Transitional kindergarten (TK) is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program. This high-quality, developmentally appropriate program shall assist students in developing the foundational academic and social-emotional skills needed to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
This no-cost, full-day program is taught by state-certified credentialed teachers and aligned with the Preschool Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations developed by the California Department of Education.
Students who turn 4 by September 1st of this year may enroll in TK.
The American Institutes for Research released a report that examined the impact of California’s transitional kindergarten program. The study found that in Kindergarten, children who attended transitional kindergarten were academically as much as five months ahead of their peers, who were a similar age. Researchers found that transitional kindergarten students had higher literacy skills, such as identifying letters and sounds, and more advanced math skills, such as counting objects and completing word problems, than those who did not go to transitional kindergarten. The study also found that transitional kindergarten students had “greater executive function” – skills, such as remembering the rules and controlling impulses.
JUSD Board Policy 6170.1
