Transitional Kindergarten

NEW: GUSD is excited to announce that beginning in the 2025-26 school year, all elementary schools will offer Transitional Kindergarten to eligible students!

GUSD offers two transitional kindergarten (TK) programs:

TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN

Instruction in English.
2024-25 school year: Eliot Elementary, El Roble Elementary, Glen View Elementary and Luigi Aprea Elementary.
Starting 2025-26 school year: At all elementary schools.

DI TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN

Dual immersion (DI) instruction in English and Spanish.
At Glen View Elementary, starting in the 2024-25 school year.
2025-26 Program Application Period: Closes at 4 p.m. March 21, 2025. Visit the DI program page for more information.

DI TK Program Details

DI TK Program Details

Program Details

Placement notifications or placement on the waiting list by the end of May.
Placement priority will be given to Glen View attendance area candidates, siblings of current DI students and children of school district employees, however these priorities do not guarantee placement in the DI program.
Spaces in the program will be allotted to students by a system that also accounts for a balanced program of English-speaking and Spanish-speaking students.
Students that are not placed in the Dual Immersion TK program will be assigned to a waiting list.

DI TK to DI Kindergarten

All TK students, whether in the DI program or not, will be eligible to apply for DI K-5 program.
Families interested in continuing in DI for kindergarten and beyond will go through a separate process in the spring of TK year.

Enroll in TK

Your child can go to TK if they will turn 4 years old on OR before September 1, 2025 (inclusive of these dates).

Registration is open for the 2025-26 school year. For more information, contact your neighborhood school.

Enroll in GUSD

Transitional Kinder FAQs

What is Transitional Kindergarten?

Who can attend Transitional Kindergarten?

My 4-year-old is attending the State Preschool program. Can I keep them in the preschool program even if they are age eligible for the TK program?
Yes, families do have a choice. Parents of 4-year-old children may choose to enroll their child in any available TK program, CSPP, Head Start, private preschool or any other prekindergarten program for which the family is eligible. TK is not mandatory for children; however, it is the only option that will be universally available and free-of-cost for all families with children who turn 4 years old on OR before September 1 starting in the 2025–26 school year.

My child turns 5 before September 1. Can an exception be made to enroll in TK?
No. Children must turn 4 on OR before September 1 (inclusive of those dates) to attend TK. Assessments are not used to determine TK enrollment eligibility.

My child has a birthday that falls within the TK age-eligibility window. Can my child skip TK and enroll directly in kindergarten?
No. We strictly adhere to the age-eligibility requirements for a child to enroll in kindergarten. A child must turn 5 on OR before September 1 to enroll in kindergarten.

Can I enroll my kinder-eligible child into TK instead of Kindergarten?
No. We strictly adhere to the age-eligibility requirements for a child to enroll in TK. Children who turn 4 on OR before September 1 (inclusive of those dates) are eligible to attend TK.

What will the Transitional Kindergarten program look like for my student?

The TK program is taught by credentialed teachers and follows the GUSD instructional calendar. The instructional minutes are approximately the same as our kindergarten programs. TK offers a developmentally appropriate curriculum that allows students to explore, create, and learn. Purposeful play, social emotional, fine motor, and academic skills are integrated to build a strong foundation for kindergarten readiness.

What is TK?

Created by the 2010 California law called the Kindergarten Readiness Act, and offered across the state, transitional kindergarten (TK) is an exciting educational opportunity to prepare children for kindergarten. TK offers children with birthdays from September to June a developmentally appropriate curriculum taught by credentialed teachers from K-12.

Transitional kindergarten bridges the path between preschool and kindergarten and gives students the gift of time that will help them build a strong foundation for future school success. It blends social and emotional experience with academic learning, so that students not only learn essential pre-literacy, pre-math, and other cognitive skills, but also develop social and self-regulation skills needed to succeed in school and life.

(Source: TKCalifornia)

FULL-DAY PROGRAM
TK students have the same schedule as grades K-5th

PLAY-BASED LEARNING
Blends socio-emotional learning with academics

CREDENTIALED TEACHERS
TK classes are taught by fully qualified GUSD teachers

Current GUSD TK student information

Current GUSD TK student information

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:

Marisa Covarrubias
Senior Staff Secretary,
Educational Services
(669) 205-4026
marisa.covarrubias@
gilroyunified.org

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