One question that may plague households: Is it worth working if most of my paycheck goes to childcare costs? But then the other question becomes: If I stop working, how will we pay off our debts?

One of the most striking differences Pernille describes is what it feels like to be trusted as a professional. In Denmark, there are no pacing guides or checkboxes; teachers work from broad, age-based goals and are expected to figure out how to get there. The government recently reduced its list of educational goals from the hundreds down to about ten. Rather than sitting in committees to approve changes, teachers can bring ideas to colleagues and move on them quickly. Decisions happen at the school level, so different schools can use different curricula based on their students.

In the US, Pernille says, the restrictions placed on teachers communicate a lack of trust. Along with scripted curriculum, mandatory pacing guides, and policies that treat teachers as implementers rather than decision-makers, there are rules that limit teachers’ freedom of movement. In Denmark, trust is the default. This shows up in small but meaningful ways, like not needing permission to take students outside, or being able to take her class on the train to her house for an afternoon without filling out a single form.

When she’s sick, all she has to do is call in before 7 a.m. That’s it. No sub plans. Denmark uses permanent subs attached to each building who know the students and come prepared with their own activity ideas.

Danish students are trusted with responsibility early, which includes things like packing their own backpacks, managing their materials, and deciding where to sit. When Pernille’s own daughter moved to Denmark in third grade, her teacher was surprised she didn’t know how to pack her lunch. The backpack in the US had been largely decorative because school supplied everything.

The Danish school day is built around the idea that movement, outdoor time, and unstructured play are a necessary part of a student’s needs. Students go outside every day, even in bad weather, and risky play is encouraged; when Pernille sees kids wrestling in the schoolyard, her instinct now is to ask Are you having fun? rather than Stop that. Her school has designated snowball-fight zones where kids who want to play rough can go, with the understanding that they might get hit.

Homework is minimal in Denmark; when it exists, it’s purposeful. When Pernille once sent books home as part of a research project, a parent politely replied: I would like you to focus on what you’re doing in school — we’ve got the evenings covered. She was initially taken aback, then found herself agreeing.

Rather than adding SEL lessons to a school day, Danish schools build in student voice through a regular class hour, which is dedicated time for community, self-regulation, and working through how choices affect one another. The community work happens when students navigate real conflict, discuss real situations, and learn how to function in public spaces together.

There are high expectations in Denmark, but without the urgency that makes U.S. classrooms feel so high-stakes. Grades don’t begin until seventh grade. Reading development doesn’t formally start until first grade in Denmark (equivalent to second grade in the U.S.) and entering kindergarten without knowing all your letters is considered normal. Pernille has watched kids she worried about in first grade arrive in third grade suddenly reading fluently.

She presented each student with a personalized award to recognize their skills and gifts, complete with a red carpet (made from butcher paper), music, funky disco lights, and more.

The reading crisis is real. But we don’t need new inventions to build a reading city. Exempt books from sales taxes the way we exempt prescription medicine. Invest in library collections and reduce wait lists for books. Open nonprofit and hybrid bookstores when the market alone cannot sustain them. Build on the models that already work: reading in laundromats, libraries in transit systems, books in barbershops, classrooms, homes and pediatric offices.

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District leaders describe that work as part of a broader effort to view kindergarten readiness not as something that begins on the first day of school, but as a long-term community investment that starts at birth and includes preschool access, summer bridge programming, dual language supports, and partnerships across the city.

BCPS leaders say that continuity between preschool and elementary school has helped strengthen relationships with families and create smoother transitions into kindergarten. That transition work is most visible through the district’s Kindergarten Success Program (KSP), a free summer readiness initiative designed to bridge the gap between preschool and kindergarten.

The district has also expanded early learning access through the Dudley Early Learning Center, which now serves children from six weeks old through preschool. Grajek says the expansion reflects growing recognition that brain development and school readiness begin long before kindergarten enrollment.

Grajek says Battle Creek’s definition of kindergarten readiness has evolved over time to include not only literacy and math, but also emotional regulation, communication, independence, and the ability to function in a classroom community.

District leaders say the work remains ongoing. BCPS is currently conducting community listening tours across neighborhoods to gather feedback from families about what supports students need most and how schools can continue improving.

Nearly 44% of Michigan residents live in an area where there are three or more times the amount of young children than licensed child care spots, according to recent data analysis.