BHUSD Seeks Public Input for New Kindergarten Program

The Beverly Hills Unified School District is exploring the possibility of opening a transitional kindergarten class in the fall.

In an e-mail and voicemail that went to BHUSD families on Tuesday, Superintendent Dick Douglas asked parents of younger children to take a survey regarding the possible program.

Under a new state law, school districts must offer a transitional kindergarten class taught by a credentialed teacher by September 2012. Transitional kindergarten is the first year of a two-year program for 5-year-old children born in the last few months of the year who may benefit from an extra year of preparation before entering regular kindergarten.

California has one of the latest deadlines in the country for turning 5 years old—Dec. 2—and many educators believe it puts younger children at a disadvantage. Many Beverly Hills families with children who have fall birthdays voluntarily hold their students back a year. 

Starting next year, however, that age deadline will be moved up by a month each year until 2015, when children will have to turn 5 by Sept. 1 to make the grade cutoff. The state-mandated transitional kindergarten is supposed to offer services to children whose admissions will be delayed by the new earlier deadlines.

Although transitional kindergarten is a new requirement, no additional funds are being offered to schools to establish such a program. BHUSD board member Jake Manaster described the program as an “unfunded mandate” at a recent board discussion.

BHUSD Director of Adult and Alternative Education Pat Escalante recently visited other school districts that have already adopted transitional kindergarten programs. She told board members that there are many different models of transitional kindergarten being implemented because the state requirements are vague.

For instance, transitional kindergarten does not have to be offered at every campus and there is no a set student-teacher ratio. Based on current district enrollment, only about a dozen students would be eligible to join the program, Escalante said.

Anyone interested in the program is asked to go to this website and complete a short survey. The PTA newsletters of all five schools provide an Internet link to the survey.

In the meantime, kindergarten registration opened Feb. 1 at all city school sites. Parents of eligible children are asked to bring proof of city residency and the relevant registration forms to the nearest Beverly Hills school as soon as possible.