California families with young children speak about their experience with transitional kindergarten
RAPID asks California parents of young children about their family’s economic circumstances, well-being, use of child care, and more. This multi-year, statewide survey aims to better understand the experiences of California families with children under age 6, lift up parent voices, and promote data-informed policies and programs that support families.
The survey asks questions about policies that impact families with young children across California, and as part of this work, RAPID listens to parents about their experiences with transitional kindergarten (TK). The statewide program offers the first year of a two-year kindergarten experience through the state’s public school system. Early learning and care programs like TK support the healthy development and well-being of young children and their families.
When TK was introduced in 2012, the program was available only to older 4-year-olds with birthdays between September 2 and December 2. Beginning in the 2022–23 school year, the state began gradually expanding TK eligibility by adding more birth months each year. By the 2025–26 school year, every 4-year-old in California will be eligible to attend TK, making it one of the largest early learning programs in the country.
Using responses collected between May 2024 and October 2024 from California families who have at least one child that meets TK eligibility criteria, we aim to understand the needs and preferences of families who are eligible to use TK, as well as barriers to accessing TK.
California parents of children who attend TK report high levels of satisfaction with the program
The majority of California parents whose child or children are currently enrolled in TK agree that the program is supporting both their children’s overall learning and social-emotional development, as well as helping meet other needs that parents have, such as fitting with their work schedule and being in a convenient location.
California parents of children who currently attend TK, somewhat or strongly agree that TK:
- Helps their child prepare for elementary school (83%)
- Supports their child’s reading skills (81%)
- Supports their child’s social-emotional learning (81%)
- Covers their work hours (79%)
- Staff have an appropriate approach to supporting classroom behavior (77%)
- Staff pay attention to health and safety (75%)
- Provides one-on-one attention for their child (75%)
- Supports their child’s math skills (74%)
- Staff and/or other families in the classroom share their culture, traditions, and language (73%)
- Is in a location convenient to their home or work (70%)
- Classroom has a small teacher-to-child ratio (68%)
These data show that TK implementation is headed in a positive direction, but there is more work to do to ensure TK is meeting the needs and interests of all enrolled families and children.
Additionally, in their responses to open-ended questions, parents write about the importance of TK in their family, and in particular, report that TK is an affordable public school offering that alleviates household expenses so they can both meet basic needs and support their children’s development and early learning.
“[The biggest help right now is] public school. TK will be available to my younger son next year and suddenly I’ll have room in my budget to pay off student loans.” Parent in Los Angeles County, CA
“Grateful for an excellent public school within walking distance that has a TK program.” Parent in Tulare County, CA
Many California families with children who attend TK say the program is a balance of academic and play learning
We aimed to understand what families who currently use TK expected the learning arrangement to be prior to enrolling their child in TK and what they say the learning arrangement is after experiencing TK.
The majority of parents said that prior to enrolling in TK, they expected TK to be mostly focused on academic learning or learning through play (62%), rather than a good balance of both academic and learning through play (38%).
When we asked these parents about their child’s current TK learning experience, we see an eight-percentage increase in parents reporting that TK is a good balance of both academic and learning through play (46%), rather than only academic learning or learning through play (54%).
California parents’ TK expectations and experiences, overall
These data show a gap between parents’ initial expectations and their actual experiences with TK, and there may be opportunities to better communicate what TK entails.
“Early eligibility to TK [is helping my family the most right now]. My son is attending, and he is learning and enjoying it. It helps us a lot to have a structured environment for him.” Parent in Santa Clara County, CA
“Knowing we have free TK in the near future [is the biggest help right now].” Parent in San Mateo County, CA
A quarter of California families who didn’t choose TK say the reason is they prefer a different care arrangement
We asked California parents of children who are eligible for TK, but don’t use it, about their experiences.
Some California families with children who are eligible for TK but don’t use it said TK does not meet their family’s needs and preferences for their children’s development and learning needs.
