In 2010, Senate Bill 1381 was signed into law changing California’s entry-age for kindergarten and first grade.  The Bill requires that students turn five years of age (kindergarten) and six years of age (1^st grade) by September 1^st.  In order to allow local districts the time to prepare for the implementation of this new law, it was decided that the new age requirements would be phased-in over three years, beginning with the 2012-13 school year.

For those “young fives” (children turning five between September 2nd and December 2nd) the bill creates a transitional kindergarten program to build a bridge between early learning and kindergarten. Transitional kindergarten is defined as “the first year of a two-year kindergarten program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is age and developmentally appropriate.”

With the establishment of The Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010, the first phase of this new program will begin with the 2012-2013 school year. Capistrano Unified School District will be implementing a Transitional Kindergarten program to meet the needs of children turning five between November 2 and December 2. This program will expand one month each year as follows: in 2013-2014, children must turn five between October 2 and December 2; and, in 2014-2015, children must turn five between September 2 and December 2. CUSD has a unique TK program with a curriculum guide that integrates the Preschool Learning Foundations with CA Kindergarten and Common Core Standards.

• TK Parent Letter
• TK Philosophy

CUSD currently has openings in its Transitional Kindergarten program. To qualify, students must turn five years old between November 2-December 2, 2012. Parents will need to transport their children. At the end of the TK year, students will matriculate to their home schools for regular kindergarten.

To register for the program, please complete the TK Intent to Register Form below for the 2012-2013 school year. This form may be emailed directly to the District or delivered to the District office. Pre-registered students will be assigned to Crown Valley or Benedict Elementary Schools. If you have any questions, please call or email Mary Manos at mcmanos@capousd.org or 949-234-5342.

• Intent to Register Form - English
• Intent to Register Form - Spanish  

CUSD will be hosting TK information nights for the 2013-2014 school year. The Transitional Kindergarten Informational Meetings will be held on Thursday, February 7, 2013, and Monday, February 25, 2013. Both meetings will be held at 7 p.m. in the Board Room located at the Education Center, 33122 Valle Road, San Juan Capistrano. The information shared at these meetings  will include: age requirements for Transitional Kindergarten, intent and purpose of TK, differences between TK and kindergarten, educational goals, a description of the curriculum, TK sites, and the registration process. Parents will receive important information on how Capistrano Unified School District has specifically tailored the TK program to address school readiness.

Age requirements for the 2013-2014 school year include children turning five between October 2^nd and  December 2^nd. To pre-register for the program, please complete the TK Intent to Register Form below for the 2013-2014 school year. This form may be emailed directly to the District or delivered to the District office. Pre-registered students will be assigned to selected elementary sites. If you have any questions, please call or email Mary Manos at mcmanos@capousd.orgor 949-234-5342.

• Intent to Register Form - English
• Intent to Register Form - Spanish
• TK Information Night Flyer

To receive priority enrollment, the deadline for submitting an Intent to Register Form for the 2013-2014 Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Program is March 29, 2013.  Parents who submit their forms by March 29, 2013 will be more likely to be assigned to their home school or their school of choice.  Intent to Register forms are available on the District’s website under Schools, Transitional Kindergarten.

The school sites offering the TK Program for the 2013-2014 school year will be:

• Don Juan Avila Elementary School
• Bathgate Elementary School
• Truman Benedict Elementary School
• Crown Valley Elementary School
• Kinoshita Elementary School
• Ladera Ranch Elementary School

All students whose home schools are hosting the TK Program will be placed at those sites.  In the case where there are more requests than openings, the students will be selected by lottery after March 29^th.  Once students are placed after March 29^th, and assigned to their home school or closest school location to their home, placement will be done on a first come first served basis, based on availability.

If you have any questions regarding the Transitional Kindergarten Program and/or the registration process, please contact Mary Manos at (949) 234-5342 or mcmanos@capousd.org.

Are you interested in an interactive at-home transitional kindergarten program for your child? In the fall of 2013, the Capistrano Unified School District will offer an interactive at-home transitional kindergarten program as an alternative to the traditional classroom program being offered at three school sites. The program is free of charge to eligible students.

Eligible students for the interactive at-home transitional kindergarten program are:

• Students who will turn five between October 2-December 2, 2013, or
• Students who are kindergarten-age eligible, five years old on or before October 1, 2013, where parents have chosen not to send them to kindergarten in fall of 2013.

This interactive, standards-based curriculum combines rich multimedia with comprehensive hands-on activities. The program encourages excitement and creativity in the areas of math, science, reading, writing, social studies, wellness, and visual arts. Students experience a dynamic virtual classroom through the use of teacher videos, audio stories, animated characters, and interactive games. By combining these online activities with various hands-on elements like activity books, experiments, art projects, and a collection of illustrated storybooks, students will receive a complete and fulfilling educational experience.

In addition to the online interactive program, parents will receive guide books that include detailed explanations of the objectives and directions to help your child complete the activities, experiments, projects, and games. Also provided is a supply box filled with the necessary materials to complete the program. Supplies include: early color and shape cards, phonics flashcards, letter cards, number cards, sight word cards, activities books, plastic coins, unifix cubes, drawing paper, paint, modeling clay, dry erase board with markers, and much more. For more information about this interactive at-home program please visit http://littlelincoln.org/about.

To speak with a representative from the Capistrano Unified School District, please contact Capistrano Virtual School at 949-234-9374.