Younger students have different options to enroll in transitional kindergarten programs.

The sound of “Beep, beep” fills Tiffany Kellogg’s classroom at Monterey Park Elementary School in Salinas. One of the students, who is the “cashier,” is scanning products with a barcode scanner before her “customer” can take them with her.

At first sight, it is a couple of kids playing grocery store. To teachers, it is also a fun way for kids, while role-playing, to develop vocabulary, count the number of items they are selling or buying, and to learn about taking turns.

In 2021, California approved an ambitious program: universal transitional kindergarten, or TK for all, with a full implementation for the upcoming 2025-26 school year.

Over time, younger students have become eligible for TK and class sizes have been reduced as more sections are added. For the upcoming school year, students who turn 4 by Sept. 1 are eligible for TK, and teacher-to-student ratios will go from 12:1 to 10:1.

Deneen Guss, superintendent of the Monterey County Office of Education, says the state initiative provides the same opportunities for all kids regardless of family income. In the previous scenario, “You either have to be able to afford high-quality childcare or you have to be able to qualify for some of the subsidized programs,” she says.

There are different options to enroll, such as a full-time TK classroom, or a mixed-delivery system at a preschool program or Head Start. Kids in a mixed-delivery system will be able to enroll the following year in kindergarten. Caryn Lewis, assistant superintendent of educational services at the Monterey County Office of Education, says parents can opt for the program that best suits their children.

Pacific Grove Unified School District will offer two models: TK and a preschool mixed-delivery system. “It’s a creative blend of a preschool and pre-kindergarten,” says PGUSD Superintendent Linda Adamson.

One reason the district is opting to have both programs is they can use existing staff, saving at least $250,000. As part of the process, PGUSD will move its preschool program from David Avenue to Forest Grove Elementary.

Alisal Union and Salinas City Elementary school districts will offer 24 (up from 16) and 22 classes (up from 15), respectively. AUSD has added 12 classrooms designed for TK and kindergarten students, and is in the process of building six more. Despite these additions, not all AUSD TK students will have access to a classroom designed for younger students; these classrooms are 50-percent larger than regular classrooms to allow room to play, and have their own bathrooms.

AUSD and SCESD are spreading the word. “We are a little behind on our enrollment,” says AUSD Superintendent Jim Koenig. The district is advertising and knocking on doors to inform parents, but he notes it can be hard for parents to send their young children to school.

Maria Airada, an academic coach for teachers, says it makes a huge difference to academic outcomes when students enroll early: “They do excellent in first grade.”