Transitional Kindergarten IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE A Resource for California Public School District Administrators and Teachers Governor’s State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care Sacramento t 2013 This page intentionally blank Transitional Kindergarten IMPLEMENTATION GUIDE A Resource for California Public School District Administrators and Teachers Governor’s State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care Sacramento • 2013 Publishing Information The Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Guide: A Resource for California Public School District Administrators and Teachers was developed by the Child Development Division of the California Department of Education (CDE), under contract with the Sacramento County Office of Education. The document was edited by John McLean and Faye Ong, working in cooperation with Erin Dubey, Consultant, Child Development Division. It was published by the California Department of Education, 1430 N Street, Sacramento, CA 95814-5901, and was distributed under the provisions of the Library Distribution Act and Government Code Section 11096. © 2013 by the State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care All rights reserved ISBN: 978-0-8011-1744-2 CDE Publications and Educational Resources For information about publications and educational resources available from the California Department of Education (CDE), visit http://www.gov/re/pn/rc/ or call the CDE Press sales office at 1-800-995-4099.
Notice The guidance in the Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Guide: A Resource for California Public School District Administrators and Teachers is not binding on local educational agencies or other entities. Except for statutes, regulations, and court decisions referenced herein, the document is exemplary, and compliance with it is not mandatory. (See Education Code Section 33308.) Contents A Message from the State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care. v List of Members: State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care.
1 Rationale for Transitional Kindergarten. 3 Overview of the Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Guide. 3 Chapter 1: Program Structure and Design. 6 Staffing Qualifications.
7 Class Configuration/Schedules. 7 Universal Design for Learning. 8 Special Education Services. 10 Chapter 2: The Transitional Kindergarten Student.
13 Social–Emotional Development. 14 Transitional Kindergarten: An Extended Opportunity to Build a Strong Foundation for School Success. 17 Preparing the Transitional Kindergarten Student for Kindergarten. 21 Chapter 3: Curriculum in a Transitional Kindergarten Program.
23 The Transitional Kindergarten Curriculum. 24 Transitional Kindergarten Curriculum Content: Bridging Preschool and Kindergarten. 28 Integrated Transitional Kindergarten Curriculum. 32 Guidelines for Selecting and Modifying Curriculum Materials.
36 Chapter 4: Effective Instruction in a Transitional Kindergarten Program. 37 Using Knowledge of Child Development to Guide Instructional Strategy Decisions. 38 iii Daily Routines. 42 An Overview of Selected Transitional Kindergarten Instructional Strategies.
45 Transitional Kindergarten/Kindergarten Combination Classrooms. 48 Students with Disabilities. 52 Students Who Are English Learners. 55 Teacher–Family–Community Engagement: A Key to Effective Transitional Kindergarten Instruction.
58 Chapter 5: The Transitional Kindergarten Learning Environment. 61 The Transitional Kindergarten Classroom. 63 Extending Learning from the Classroom to the Outdoor Environment. 77 Chapter 6: Assessment and Differentied Instruction in the Transitional Kindergarten Classroom.
83 An Overview of Transitional Kindergarten Assessment. 84 Response to Instruction and Intervention in the Transitional Kindergarten Program. 90 Using Evidence from Assessment to Differentiate Instruction. 94 Communicating with Families About Student Learning.
98 Chapter 7: Involving Families and Community Partners in a Transitional Kindergarten Program. 101 Communicating About Transitional Kindergarten with Family and Community Partners. 102 Engaging Families in the Transitional Kindergarten Classroom. 103 Diverse Backgrounds and Experiences of Families.
105 Engagement of Community Partners. 106 Chapter 8: Supporting Transitional Kindergarten Implementation. 107 Teacher Qualifications and Early Education Experiences. 108 Staffing Patterns to Support Transitional Kindergarten Students.
119 iv A Message from the State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care We are pleased to present the Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Guide: A Resource for California Public School District Administrators and Teachers, a publication we believe will be valuable to local educational agencies as they implement transitional kindergarten (TK) programs. Building upon the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Planning Guide published in 2011 by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association, this publication provides resources and guidance in the areas of program design, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and family/community partnerships. The TK implementation guide focuses on the essential components for school district administrators and teachers to consider as they develop comprehensive TK programs. The first chapter of the guide focuses on considerations for the structure and design of TK programs.
Chapters 2–8 provide a more in-depth discussion of effective instructional and curricular approaches, including the importance of family and community partnerships and systems of support for transitional kindergarten. We express our gratitude to teachers, administrators, and early care and education experts who provided extensive feedback on the development of the Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Guide. We also extend our appreciation to the teachers who served on the TK/K Advisory Committee to share their expertise in the development of the guide and the video illustrations that accompany it. In addition, we thank the local educational agency representatives and parents who shared their experiences through interviews and provided access for videotaping TK classrooms and activities.
