learning environment in kindergarten.

“We want to serve the kids that need to be served,” Arnold said.

Many students who pass through Transitional Kindergarten end up being “leaders” in their elementary classrooms, she said.

“The work the teachers are doing, the principals are doing, I’m very proud of their hard work,” Everett Superintendent Ian Saltzman said Wednesday on a routine visit to Jefferson.

Similar programs have been added to school districts around the state. Transitional Kindergarten in Everett currently serves 97 students.

This is just one of many early learning programs Everett Public Schools offers children up to 5 years old.

Saltzman called Transitional Kindergarten “a great gift to the community.”

“I’ve seen the growth,” he said. “Kids are just soaring. What you see today, how they identify alphabets and vowel sounds at such an early age, is a great success.”

Maya Tizon: 425-339-3434; maya.tizon@heraldnet.com; Twitter: @mayatizon.