4. Joyful Learning: Inside SAUSD's Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Program

The journey from preschool to kindergarten represents a pivotal transition in a child's educational life - one that shapes not just their academic foundation, but their social, emotional, and cognitive development for years to come. That's why transitional kindergarten (TK) matters so deeply.

Join host Lisa Gonzalez-Solomon as she delves into the transformative world of TK with two passionate education leaders from Santa Ana Unified School District: Maricela Roque, Director of Elementary Education, and Damaris Sandoval, Certificated Learning and Achievement Specialist. Together, they unlock the secrets of how thoughtfully designed TK classrooms support children's natural development through play-based learning while building critical skills.

Discover how TK serves as the perfect bridge between early childhood experiences and elementary education, allowing children to learn through exploration, collaboration, and hands-on activities. You'll hear how classroom environments are deliberately organized into specialized areas for literacy, math, science, and dramatic play - each designed to nurture different aspects of a child's development.

The conversation explores the crucial partnership between parents and educators in supporting early learning success. From establishing consistent routines at home to fostering independence, asking open-ended questions during daily activities, and maintaining regular communication with teachers, parents play a vital role as their child's first and most influential teachers.

Looking toward the future, our experts share how Santa Ana Unified is expanding TK programs while emphasizing equity, cultural responsiveness, and innovative teaching practices to meet diverse student needs. Whether you're a parent of a young child, an educator, or someone passionate about early learning, this episode offers invaluable insights into how we can work together to build a strong foundation for our youngest learners.

Subscribe to Better Together and join our community dedicated to educational excellence through collaboration. Have you enrolled your four-year-old in transitional kindergarten yet? Connect with your neighborhood SAUSD school today to give your child this transformative educational experience!

Visit us at our Buzzsprout site below for more ways to listen, links to our social media sites and any referenced materials, and complete transcripts of our full-length episodes.

Visítenos en nuestro sitio Buzzsprout a continuación para conocer más formas de escuchar, enlaces a nuestros sitios de redes sociales y cualquier material de referencia, y transcripciones completas de nuestros episodios completos.

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Transcript

Welcome to Better Together Podcast

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 0:07

Hello everyone and welcome to the Better Together podcast , where we celebrate the power of collaboration and education and the incredible work happening here in Santa Ana Unified School District . I'm your host , Lisa Gonzalez-Solomon . Today we're exploring a crucial topic the importance of early learning , with a focus on transitional kindergarten , or , as it's called , tk . Tk serves a vital bridge between preschool and kindergarten , settling young learners on a path to success in school and life . Joining me are two outstanding leaders who are at the forefront of TK innovation Maricela Roque , our Director of Elementary Education , who oversees efforts to enhance and expand early education opportunities in SAUSD . And also with us is Damaris Sandoval , a Certificated Learning and Achievement Specialist overseeing TK programs , who brings a deep understanding of how classroom environments support a child's cognitive , social , emotional and imaginative development . Thank you both for being here . Let's get started by learning more about the pivotal role TK plays in shaping young minds .

Maricela Roque 1:18

Good morning Maricela , good morning Lisa . Thank you for having us today . We're so excited to talk about teaching and learning in our transitional kindergarten classrooms and good morning Damaris .

Damaris Sandoval 1:29

Good morning Lisa . We are very excited to be here today to talk about transitional kindergarten and our TK classrooms here at Santa Ana .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 1:37

Thank you both for being here . Maricela , let's get started . As the Director of Elementary Education , can you share why early learning , particularly transitional kindergarten , is a foundational element for a child's educational journey ?

Maricela Roque 1:53

Well , Lisa , that's a great question . Early learning really does lay

The Foundation of Early Learning

Maricela Roque 1:57

the groundwork for future academic and social success . Tk is what we define as the bridge between early childhood education experiences and the structured environment that our students will encounter in your typical elementary school classroom . Research shows that high quality early learning education positively impacts long term outcomes for all of our students , especially in the areas of literacy , numeracy and social-emotional skills , and so it really is important for our students to have this opportunity not just to be a participant in early child education programs but , in addition to that , be a participant in our transitional kindergarten program if they're eligible by age . In SAUSD , we really do recognize that all of our students have unique needs and that we do serve a very diverse community of learners , so TK allows us to support all of their developmental milestones , and we really try to set up all of our students for success , regardless of where they're starting .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 3:01

Thank you , Maricela . Damaris, in your role supporting TK programs , how have you seen classroom environments evolve to better meet the needs of young learners ?

