In this study, we examine the nature of teacher belief systems regarding preparing children for kindergarten using teacher-level data collected for 103 diverse early education programs serving low-income and linguistic minority preschool preschool -age children in Los Angeles County that were part of the Los Angeles: Exploring Children’s Early Learning Settings (LA ExCELS) study. Three main program types are represented: public centers, private centers, and licensed family child care homes. In addition, 57 kindergarten teachers participated in this study. We describe the range of belief systems these diverse educators have about working with this population of children at risk of school failure and preparing them for the transition into elementary school. Results indicate that early educators in preschool preschool and kindergarten settings strongly endorse the importance of a variety of school preparation experiences for young children, but there are differences among early educators in their beliefs about appropriate approaches to guiding the education of young children.