Enrollment is open for the transitional kindergarten program in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

The district is continuing to bolster the program for the 2023-24 school year.

During this time last year, 15 students were enrolled in the transitional kindergarten program, according to Veronica Binkley, principal at Harding University Partnership School. This year, 136 students are enrolled so far for the upcoming year.

“Being kindergarten ready means having well-developed preschool skills and being academically, socially and physically ready for the transition into elementary school,” Binkley said. “Being able to sit, focus and participate can be a developmental challenge for students who have not had any exposure to school before they enter kindergarten.”

Transitional kindergarten was mandated in 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand kindergarten to all 4-year-olds, as part of a $2.7 billion initiative. 

The Kindergarten Student Entrance Profile is an assessment and rating scale used in districts in Santa Barbara County. Currently, 40.2% of students in transitional kindergarten in the district are “Ready to go!” to enter kindergarten, according to Binkley.

“Forty percent is still not high enough,” said Daisy Ochoa, director of early childhood education and after-school programs for the Santa Barbara district.

According to a staff report, by the 2025-26 school year, every 4-year-old will be eligible to enroll in transitional kindergarten in the district.

In order to be able to support incoming transitional kindergarten students, the district requires at least six new classrooms. 

The district also needs a 10-to-1 staff member per student ratio in the classroom. That would mean one certified teacher and one paraeducator per classroom.

Ochoa said a possible solution to the staffing and classroom gap that needs to be filled is to use preschool classrooms and train preschool teachers to teach transitional kindergarten.

“There is no better person to teach 4-year-olds than some of those teachers that are already in our 4-year-olds’ classrooms,” Ochoa said.

Despite the challenge posed by the lack of space, Santa Barbara school board president Wendy Sims-Moten was optimistic about the program.

“We already know the importance of early kindergarten,” Sims-Moten said. “It’s a good challenge to have, and I know that we’re going to meet that.”