Transitional Kindergarten

Today is December 2, the date by which children must be 5 years old in order to enter kindergarten in California. Starting next year, that date will move forward by one month each year until it settles on September 1. This will align California with much of the rest of the United States, making sure that children are 5 years old by the time they start school.

Rather than make children born between September 1 and December 2 wait another year, school districts must begin operating a transitional kindergarten program staring in 2012. Studies show that students who have a pre-K educational experience are more likely to be successful in school. During the first year of the new program, districts are required to offer the program to those with birthdays between November 2 and December 2. In the fall of 2014, the program must be fully implemented and offered to those with birthdays after September 1. It will be up to districts if they want to expand the program and make it available to students that were born after December 2.

Transitional kindergarten offers children the opportunity to develop maturity and skills they need to excel in school. It also helps schools by making sure that students are better prepared and less likely to be placed in special education or be retained as they get older.

Berryessa School District is beginning to discuss how we will implement the program. For the first year, there will be approximately 1 transitional K class for every 10 regular K classes. That means the program will not be offered at every school and may be confined to just 1 or 2 campuses. In upcoming board meetings, we will have conversations on how the program will take shape.