Damaris Sandoval 3:12

Well , Lisa . Classroom environments in our TK have evolved to be more dynamic and student-centered . I've seen classrooms transform into engaging learning spaces with a lot of hands-on activities and materials that spark that curiosity and exploration . We have helped build our teachers to design more experiences that balance a structure of learning and active play , making learning more joyful and meaningful in the classrooms .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 3:47

I love that , that we're making learning more joyful , Maricela . Why is TK such a critical , crucial step in preparing children for the structure and expectations of elementary school ?

Maricela Roque 4:01

Well , we have the great fortune of having an amazing teaching staff

Classroom Environment and Development

Maricela Roque 4:06

and we truly do encourage them to provide their students play-based learning opportunities in the classroom . So TK provides a gradual transition from play-based learning to a structured environment . They start by building routines in the classroom , helping to increase the students' attention spans and , of course , help to build their foundational skills that are critical to laying that foundation for students' academic success in the future . It emphasizes learning through exploration , because students need to learn through exploring right , being curious about what they're learning . It emphasizes collaboration between students , because all of our students need to learn how to work together . And , most importantly , it helps them to learn through hands-on activities , helping them to conceptually see what it is that they're learning . And , of course , most importantly , the program is aligned to be in alignment with the developmental stages that are appropriate for four-year-olds and for five-year-olds . That's probably the biggest difference between the TK program and the elementary school program is that we do pay close attention to the developmental stages of the students in the transitional kindergarten program .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 5:21

Can you also share specific examples of how TK fosters cognitive , social , emotional and imaginative growth in children ?

Maricela Roque 5:30

Yes , I'd love to share about that . When we think about the cognitive for our students , we think more on the academic side . Right , how we are helping our students to learn . So early exposure to letters , to sounds and to number sets a foundation for literacy and numeracy skills in a very low pressure environment . I think that's what's most important for our students is to be able to learn in a natural setting , versus them feeling pressured to learn Socially . Tk really helps our children to practice . It helps them to practice how to cooperate with one another , how to share . I think that sometimes we take it for granted and we think that people just naturally know how to share , but really it's something that we learned as young learners . It helps them to work on their communication with their peers , and those things are all critical in being able to develop their social skills emotionally .

Maricela Roque 6:31

The different activities that our teachers engage students in the classroom include students understanding how they feel , how to regulate themselves , how to help them build confidence in themselves , helping them to become more resilient learners in the classroom . So an example of this might be that maybe they might be in a center where two students are playing and all of a sudden a conflict arises between them . So the teacher would facilitate conversation , help them to learn how to resolve their conflict through her guidance , of course , by asking appropriate questions and students being able to role play in how to resolve their conflict , through her guidance , of course , by asking appropriate questions and students being able to role play in how to resolve the conflict . And the one thing that we want all of our students is to be creative and imaginative , and so creative play is a big part of what happens in our classrooms . So all of our students have an opportunity for art , for music , for storytelling , right to help them to express themselves and to help them to develop all the problem-solving skills that they need for success in the future .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 7:32

Excellent . It sounds like the creativity portion also adds to that joyful learning that Damaris talked about . Damaris , you emphasized the role of classroom environments . What are the key components of an impactful TK classroom and how do these elements contribute to student development ? How do thoughtfully designed spaces in TK support children's ability to explore , collaborate and grow emotionally ?

Damaris Sandoval 8:00

Well , Lisa , an impactful TK classroom is organized into well-defined areas . We have a literacy corner where we have lots of books for students to explore with books that they can see themselves in as well . We have math areas where they can use manipulatives

Family Engagement and Home Support

Damaris Sandoval 8:20

to count , to sort , to count to sort . They have science area where they can find things from outside and bring it into the classroom and use magnifying glasses . They have the art area where they can create . If they're making a supermarket at the dramatic play area , they can make panecitos or they can make little breads to be able to have that creativity into their classroom . Each area supports specific developmental goals while encouraging exploration , collaboration and critical thinking . These spaces also invite the exploration Like . We also have sensory tables where students bring in beans and rice or different types of materials in these sensory tables where they can explore and have letters inside them and creating something new and developing , like Maricela said , teamwork and being able to promote their emotional regulation skills .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 9:34

Thank you , Damaris . The classroom sounds very interesting with all the different areas , especially the dramatic play area . Maricela , how can schools and districts better engage parents and families in supporting their child's early learning journey , particularly in TK ?