We are especially grateful to the Sacramento County Office of Education and its subcontractors for coordinating and leading the effort to provide California’s public school district administrators and teachers with these valuable TK resources. PETE CERVINKA LUPITA CORTEZ ALCALÁ California Department of Social Services California Department of Education Co-Chair, State Advisory Council on Co-Chair, State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care Early Learning and Care v List of Members: State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care Co-Chairs Pete Cervinka, Program Deputy Director of Benefits and Services California Department of Social Services Lupita Cortez Alcalá, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction California Department of Education Camille Maben, Executive Director First 5 California (former Co-Chair) Members Nancy Bargmann, Deputy Director, Community Operations Division California Department of Developmental Services Magdalena Carrasco, Commissioner First 5 California Julian Crocker, Superintendent of Schools San Luis Obispo County Sydney Fisher Larson, Professor, Early Childhood Education College of the Redwoods Mark Friedman, Executive Director First 5 Alameda County Linda James Perry, Head Start Director Long Beach Unified School District Katie Johnson, Assistant Secretary California Health and Human Services Agency Nancy Remley, Director Head Start State Collaboration Office Ryan Storm, Assistant Program Budget Manager California Department of Finance Natalie Woods Andrews, Director, School Readiness Department Sacramento County Office of Education vi Acknowledgments The Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Local Educational Agencies Guide was developed with contributions from many people and organizations. We gratefully The following local educational agencies are acknowledge the efforts of the individuals and recognized for their contributions, which included entities named below. allowing interviews of transitional kindergarten staff members and video illustrations of transitional Project Leaders kindergarten classrooms: Natalie Woods Andrews, EdD, Director, Clovis Unified School District School Readiness Department, Fresno Unified School District Sacramento County Office of Education Gilroy Unified School District Nancy Herota, Director, Junction Elementary School District School Readiness Department, Kingsburg Elementary Charter School District Sacramento County Office of Education Livingston Union School District Writers (Staff Members and Consultants Long Beach Unified School District from the Sacramento County Office Mariposa County Unified School District of Education) Merced City School District Jennifer Gonzalez, Key Writer Merced County Office of Education Kelly Twibell Sanchez, Key Writer Pasadena Unified School District Elizabeth Pinkerton, Editing Assistance Placentia–Yorba Linda Unified School District Natalie Woods Andrews, EdD Rescue Union School District Karen Hayashi Sacramento City Unified School District Nancy Herota Jan Mayer, EdD California Department of Education Kathleen Sadao, EdD Cecelia Fisher-Dahms, Administrator, Quality Improvement Office, Transitional Kindergarten / Kindergarten Child Development Division Teacher Advisory Committee Erin Dubey, Consultant, Barbara Blakely, Retired Transitional Child Development Division Kindergarten/Kindergarten Teacher Carrie Roberts, Administrator, Elizabeth Magruder, Transitional Professional Learning Support Division Kindergarten Consultant Kathleen Halvorson, Consultant, Lisa Peterson, Transitional Kindergarten Professional Learning Support Division Teacher, Clovis Unified School District Erin Koepke, Consultant, Vera Refnes, Retired Kindergarten Teacher Professional Learning Support Division Vara Tanner-Palmero, Transitional Kindergarten Meredith Cathcart, Administrator, Teacher, Rescue Union School District Special Education Division Heather Wright, Kindergarten Teacher, Special thanks are extended to the crew of Iron Elk Grove Unified School District Mountain Films, Inc., for video production.
Note: The names, titles, and affiliations of the individuals listed in these acknowledgments were current at the time the publication was developed. vii This page intentionally blank INTRODUCTION Introduction Interviews and Classroom Video (YouTube with Captions) http://www.com/watch?v=wiqY8cbqfj0 1 INTRODUCTION The California Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010, in 1896 of a department for training kindergarten authored as Senate Bill (SB) 1381 by State Senator teachers at the State Normal School in Los Angeles, Joseph Simitian, will have a significant impact on which eventually became the University of children who have the opportunity to enroll in California, Los Angeles. In 1900–01, state legislation transitional kindergarten (TK) programs. SB 1381 was passed to provide kindergarten primary implemented a gradual, phased-in conversion of certification for graduates of the State Normal the month and day by which a child must turn five School in Los Angeles and other kindergarten years of age in order to be eligible for kindergarten, training institutions approved by the State Board changing that date from December 2 to September of Education.
Following this legislation, the Normal 1 over a three-year period. Beginning in 2012–13, School of California established a teacher training school districts were required to offer a TK program program in 1920 that combined kindergarten and for children whose fifth birthday fell between the primary grades, thus allowing teachers to work November 2 and December 2. The kindergarten in any of these grade levels and advancing the age entry requirement moves back one month movement for kindergarten to become integrated over a three-year period, so that by 2014–15 and into the public schools (de Cos 2001). each year thereafter, children must be five years Beyond the development of teacher training of age on or before September 1 to be eligible for programs, other critical policy issues that kindergarten.
The law also required school districts supported the expansion of public kindergarten to develop a transitional kindergarten program were legislation and funding. In 1913, at a for children who will no longer be age-eligible time when only 14 counties in California had for kindergarten. Transitional kindergarten is the kindergarten in place, the California Legislature first year of a two-year program that provides a passed a law to allow local school boards to create “modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and kindergarten for children between the ages of developmentally appropriate” (Education Code four years and six and a half years (Ross 1976). law was amended in 1915 to allow school districts History of Kindergarten to impose a local tax to support the expansion of kindergarten.
By 1918, California was leading the Early childhood education policies in California had other states, ranking ninth in the nation in the their roots in the kindergarten movement of the number of children between the ages of four and nineteenth century. The first private kindergarten six who were enrolled in public kindergarten. in California was developed in San Francisco on September 10, 1863, during a time when very few In November 1946, California voters approved a kindergarten programs existed in the United States. constitutional amendment to make kindergarten By 1888, 40 kindergarten programs were operating a part of the elementary school system through in San Francisco with approximately 4,500 children state funding.
Although kindergarten remained attending the classes—a reality that gained the voluntary for parents, the Legislature made a attention of policymakers and other community change in 1967 to require school districts to advocates (de Cos 2001). incorporate kindergarten programs for children who were eligible for enrollment. Currently, while Along with the expansion of kindergarten enrollment in kindergarten remains voluntary, programs during this era, the evolution of between 91 percent and 95 percent of age-eligible kindergarten teacher training programs was children in California attend private or public another important development in the history of kindergarten (de Cos 2001). Additionally, although the kindergarten reform movement.