![Child and Family Development master's student Flor Burciaga read a book at the SDSU Children's Center. (August 2019 photo)](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQS2mnQ6czhMqDyniQDqGCf6jHw9vBZ-8FjQMHA2gquDWSW-G6c0K8-guZAvWk83BebNZkv9nv-pTdgwfYZcZcBWQv4_oKxLfQEQ-jKADsQTH7rzkMSUBkkJyLvnAkQsYSfcAxQOm0Dp1nAlEXPpKMwACVL186r8Bs8uZ7_cGyDkIbtdi1tx7sMpq/s16000/Flor.jpg) |
CFD master's student Flor Burciaga at the SDSU Children's Center. (August 2019 photo) |
As the new school year approaches, a major change is coming to elementary education in California: public schools are about to get younger.
This fall, schools will open transitional kindergarten (TK) programs serving children who just missed the kindergarten cutoff, turning 5 between Sept. 2 and Dec. 5. It’s California’s first baby step toward a goal of universal TK for all 4-year-olds — an ambitious vision that foresees enrolling more than 300,000 children and hiring tens of thousands of newly qualified teachers by 2025-26.
San Diego State University’s College of Education is eager to help the state meet massive, looming workforce needs — and do so in a way that puts teachers in TK classrooms who understand the unique developmental needs of their youngest pupils.