One in four (25%) of families said the primary reason their child is not enrolled in TK is because their family prefers a different early childhood education arrangement to TK. Additionally, another 15% of families said they prefer to keep their child at home, and 8% of families said they didn’t think their child needed TK.
In their open-ended question responses, parents who choose not to use TK also express concerns that TK content and instruction are not age-appropriate, and that TK is not the right fit for their children’s learning and development.
More work can be done to understand parent and family early learning preferences and how to better meet families’ needs.
“My son is autistic, and he will be starting TK next month. I’m concerned about his well-being at school.” Parent in San Diego County, CA
“Not able to take advantage of the TK option because I feel like staff is not approaching learning through a developmentally appropriate perspective.” Parent in San Diego County, CA
“We speak Mandarin at home only. I am a little worried when she goes to TK, she might be a little behind compared to other kids.” Parent in San Mateo County, CA
“Affordable child care that fits our work schedule and needs [is my biggest concern]. Free TK is only three hours and school lunches are terrible. That is why we decided to leave my oldest at a private preschool. They offer care during working schedules and give fresh food to the kids.” Parent in Fresno County, CA
Some California families with young children can’t access TK
To understand the challenges families face accessing TK, we also asked California families with children who are eligible for TK but don’t use it, what prevented them from enrolling their child in the program.
One in five (20%) parents said the primary reason their child is not enrolled in TK is because the program didn’t fit their family’s needs (e.g., wrong hours, no transportation). Another 10% of parents said that lack of space in the TK program at their preferred school location was the primary reason their child was not enrolled.*
Parents’ responses to open-ended questions provide additional insight to these findings. Parents say they worry that TK and their work schedules are not aligned, noting the limited school hours, lack of child care during school breaks, and the additional cost of before- and after-school care.
These insights highlight the barriers parents face in meeting their family’s needs and can guide policies and programs aimed at supporting families, including increased access to expanded learning and transportation to and from TK programs.
“The TK program and kindergarten is only 2-3 hours a day. This is such a burden to working families! Child care afterwards is incredibly pricey.” Parent in Orange County, CA
“Funded preschool [is my family’s biggest concern right now]. Although our child is TK eligible, the on-site after care was already full. There wasn’t enough space, and honestly, we couldn’t afford it anyway. If we were to enroll our child in TK, it would mean giving up the time to work or having to pay a nanny more than we would make ourselves.” Parent in San Diego County, CA
“TK hours and school hours are far shorter than normal full time working hours and after-school services need to be available for all children.” Parent in San Diego County, CA
“After-care/wrap-around care after the TK school day, which is far too early for working families [is my family’s biggest concern right now].” Parent in San Mateo County, CA
“Deciding between half day TK or skipping all together [is my biggest concern right now]. After-school care provided by school is not affordable.” Parent in San Diego County, CA
“There’s no TK available in our area so as a SAHM [stay at home mom], I’m providing my child with my own customized ‘homeschooling’ to prepare her for kindergarten this fall. Since she’s not in preschool, I am somewhat concerned about some of her socialization skills; however, I do provide her with opportunities to do classes with other children like ballet and soccer, for example.” Parent in San Diego County, CA
*School districts are required to offer TK to eligible families and may have TK availability at a location different from families’ assigned elementary school.
Conclusion
California families with children in TK report high levels of satisfaction in the program, but more work is needed to address families’ different perceptions of the TK learning arrangement, as well as to meet parents’ needs and expectations of TK. California parents with young children need accurate, accessible information about the TK experience so they can make decisions about what is best for their children and family.
Additionally, school districts in California have both made progress and faced challenges implementing TK, and more guidance is needed on how to integrate TK programs into existing public education systems. RAPID data and insights can inform school district leaders and policymakers in fully and effectively implementing this expanded access to early education, while also addressing California parents’ experiences to ensure families are supported in providing the healthy, responsive caregiving that is essential to young children’s development.
