Transitional Kindergarten (TK) in San Francisco: a parent's guide

Updated Nov. 2, 2026. Sources are listed at the end.

If your child is turning 4, you have probably heard about TK. It is a good option for many families, and so is staying in a small home program until kindergarten. This guide explains what TK is, who can go, what "ready for school" really means, and how to choose. Our homes care for children from as young as 3 months until kindergarten, so we know both sides of this choice.

What is TK?

Transitional kindergarten (TK) is the first year of a two-year kindergarten program, offered free in California public schools to children who turn 4 by September 1. It is voluntary: children are not required to attend TK.

In San Francisco, TK is run by the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). SFUSD describes it as an optional grade that bridges the pre-kindergarten and kindergarten years. TK classrooms are taught by a credentialed teacher, and SFUSD automatically promotes TK students to kindergarten at their same elementary school.

Is my child eligible for TK?

For the 2026-27 school year, a child is TK-age in SFUSD if they were born between September 2, 2021 and September 1, 2022. For 2027-28 (enrollment opens October 23, 2026), TK is for children born between September 2, 2022 and September 1, 2023: SFUSD puts it as turning 5 between September 2, 2027 and September 1, 2028.

• SFUSD makes no exceptions for children who are too young for TK.
• A child who is TK-age cannot skip ahead to kindergarten in SFUSD.
• A child who is already kindergarten-age can sometimes do TK instead, with a signed form and a letter from their doctor showing a significant need.
• A school district cannot turn away a TK-age child by putting them on a waiting list.

When do I apply, and how?

The SFUSD enrollment cycle for 2027-28 opens on October 23, 2026, and the Main Round application is due by February 1, 2027. TK uses the same application as the other elementary grades.

Almost every SFUSD elementary and K-8 school has a TK classroom (SFUSD lists Alice Fong Yu K-8 as the exception). SFUSD also offers a TK feeder program at some nearby early education schools that families can apply to. Details and the application are on SFUSD's enrollment page.

When will my child start TK and kindergarten?

Your child can start TK in the fall after they turn 4 (by September 1), and kindergarten the fall after they turn 5. Enter a birthday to see your child's years.

Your child's birthday

Show my child's path

Stays in your browser. Based on SFUSD's age rules (birthdays on September 1 count).

What does "school readiness" really mean?

In San Francisco public school, readiness has a concrete meaning: SFUSD's TK report card marks 29 named skills, and kindergarten is marked against the California Common Core. Neither is a test to pass: in TK, most children are not required to take any specific assessment. California's developmental profile, the DRDP, looks at many areas of a child's development; our guide to the DRDP and its developmental areas explains how teachers observe this without testing.

Our take: a readiness check is a short visit, in our experience about 15 to 30 minutes, where a teacher sees what a child can show that day. It is a snapshot of how things are, not a verdict on your child. A tired morning or a new room can change the picture, and that is fine.

Here is what stands out in those lists: expectations rise a lot from TK to kindergarten. Letters go from 10 to all 52 (upper- and lowercase), adding goes from 1 or 2 objects to anything within 10, and children start writing their own stories. Pick a skill to see how it grows.

From SFUSD's TK and kindergarten report card guides, its Pre-K math page and California's kindergarten math standards. A skill list says what gets marked, not how a day feels.

What will my child learn in TK?

SFUSD's TK report card names 29 skills, each marked toward an end-of-year target, in five areas: social-emotional, language and literacy, math and science, physical and health, and English for English learners. How a classroom teaches them varies by school; at one SFUSD early education school (its page dates from 2022), TK starts with letters and sounds, adds sight words when children are ready, and later begins simple arithmetic.

See all 29 TK skills (shortened from SFUSD's guide)

Area	What your child is marked on
Social-emotional	Engages in group learning activities Explores environment to learn about people, things, and events Uses strategies to make adjustments and solve problems Persists in mastering new and challenging activities Able to share space and materials with others Describes characteristics of self
Language and literacy	Understands a variety of phrases and sentences Carries out familiar multi-step tasks Produces sentences with nouns and verbs Participates in read-alouds, songs, rhyming games Understands details of texts read aloud Tracks print left to right, page to page Aware of letters, words, syllables Identifies 10 or more letters Writes first name
Math and science	Sorts objects into 2+ groups by size and color Counts objects 1–10 Uses counting to add or subtract 1 or 2 objects Compares size, length, weight Creates repeating patterns (2+ elements) Identifies several shapes
Physical and health	Changes movement around people and objects Writes with pencil or crayon in a pincer grip Uses 2+ sequential movements to move objects (pedaling, throwing) Uses both hands doing different movements (spray and wipe, buttoning)
English (English learners only)	Understands English words and phrases Communicates in English sentences Uses varied English words Identifies 10 or more letters in English

Source: SFUSD TK Report Card Family Guide (updated Sept. 10, 2026).

