As California expands access to transitional kindergarten for all 4-year-olds, districts across the state struggle to recruit and accommodate young learners.
LAUSD declined to say how much it has spent so far on TK advertising, saying it is “still finalizing the budget.” She called her local L.A. Unified elementary school and started the application process. But she had some concerns. She worried he wouldn’t be able to nap in TK, and that switching schools would be a difficult change. She also talked to the director of her son’s current preschool.
Marguleta started her business 20 years ago after struggling to find high-quality care for her own daughter. “This was my heart’s work. This was my dream job,” she said. Marguleta has tried meeting with families to tout the benefits of Mother Goose — quality care, free meals, long hours — but “we can’t compete with free, no matter how high our quality is.” She has tried to recruit more 2- and 3-year-olds to fill the empty slots, but hasn’t had much luck. There’s more demand for infants and toddler care, but she would have to renovate her buildings to create a separate sleep space for them, and she doesn’t have the money.
Wendy Arriaga said her 4-year-old daughter Emily has thrived at Young Horizons, where she’s learned to be more independent and express her feelings. Arriaga, whose daughter was able to attend the center for free last year, worried about how much she might have to pay for the coming year. She also hopes TK might offer a more academic approach.
The child-care industry depends on the tuition of 4-year-olds to supplement the costs of infants and toddlers, whose care is more expensive. But with many of those spots now empty, it's becoming harder to stay afloat financially.