Maricela Roque 9:51

Well , Lisa , we start by asking all of our schools right to create a welcoming environment , asking all of our schools right to create a welcoming environment .

Maricela Roque 10:01

We want all of our parents to feel like they are our partners in their child's education , and so part of doing that is being able to offer our families workshops and resources that are tailored to transitional kindergarten .

Maricela Roque 10:13

A lot of the times you'll see our class team either out at fairs in the community offering resources about transitional kindergarten In the summertime we offer , in conjunction with our family and community engagement department , how to transition your child into transitional kindergarten , and we do , through our expanded learning programs , offer opportunities for students to attend school in the summertime so that they have that soft introduction to what it's like to be part of the transitional kindergarten school on all of our campuses .

Maricela Roque 10:47

In addition , we ask all of our teachers in our school sites to have regular communication with our families . We do offer all of our communication in multiple languages , depending on what community is being served at the school site . We send newsletters . We use applications like Parent Square to communicate to keep parents informed of their child's progress and classroom activities that are taking place throughout the school year . We do facilitate on our campuses different family events . A lot of our schools do family literacy nights , math nights , steam nights , opportunities where parents are able to come onto the campus , engage in a learning opportunity , get to know the classroom , get to know the school site and have their students see their parents on the campus as part of the day-to-day student life .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 11:42

What advice would you give to families preparing their child for TK to make sure that they make the most of this critical stage ?

Maricela Roque 11:50

Well , Lisa , I think that all of us want the best for our students right , and , in working in partnership with our parents , we definitely encourage them to establish regular routines at home to make sure that they have a consistent bedtime schedule , a time when they read together as a family , a time when they have dinner together as a family and have conversation together as a family . Making sure that all these daily routines that they have at home helps them to more easily adapt to the daily routines in the classroom and in the TK program . A student that has not had a structured daily routine has a more challenging time adapting to day-to-day TK schedule , and so just something as simple as just establishing a daily routine for their child at home . Also , we encourage our families to foster independence in their children .

Maricela Roque 12:49

Being a mom myself a lot of the times , I want to do for my children as much as I can , but we have to , as parents , say no to ourselves and help them and guide them in being able to do these things for themselves Things as simply as dressing themselves , managing their belongings , even things as them expressing their needs , us not meeting their needs before they actually verbally request what they need , and then I think that parents can help us by normalizing school as something positive , as an exciting change that's going to happen in their lives , to talk about it as often as possible , to help paint a picture as to what their child should expect to see when they start this transitional kindergarten experience .

Maricela Roque 13:41

And also make time to visit any one of our campuses their local homeschool Visit , the campus tour the campus I know all of our amazing school principals are always willing to show a family around the campus , the campus . Making that time to familiarize them with the new environment will help their child to transition in a more positive way and help set them up for success at the beginning of the school year .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 14:07

It is definitely true that we can make the TK experience better together . Maricela , how do you envision TK evolving in the next few years to meet the diverse needs of our students and families ?

The Future of TK Education

Maricela Roque 14:20

Well , Lisa , we have come a long way with TK .

Maricela Roque 14:25

Having been in the school district for a long time and a teacher and administrator here in SAUSD , definitely the support of our universal TK expansion grant has been a game changer for our students .

Maricela Roque 14:40

Tk is now its own independent grade level .

Maricela Roque 14:42

Before , many , many years ago , it used to be a mixed grade .

Maricela Roque 14:47

Now it has its own resources , its own programming , and so with the expansion as we move into the future , definitely more children have access to early learning opportunities , with smaller teacher to student ratios , and we are looking more at the whole child and supporting those individual needs that they come with to our classrooms .

