Despite statewide concerns about stagnant enrollment in California Transitional Kindergarten (TK) programs, those concerns don’t apply to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), as the district’s TK expansion has continued into the upcoming school year.
The TK program is akin to preschool, a space in which SMMUSD Director of Early Learning Susan Samarge-Powell said four-year-olds "learn how to be a student" and be part of a bigger group. California Governor Gavin Newsom expanded TK in 2021 for all four-year-olds to participate, and beginning with the 2025-26 school year, all districts will have a requirement to offer the grade level.
Though enrollment in California’s TK classrooms doubled from 75,500 in 2021-22 to 151,500 last year, per California Department of Education data, much of the increase was tied to expanded eligibility in the program. According to a CalMatters study, using two approaches (kindergarten class size as a proxy and four-year-old population projections), the percentage of eligible TK students enrolled in classes dropped between 4% and 7% in that same timeframe.
Several reasons were laid out as explanations, such as extensive preschool programs as an alternative and staffing requirements as an obstacle. Currently, the district is seeing a downturn in pre-school attendance at spots like Washington West while TK numbers are rising, but Samarge-Powell noted the district is still "committed" to fully supporting these environments.
She added that kids that would typically stay in preschool for two years, from age 3 to age 5, are now moving to the TK level at age four, cutting their time short. Conversations are ongoing to expand the Santa Monica Infant and Toddler Center at Samohi, which currently serves infants from six weeks to 35 months of age, and for preschools to take more two-year-olds in order to keep the two-year schedule.
Prior to the statewide rollout, the district had eight TK classrooms, which jumped to 12 as of last year. For 2024-25, two new classrooms are being added, upping the number to 14 and highlighting the newfound popularity of the program with local parents. Class sizes are maxed out at 24 students, though the upcoming state regulations will cap classes at 20, likely necessitating even more classroom coverage.
The Early Learning branch of the district previously pushed for preschool students to be involved in school events on elementary campuses, making both the kids and their parents feel at home, an integral part of changing over to the TK process.
"(An) intent behind it was to kind of create relationships such that families felt welcome even before their child was technically entering the elementary school experience … I like to think (that’s) kind of the forefront of what TK has become," Samarge-Powell said. "We really had that already in mind … kids coming to use earlier means that they get to know us better."
Another statewide challenge in increasing TK enrollment is in the staffing department, as districts are struggling to hire properly-credentialed teachers. By next school year, TK teachers will be required to have 24 school credits in early childhood education, in addition to their multiple subject area credentials. Local college programs, such as online classes at Santa Monica College, offered a chance to achieve those credits and also gain the necessary classroom experience.
At first, the state didn’t give what Samarge-Powell called an "easy path" for preschool teachers to be credentialed, despite having the experience of teaching students of the same age. She added that preschool teachers weren’t able to take the time off to gain credentials, but are now able to take coursework along with their in-class work that acts as an "internship" before transitioning to TK.
Out of the 14 TK classrooms spread out across Santa Monica and Malibu, 11 of those are general education, two being "co-teaching" and one being a Specialized Academic Instruction classroom at Roosevelt Elementary School. The district has implemented a 12:1 student-to-teacher ratio in TK classrooms, which includes arrangements such as one teacher and an instructional aide. This ratio will shrink to 10:1 with upcoming state regulations.
Samarge-Powell called co-teaching "one of our most stellar experiences" in early learning, a system in which a general education teacher and a specialized academic instructor collaborate in an inclusive gen-ed class for students who are placed per individualized education plans. Instead of splitting the class in two, the co-teaching arrangement sees the two instructors deliver curriculum and assessment together, communicating with parents every step of the way. Currently, co-teaching arrangements are present at Franklin Elementary School and Malibu Elementary School.
"This is a program that we want to ensure [has] success, so you need to have staff who understand that the model is really [is] all of our students together," Samarge-Powell added. "We are co-teaching … not [one] would have the special-ed students, [one has] the gen-ed students … that’s not the way it works. We have teachers of all the students in the classroom, and so that’s definitely something we’re trying to grow."
Another hurdle to further statewide TK interests is facility health, with districts scrambling to find space for new TK classrooms, which require extra square footage than a typical kindergarten classroom.
This November will feature both a state and local ballot item to help remedy facility needs, those being $10 billion bond Proposition 2 as well as a local bond for School Facility Improvement District #1 totaling $495 million. SMMUSD Chief Operations Officer Carey Upton told the district’s Board of Education recently that work on TK classrooms is a "new challenge," and the bond money would be used in part to construct and reconfigure spaces for the grade level.
Though Samarge-Powell stated that "parents know their children best" and that they need to make the best early education decisions for their families, the district’s TK program is a strong option for them.
"You have teachers who are so committed to the learning experiences of young children, and they help kids see the joy in learning … that’s what Transitional Kindergarten is supposed to be about," she said, "It’s supposed to be about loving being at school and wanting to know and learn more with your friends … so I think families who are on the fence about what that’s going to look like for them, I think that what they will typically find in a classroom is kids who are having fun being in the school experience [and] also learning about what school is."
thomas@smdp.com
