The term "kindergarten readiness" refers to a child's development of skills to effectively learn in a classroom setting, a school's ability to educate students at varying ability levels, and a community's available resources for preparing children to start school. Families living in rural communities, where early childhood education resources tend to be scarce, face challenges in preparing children to start school. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of parents and school leaders in rural communities in Idaho in the efforts made to prepare children to start kindergarten. Using a multiple-case study model, the researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with elementary school principals and parents of kindergarten students in three rural Idaho communities to gather data on lived experiences with preparing children to start school. A qualitative analysis of the interview data showed themes and subtopics from the principal and parent shared experiences related to challenges and resources within the nested systems of the Ecological Systems Theory, which served as the theoretical framework of the study. The findings indicate parents in rural settings tend to focus on people and processes available within the home microsystem for early childhood care and education, due to limited resources in the rural exosystem. When principals working within a rural school microsystem lead efforts to communicate with families and partner with community and outside organizations, self-efficacy to build kindergarten readiness successfully in young children increases for principals and parents. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]