Maricela Roque 15:12

In addition to that , there's a greater emphasis on equity in our classrooms , providing targeted resources and supports for our different types of learners in our rooms , so targeted supports for our English learners , our students with disabilities and , of course , for students that come from homes that are low-income backgrounds . In addition to that , I think we've taken a very close look at innovative teaching practices and , moving into the future , we want to make sure that our students have the opportunity to receive culturally responsive pedagogy and also that they are having technology integrated to help support and enhance their learning experiences in the classroom , especially with this generation of learners , and then I think one of the things that's coming in the future that we are looking forward to helping support is really providing our teachers the ability to better progress , monitor their students' development and growth in each of the developmental stages .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 16:17

It's great to hear that we're being culturally responsive and also making sure we're making that connection from home to school . Now , Damaris , what key initiatives or innovations are you working on to further enhance TK programs in Santa Ana Unified ?

Damaris Sandoval 16:33

Well , Lisa , I see TK becoming , just like Maricela mentioned , more inclusive and culturally responsive in our classrooms , with definitely a strong emphasis on social , emotional learning through that play making sure that they're a big part of this initiative and that they play a big role in that developmental part of our students . We're also making sure that teachers have the resources to be able to foster all of these best practices and integrating the different types of learning that's going on in the classroom and our goal is to create a holistic learning environment where every child can thrive .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 17:30

Excellent Sounds like we're doing so much to prepare for the future . Damaris and Maricela . Tk is a pivotal time for our young learners . What are some practical ways parents can support their children's success in transitional

Practical Advice for Parents

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 17:44

kindergarten , both at home and through engagement with their child's school and teacher ? Damaris ?

Damaris Sandoval 17:51

First of all , Lisa , I think our parents are the first teachers , they are the first ones to be there for their first steps , their first words , and I think us supporting that learning is amazing what we're doing here in Santa Ana and what our teachers are doing in Santa Ana . We're just continue fostering that learning , that love for reading , learning that love for reading . If parents can continue reading to them every night , just building that relationship with their child , having those communications , having bedtime routines , building on all of these things that students can be able to have before they come to TK and , once they're in TK , continue building that collaboration with their teachers . I think it's very , very crucial . Thank you , maricela .

Maricela Roque 18:44

Well , I think that our parents can do a lot of things at home . There's something to be said , just like Damaris mentioned a moment ago , about the relationship between a child and a parent , and so one of the things that I encourage all of our parents at home to do is to encourage their children to be curious about the world around them . I encourage parents to ask open-ended questions when they are doing day-to-day activities such as reading , or maybe they're cooking at home together , or maybe they are at the supermarket doing the grocery shopping for the week . But asking the students open-ended questions , encouraging them just to think about how the world works around them , increasing that language in a very natural setting and environment . Also , I would encourage everybody to just promote students' critical thinking by asking questions that start with the word why , and promote activities at home that get them to think about how things work and come together . So building things together , cutting , molding things together , making other objects right , seeing how they work together especially . So a lot of exploration at home .

Maricela Roque 20:04

But at school , once they're in our transitional kindergarten programs , I encourage parents to always be in communication with their teacher right , and ask questions about their child's progress , ask about how they can reinforce things at home . It doesn't have to be in the same way , it just has to maybe just be reinforced in a natural way at home , within their home environment , or outside in their community . And then also , I would encourage parents to volunteer in the classroom and see how learning takes place in a classroom , so that then they can take back ideas on how to maybe have those same types of opportunities built into their home environment . Those same types of opportunities built into their home environment . Building the connection between home and school is of utmost importance , and us being partners in education is really what helps our students to thrive .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 20:58

Thank you . I love that we have such great advice about making sure that you connect to the child's teacher , you keep communicating , participating in school activities and also just continuing to talk and read with your child . Thank you both so much for being with us today on Better

Closing and Call to Action

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 21:14

Together . Thank you once again , maricela and Damaris , for sharing your insights and passion for early learning and the wonderful transitional kindergarten programs here in SAUSD . It's clear that TK not only prepares children academically but also helps them develop that creativity , the social skills and emotional resilience that they need to thrive in life .

Lisa Gonzales-Solomon 21:36

To our listeners , we hope this conversation inspires you to think about the critical role of early childhood education in shaping the future of our students . Together , as educators , families and community members , we can continue to build a bright future for every child in Santa Ana Unified . Remember to connect with our SAUSD neighborhood schools to enroll your four-year-old in our transitional kindergarten programs . If you've enjoyed this episode of Better Together , please subscribe and share it with others who care about the power of education and collaboration . Thank you for listening and until next time . Remember we're always better together , siempre mejor juntos .