Schools

Kindergarten in Question for Some District Kids

With the state threatening to eliminate funding for transitional kindergarten, it's not clear where some kids with fall birthdays will end up next year.

Plans for next year's transitional kindergarten class are up in the air, and it's not clear what school options will be available for children who turn five next November.

Under a 2010 state law, the age requirement to enter kindergarten is set to increase over a three-year period. This school year, kids who turned five by Dec. 2 could enroll in kindergarten. But next year, the cutoff date will be Nov. 1; the date will be moved to Oct. 1 in the 2013/2014 school year and finally Sept. 1 in the 2014/2015 school year, where it will stay.

The Kindergarten Readiness Act created a transitional kindergarten class for the kids who would be bumped from kindergarten, which the intended to start next school year. But in Gov. Jerry Brown's latest budget proposal, he eliminated funding for transitional kindergarten.

Find out what's happening in South San Franciscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

This leaves SSFUSD with three choices, according to Robert Beauchamp, director of curriculum and special projects:

  1. Don't offer transitional kindergarten next year, but allow children with November birthdays into regular kindergarten with a waiver, as the law allows. No new teachers would have to be hired.
  2. Create a transitional kindergarten class for children with November birthdays. This might require additional staff, as well as funds for instructional material and equipment.
  3. Don't offer transitional kindergarten and don't admit kids with November birthdays into kindergarten until the next year. This would decrease staffing needs.

The school district's choice is made difficult by uncertainty about what will happen at the state level, including whether the state will choose to reverse the transitional kindergarten legislation, Beauchamp said.

Find out what's happening in South San Franciscowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Creating a transitional kindergarten program would increase the need for modular classrooms, Trustee Philip Weise pointed out. But Beauchamp said strong early education has been shown to have positive results throughout a student's educational life.

"That's something we'll have to obviously consider," said Trustee Maurice Goodman.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here