Skip To Main Content

Logo Image

Logo Title

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) is Expanding

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Is Expanding 

                   Preparing Our Youngest Learners for Success in School  

 FCUSD is pleased to announce the expansion of our highly regarded Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program! TK is now part of the K-12 public school system and is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program. It offers children the opportunity to learn social and emotional skills as well as the academic foundational skills necessary to succeed in school! 


As TK programs expand across California, many parents ask, what is TK and how will it benefit their child? Below are some important things parents must consider when deciding on an early childhood educational program for their child.

  • TK bridges the path between preschool and Kindergarten and gives students the gift of time that will help them build a strong foundation for future school success. It blends social and emotional experiences with academic play-based learning, so that students not only learn essential pre-literacy, pre-math, and other cognitive skills, but also develop social and self-regulation skills needed to succeed in school and life.
     
  • TK’s curriculum is one that bridges the California Preschool Learning Foundations with a modified Kindergarten Common Core Curriculum.
    • Preschool Learning Foundations 
    • Kindergarten Common Core Curriculum 
       
  • TK provides children with a nurturing and safe classroom environment that encourages curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, skill-building, and autonomy. TK is a low-stress, developmentally appropriate environment created to help children prepare for the rigors of kindergarten. 
     
  • TK is taught by a credentialed teacher(s) and a paraprofessional. The ratio of adults to students is 1:12. This allows children to receive the extra attention and help they need to become capable, confident learners. The instructional day is Monday through Friday for 3 hours and 21 minutes and follows the FCUSD yearly Instructional Calendar. 

History of TK 

In 2010, California implemented the Kindergarten Readiness Act, which changed how Kindergarten was offered to children in California. The Kindergarten Readiness Act was passed and changed the Kindergarten entry date from December 2nd to September 1st. The law also established Transitional Kindergarten (TK), to serve our youngest learners with birthdays between September and December. 

The Road Ahead for TK

In 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 130, which will gradually expand TK over a four-year period, between 2022-23 to 2025-26 school years, until all 4-year olds have the opportunity to attend a high-quality, developmentally appropriate TK program and enter Kindergarten prepared to learn and thrive.

TK In the News

  • The Sacramento Bee: "Hundreds of thousands of California parents will get a new choice over the next few years: whether to enroll their 4-year-old in state-funded transitional kindergarten."
  • EDSource: "10 things California parents should know about transitional kindergarten"

Parent Resources