EXPLORE: California's Community Colleges: At A CrossroadsQuick Guides
Early Learning
Topic

Preschool

Preschool is any program designed to help 3- and 4-year-old children develop social, emotional and academic skills. Research shows that high-quality preschool programs can have a long-lasting positive effect. There’s an ongoing debate about whether large public programs can achieve the quality necessary to have a similar impact.
Transitional Kindergarten
July 12, 2021

How California’s new universal transitional kindergarten program will be rolled out

Experts say making a year of pre-kindergarten available to all 4-year-olds is a watershed achievement in the early education space.

Karen D'Souza
Commentary
July 8, 2021

The ‘stars aligned’ in budget deal, but hurdles remain for early education

This is much work still to be done to ensure the pre-K entitlement will narrow, rather than reinforce, gaps in children’s early learning.

Bruce Fuller
Transitional Kindergarten
June 17, 2021

Why some early childhood advocates want more transitional kindergarten choices

A California TK proposal would gradually open the program to all 4-year-olds amid evidence that early learning shapes the adult brain.

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
June 2, 2021

More help for struggling California child care sector

In the wake of the pandemic, child care providers have emerged as the backbone of the state’s economic recovery.

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
April 28, 2021

Biden's plan for families could bolster California's push for early education, care

This roughly $1.8 trillion package sets aside big money for key early childhood initiatives as part of its vast cradle-to-college agenda.

Karen D'Souza
Legislation
April 19, 2021

Why does California disappoint in preschool access and quality?

The report arrives just as momentum builds to expand access to both transitional kindergarten and state-funded preschool.

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
February 24, 2021

California educators pay a wage penalty for working with younger children, report shows

Preschool teachers and child care workers earn 38% less than their colleagues in the K-8 system, the report says.

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
January 19, 2021

How one California preschool program is helping youngest learners with math

A state-funded program is designing strategies for families to keep kids learning at home even when in-person preschool is canceled.

Sydney Johnson
Early Learning
January 5, 2021

Why California needs to ban preschool suspensions and expulsions, experts say

Harsh discipline at such an early age can have lasting consequences.

Karen D'Souza
Commentary
December 8, 2020

New Master Plan for Early Learning and Care points way to California for all

When children have access to quality care and learning, parents also have the ability to seek more education, participate in the workforce, earn more and invest more in their children.

Linda Darling-Hammond and Kim Johnson
English Learners
December 7, 2020

Preschoolers learning English need to be identified, supported, says California’s master plan

The plan for the first time calls for requiring preschool programs to identify and report the languages spoken by children enrolled.

Zaidee Stavely
Policy & Finance
December 1, 2020

Inside California’s new master plan to reshape early education and child care

Gov. Gavin Newsom made early childhood education a central focus of his administration.

Karen D'Souza
Federal Education Policy
November 7, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden’s expansive education agenda expected to draw greater scrutiny

With Senate likely to remain in GOP hands, it is not clear how much of his detailed pro-teacher agenda, with a heavy emphasis on community colleges and affordability, could be implemented.

Louis Freedberg
Early Learning
October 1, 2020

Outdoor classes and ‘forest schools’ gain new prominence amid distance learning struggles

Can outdoor schools offer lessons at a time when being indoors is so risky?

Karen D'Souza
Early Learning
September 15, 2020

Fearing distance learning, many parents opt for preschool instead of kindergarten

Some parents are also opting for preschool because a more familiar environment offers comfort during the pandemic.

Zaidee Stavely