Transitional Kindergarten in the SFUSD

Was your child born between September 2nd and December 2nd? If so, then your child is eligible for Transitional Kindergarten for the school year during which they turn 5 years old. Children who were born between these dates are eligible for this additional year of kindergarten.

Transitional Kindergarten (TK) helps children transition from preschool to kindergarten. As the children who attend TK will be among the youngest in their classes, the TK curriculum is tailored to their specific needs: to help them develop the academic, social, and emotional skills they will need in kindergarten and in the future.

TK application and enrollment follow the elementary school enrollment process. You submit an application listing the TK programs in the order you would prefer them. The deadline for submitting this application is the same as the January SFUSD deadline. For more information on the application process, read our enrollment content or attend a free PPS-SF enrollment workshop.

In the SFUSD, some TK programs are housed in early education schools. In these schools, the TK students are the oldest children in the school. Other TK programs are located in elementary schools, where the TK students are the youngest children in the school. The SFUSD website lists all the available Transitional Kindergarten programs. Contact the schools directly to arrange to tour them.

Children who attend a TK program in their attendance area receive the second tie-breaker (after the sibling tie-breaker) in the school assignment process for their attendance area school.

Children who turn 5 years old September 2–December 2 are not required to attend Transitional Kindergarten. It is an optional additional year of public school. Parents can choose to keep them in their preschool programs for another year and apply directly for kindergarten for the following school year.