Nuts and Bolts of Transitional Kindergarten - Senate Bill No. 1381: Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 Mark Ford, Ph.D., Superintendent Mrs. Shirley Esau, Principal Mrs. Ying Lee, Teacher Kingsburg, CA

Transitional Kindergarten Rationale Challenge: Each year there are some parents that are not sure their child is ready for kindergarten, some have had preschool and are still not ready. Many of these students have fall birth dates. Solution: Kindergarten Readiness Act 2010 changes the entry date for kindergarten and allows for Transitional Kindergarten – a two-year kindergarten program..

Transitional Kindergarten: A Two Prong Law Prong 1 - SB 1381: Changes in age requirement for admission Mandates age 5 for Kindergarten November 1 for the school year. October 1 for the school year. September 1 for the school year. (The Governor’s Proposal keeps the dates)

Transitional Kindergarten: A Two Prong Law Prong 2 - SB 1381: Mandates a child whose admission to a traditional kindergarten is delayed by SB 1381 age requirements to be placed into a transitional kindergarten program TK becomes the solution to the age changes for entrance to kindergarten AND… “What do I do if my child is not ready for kindergarten ?” ( The Governor’s proposal challenges this)

What is Transitional Kindergarten according to law? SB 1381 Ch. 705 § 3 ( Section 4800 of the Education Code is amended to read ) (d) “ For purposes of this section, "transitional kindergarten” means the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.” (e) “ A transitional kindergarten shall not be construed as a new program or higher level of service.”

What Transitional Kindergarten is not Hybrid pre-school Watered-down kindergarten Retention Special education solution Program for students with behavior challenges Based on assessment for entry SB 1381 also dictates age 6 as a prerequisite for entry into 1 st grade

Senate Bill No Ch.705 § 5 - Regarding ADA “ The Legislature finds and declares that pupils participating in transitional kindergarten are to be included in computing the average daily attendance of a school district for purposes of calculating school district apportionments and the funding requirements of Section 8 Article XVI of the California Constitution.” ( This is being challenged with the Governor's proposal)

A Blueprint for Great Schools “ The implementation of a recent reform of kindergarten education policy gives California a significant opportunity to expand access to kindergarten readiness. The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 creates transitional kindergarten, the first year of a two year experience for students born between September and December.” - Superintendent Torlakson

Washington School Implementation Early Childhood Education Enrollment 334 Early InterventionState Preschool Transitional Kindergarten

Preschool/Kindergarten Articulation Plan Quality Preschool Pre-K Assessment Parent Permission Form

Instructional Model Preschool Foundation Strategies California Common Core Standards for Kindergarten Sheltered Instruction Observation Protocol

Classroom Environment Developmentally appropriate environment Hands-on activities Shorter periods of sitting time Less paper pencil activities

Classroom Environment - Kingsburg

Classroom environment - LAUSD

Curriculum Bridging Preschool Foundations and California Common Core Standards Preschool FoundationsCalifornia Common Core Standards Kindergarten curriculum that is developmentally appropriate Differentiated instruction

One size does not fit all… While published curriculum is an important resource…… the real value is in how we approach it!

Instructional Focus for English Language Arts and English Language Development Early Literacy and Pre-reading Skills Phonemic awareness Oral language development

Instructional Focus for Mathematics Number sense

Mrs. Lee Pioneer teacher for Fresno County piloting Transitional Kindergarten

Developmentally Appropriate Practice The age group Child development and learning Their social/cultural background These children as individuals Zone of proximal development

Social-Emotional Development Leads to higher achievement in the latter years of schooling Flexibility of TK allows for more time devoted to this social-emotional development. Heavy focus explicitly taught integrated into content areas

Daily Schedule 8:10 – 8:25Opening 8:25 – 9:50Language Arts 9:50 – 10:10Recess 10:10 – 10:55Math 10:55 – 11:20Lunch 11:20 – 11:45Math Centers 11:45 – 12:00Phonemic Awareness 12:00 – 12:30Recess 12:30 – 1:00Writing/Social Studies/Science 1:00 – 1:30ELD/Free Play 1:30 – 1:40Pack up

