In 2000, state agencies and foundations in Hawai'i were poised to support readiness efforts to improve educational outcomes for children. There was, however, a lack of shared understanding of the construct of readiness to guide these efforts. Parents, teachers, and school administrators all play a critical role in the education of young children. The extent to which these groups share common beliefs about what is involved in children being ready for school and schools being ready for children is important to improving educational outcomes. The purpose of this study was to (a) discover the perceptions and beliefs held by Hawai'i parents, teachers, and administrators about children's readiness for school and schools' readiness for children, and (b) to compare these views with the findings of national survey studies and other research reported in the literature. The results of this research provided a foundation for the development of a statewide definition of readiness, and for systems-level assessment tools that reflected the beliefs and values of parents, teachers, administrators, and other professionals who work with four- and five-year-old children in Hawai'i.