Solana Beach district plans to create its own transitional kindergarten program

The Solana Beach School District is beginning the process to start serving the district’s youngest learners, aiming to craft its own transitional kindergarten program tailored to the needs of local district students.

Transitional kindergarten (TK) refers to a program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is developmentally and age-appropriate. By 2025-26, Universal TK in California is expected to be fully phased in for all 4-year-old children statewide at no cost to families, in districts that receive funding through the Local Control Funding Formula.

As a community-funded basic aid school district supported by property taxes, Solana Beach does not receive state funding for TK. Of the 133 districts that are TK-eligible in the state, eight don’t offer TK and five are in San Diego County including Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas and Cardiff.

SBSD Superintendent Jodee Brentlinger said that while they are not required to implement Universal TK, there is nothing precluding them from looking at a locally-created TK program.

“This school board regularly demonstrates their commitment to the success of each and every student,” Brentlinger said at the board’s Nov. 8 meeting. “We recognize that we do have students across the district’s schools who would accelerate their learning by having an opportunity to experience a locally-developed district program.”

Kim Pinkerton, executive director of special education programs and services, said a steering committee will begin exploring a two-year TK/kindergarten program that could be implemented in the 2024-25 school year.

The steering committee will work to identify facilities (likely up to three classrooms at district schools), student eligibility, program needs and a funding mechanism, as well as gathering public input. The committee will work toward presenting an update to the board in January and providing a recommendation for board approval in February.

With a locally-created program, Brentlinger said they will have flexibility in class sizes, staffing, rolling date ages and the structure of the instructional day.

“What we need to do is look at the needs of our students and what is the best programmatic recommendation,” she said. There will be a focus on developing the program from an “equity lens”—to help break down barriers to ensure every student receives what they need to reach high expectations, such as getting English language learners prepped for kindergarten.

“There are students who could truly benefit from this,” said board President Debra Schade. “I wish our governor would stop saying ‘Universal TK’ because it’s not universal, not everybody gets money for it. But I do believe this is a very creative and front-forward thinking about how we still serve the need and ultimately benefit a child’s trajectory all the way through.”