Instructional Strategies Kinesthetic Activities whole body movements Music concept songs and chants Steve and Greg Dr. Jean Puppets/Dramatic Play Readers’ theatre Math theatre Oral language usage

Instructional Strategies Hands on promote critical thinking and problem solving math handwriting phonemic awareness concepts of print Manipulatives/Realia math oral language

Carpet Time Whole class Calendar Read Alouds Dialogical Reading Phonemic Awareness Phonics

ELA Groups Free-flow stations teacher table art table seatwork literacy centers – more teacher directed Children are allowed to work at their own pace and are given the opportunity to make choices With high expectations and clearly defined boundaries in place, the children are able to take responsibility for their learning

Math Whole class shared experience investigation of a concept Centers – open ended activities cubes, counting bears, pattern blocks, sorting, etc. Small group more practice with the concept taught at the carpet Math Talk

Purposeful Play Benefits development of motor skills expression of emotions development of social skills development of self-regulation Unstructured and open-ended Requires cooperation Teacher is engaged in conversations with children

Differentiated Instruction Constantly scaffolding and modifying the level of support to meet the needs of the children Create or add a challenge to allow children to continue growing once they’ve mastered a concept

What evidence is there to support TK?

Results after two years Retention K onlyTK (2 yrs) Percent of students3% 0%0%

CELDT growth with one year of TK 0 level1 level2 levels Number of students 232 Percentage 28.5%42.8%28.5% These students are now in Kindergarten and will be assessed in first grade on CELDT. The indications are they will have growth more on CELDT than students without TK experience. The 2 students with 0 level growth also have special needs.

CELDT growth of students with one year Kindergarten – no TK 0 levels1 level2 levels # of students42213 Percentage8.6%47.8%28.2%

Transitional Kindergarten Pre-K Assessment for the first class Fall: Fall: Upper Case Letters 16%42% Sounds 0%38% Numbers %75% Shapes 55%66% Colors 61%75%

Comparison of End of year to Jan of students in TK and K DIBELS Next Letter Naming Benchmark 2 Jan Core: 8+ Strategic 2-7 Intensive 0-1 Letter Naming Benchmark 2 Jan Core 27+ Strategic Intensive First Sound Fluency Benchmark 2 Jan Core 8+ Strategic 4-7 Intensive 0-3 First Sound Fluency Benchmark 2 Jan Core 25+ Strategic Intensive 0-9 Phonemic Segmentation Benchmark 3 May 2011 Core 18+ Strategic 7-17 Intensive Phonemic Segmentation Benchmark 2 Jan 2012 Core Strategic Intensive 0-24 CORE73%100%64%100%53%90.47% Strategic18%23%33%9.52% Intensive9%14%

Comparison of DIBELS results as of DIBLES Next Composite Score ResultsK onlyWith TK(2yr) Core (on grade level)67.70%83.30% Strategic ( below grade level)20.60%4.10% Intensive (far below grade level) (K has 2 special needs, TK has 3 special needs students)11.60%12.50%

Writing Sample from second year 37

On track for success… 38

39 Successes most likely if… Selected qualified teachers that are willing to be pioneers with high expectations, but mindful of child development pedagogy Parent support, involvement, approval, and advocacy Inclusion and articulation with local private preschools & non-district public preschools

Successes Students achieving socially, physically, cognitively and excited about attending school. Seeing children benefit from this gift of time. The undeniable academic progress experienced by students!

Most important lessons learned this year Work with the preschools and child care providers that feed into the school. Help them understand Transitional Kindergarten Talk about them using pre-assessments used by the district Communicate, communicate, communicate with everyone. Then communicate some more! And make sure you let people know what’s going on! Be willing to take a risk to do what is right for children. Be an advocate for our children Success at the beginning reduces failure at the end!

Coming Events for Transitional Kindergarten Leap into TK Summit FCOE Feb. 28 th Fresno County Office of Education

Advocacy and Information for Transitional Kindergarten Preschool California: Save Kindergarten Sponsored by the David and Lucille Packard Foundation California Kindergarten Association: State Senator Joe Simitian:

Resources Washington School (599) Dr. Mark Ford elem.k12.ca.us Mrs. Shirley Esau elem.k12.ca.us elem.k12.ca.us Mrs. Ying Lee