About two dozen teachers in California's San Gabriel Unified School District are taking a college credentialing program that district leaders hope will lead to more highly trained educators for its transitional kindergarten, or TK, classrooms — and more spots for young children to attend school.
The partnership with nearby Pacific Oaks College aims to help meet the demand for more trained educators as districts across California begin offering free transitional kindergarten classes for all 4-year-olds. A 2021 state law launched a four-year phase-in for all districts to create universal TK offerings by the 2025-26 school year.
The transitional kindergarten school year is meant to bridge the preschool and kindergarten experience for young students.
So far, California families have shown great interest in participating in these programs. Between the 2021–22 and 2023–24 school years, enrollment in TK programs doubled, from about 75,000 to nearly 151,500 — or 59% of the eligible population, according to the Learning Policy Institute.
Much of the explanation for why participation grew so dramatically is that starting with the 2022-23 school year, the age of eligibility began to expand to include younger 4-year-olds. Previously, only older 4-year-olds who turned 5 between Sept.2 and Dec.2 were eligible. For the 2024-25 school year, children who turn 5 between Sept. 2 and June 2 can enroll.
Additionally, there are other state and federally supported early childhood education programs California's 4-year-olds can participate in, including the California State Preschool Program and Head Start. Although the number of 4-year-olds enrolled in public early learning programs grew overall from about 166,100 in 2019–20 to 217,200 in 2023–24, the 4-year-old population has declined by 13% over that same time period, according to the Learning Policy Institute.
But like the rest of the country, California is facing a teacher shortage, which is hampering efforts to expand and staff the TK classrooms. Several districts and charter schools were even fined for exceeding average TK class size and staffing ratios in the 2022-23 school year, EdSource reported last year. For that year, state guidelines set those at an average 24 students per TK class with a 12:1 students-to-adult ratio.
The 24 San Gabriel USD teachers participating in the TK credentialing and professional development program are focusing on core early learning practices, such as guided play and early literacy, according to Joan Perez, assistant superintendent of educational services for the district.
"We really want to make sure that our kids get a solid foundation in early literacy, early math," Perez said, adding that she wished more schools and colleges would work together on these types of programs.
Creating TK teacher pipelines
San Gabriel USD, now in its third year of offering TK, has eight TK classrooms and plans to add one more this month. While all the classrooms are fully staffed, the district is striving to meet teacher requirements through credentials and early childhood education professional development, Perez said.
Providing an early foundation in reading, math and social-emotional well-being has a positive "ripple effect" through a student's K-12 journey, Perez said.
Three other area school districts — Rosemead, South Pasadena and Temple City — have joined San Gabriel in working with Pacific Oaks College to boost TK teacher training. The group received a $500,000 grant from the California Department of Education's Early Education Teacher Development Grant Program, according to Pacific Oaks.
"The more that we can connect with higher ed, the better off we all are in creating that pipeline for bringing in and recruiting new teachers," said Perez. The district has partnered with Pacific Oaks on other teacher development initiatives in previous years, Perez noted.
To help meet the demand for TK teachers, Pacific Oaks created a certificate program that includes eight courses of mostly undergraduate-level work with some graduate-level activities, according to Jerell Hill, dean of the college's School of Education. Participants have access to Pacific Oaks resources offered to all participants in its teacher preparation programs, such as academic advising and library services, he said.
The college had awarded a handful of TK certificates as of November and is expecting another two dozen participants to complete the program in the spring, Hill said.
Hill said visits to the participating school districts helped the college better understand each system's needs.
The program, he said, can be a model "as everyone begins to expand their opportunities for not only the certification, but the ongoing professional development based on the unique needs of those learners.”
