This study investigated teachers' perceptions of the implantation of a new first grade policy based on the new Turkish education standards during the 2012-2013 academic year. The study was based on a phenomenological case study design utilizing a structured interview protocol. Ten teachers discussed opportunities and challenges of implementing the new standards in the first year. Data were collected at the end of June 2013 using a purposeful, snowball sampling technique. To ensure verification of the interpretations, member checking was used. A thematic analysis was performed once interview responses were transcribed. We discovered that differences in implementation at the school-level caused differences in teachers' views of the standards. Further, teachers experienced challenges related to whether students had kindergarten education or not and students' school readiness was a central issue.