Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1103796
during 2016-17. e CDE estimates that California spent more than $713 million on TK programs in 2017-18. TK and kindergarten are not mandator y in California. The law requires children to be enrolled in school on their sixth birthday. TK is not a remedial program. It is considered the first year of a two-year kindergarten program offering age-appropriate curriculum. e goal is for students to acquire the maturity, confidence and skills necessary to thrive in their second year of kindergarten (and beyond), with a focus on teaching in a manner that jibes with children's stages of development. Rodriguez, who has taught elementar y school since 1983, was assigned to teach TK three years ago because he was the only teacher at his school with an early childhood background. e CDE requires that all TK teachers meet the credential requirements to teach kindergarten. Rodriguez told his principal he didn't want to teach children who cried and wet their pants. But he found himself embracing the new grade level. "After my first year in TK, I told my principal to leave me here forever, because I love it," says the Teachers Association of Paramount member, who was recently voted Teacher of the Year at his school. "I am creative again. I'm happy to go to work every day. Yes, I have the criers and the wetters, but the smiles and growth I see every month are incredible. Teachers rave about the children that come from my classroom, saying they are better prepared than other children entering kindergarten." TK offers "gift of time" Students are learning how to read their names with the help of TK teacher Michelle Bremner, as well as the names of farm animals includ- ing pig, cow and sheep. But less obvious are the hidden skills they are learning that will help them succeed in kindergarten, such as how to " TK students know how a school works and are ready to be part of it. When kids come in to kindergarten knowing that stuff, I can go right to academics." — CATHERINE SULLIVAN, United Educators of San Francisco Michelle Bremner helps Mary Ramirez learn to write in a transitional kindergarten class at Cresson Elementary in Norwalk. TK improves outcomes Research shows that participation in high-quality early education programs improves school readiness and contributes to better outcomes in school and beyond. A June 2017 report by the American Institutes for Research found that transitional kindergarten: • Improves mathematics knowledge and problem-solving skills for students, giving them almost a three- month advantage over children who did not attend TK. • Improves students' literacy skills, putting them nearly six months ahead of their peers who did not attend TK at kindergarten entry. • Has a persisting impact on all students' letter and word identification skills at the end of kindergarten. • Has a strong impact on English learners. Those who attend TK outperform their non-TK peers on the English Language Development Test. • Has a strong impact on math and literacy skills of low-income students, and math skills of Hispanic students. 34 cta.org Catherine Sullivan R E S E A R C H special report