And by the end of kindergarten?

Area	By the end of kindergarten
Reading	Knows parts of a book; reads left to right, top to bottom Answers questions and retells with support Connects pictures to words Makes predictions Compares characters' adventures across stories
Writing	Writes a story, an opinion, and an informative piece, through drawing, dictation, and writing Recognizes all upper- and lowercase letters Knows words are separated by spaces Capitalizes the first word and "I" Spells words by sound
Speaking and listening	Follows 1- and 2-step directions Stays on topic with support
Language	Breaks small words into sounds Rhymes Knows letter sounds
Math	Counts to 100 by ones and tens Counts up to 20 objects to answer "how many?" Compares numbers 1–10 written as numerals Adds and subtracts within 10 using objects or drawings Fluent within 5 Works with 11–19 as "ten and some ones" Names, compares, and builds shapes
History and social studies	School helpers and their jobs Why rules help; co-creates class rules Identity, teamwork, community Past, present, future; makes a simple timeline Days, weeks, months; night and day, seasons
Science	Asks questions from observations Joins class investigations Records and shares observations Designs or builds a device that solves a problem
Social-emotional	Works and plays with others Regulates emotions and focuses Treats challenges as learning Works toward personal goals
PE	At least 100 minutes of PE per week

Sources: SFUSD Kindergarten Report Card Family Guide; California kindergarten math standards map (2025).

What do kindergarten teachers check at the start?

SFUSD kindergarten teachers use the Kindergarten Readiness Inventory (KRI): 4 early-literacy skills and 6 observation items on social-emotional learning, wellness and numeracy. It is a starting-line snapshot.

In the first weeks of kindergarten, every SFUSD child takes it. Here is what teachers look at:

1. Pencil grip
2. 2-step directions
3. Empathy
4. Curiosity
5. Writing their first name
6. Letter names
7. Letter sounds
8. Rhyming
9. Counting to 20 objects

The tenth item is a teacher's yes-or-no note about communicating across languages, not a skill the child shows. Families see the results in ParentVUE in October.

Sources: SFUSD's kindergarten assessment page and KRI reports page. The list of items comes from SFUSD's printed KRI/DRDP crosswalk handout.

What should I ask on a TK or preschool tour?

Ask how the day feels, not only what gets taught: a skill list says what gets marked, not what a day is like. Questions worth asking anywhere you visit, including our homes:

1. Which approach does this program use (for SFUSD early education: Creative Curriculum, HighScope, Reggio Emilia, Montessori or the Project Approach)?
2. How much of the day is free play, and how much is whole-group instruction?
3. How many adults are in the room, and how many children?
4. Is there a home-language pathway? (Some SFUSD early education sites offer Spanish, Cantonese or Samoan.)
5. What are the hours? At one SFUSD early education school, TK runs 9:30 to 3:45 with an early Wednesday, while its PreK runs 7:30 to 5:30.
6. What progress report will I get, and when?
7. For TK at an early education school: which elementary school does it feed into for kindergarten?

TK, preschool or staying in family child care: how do I choose?

There is no single right answer: TK is free and at a public school, while our family child care homes are small licensed homes, open 8:00 am to 5:30 pm on weekdays, caring for mixed ages from as young as 3 months to kindergarten. The table below compares the two side by side.

What is UPK "mixed delivery"?

Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) is California's promise of preschool for every 4-year-old, delivered through a mix of programs: TK, the California State Preschool Program, Head Start, private preschools and community programs, including family child care. TK is the only one of these that is free for every family. It is also voluntary: the California Department of Education notes that parents can choose the state preschool program instead, because TK, like kindergarten, is not compulsory.

Can my 4-year-old still get help paying for family child care?

Yes. San Francisco's Early Learning For All (ELFA) is for children under 5 when they enroll, and an enrolled child can continue until they are eligible for kindergarten. Licensed family child care homes take part. See the ELFA Operating Guidelines. ELFA is free for families earning up to 110% of the Area Median Income, gives a full tuition credit from 111% to 150%, and a half tuition credit from 151% to 200%. Check the current income limits on sf.gov.

Four of our homes accept ELFA; see what it costs and each home's page.

Can my 4-year-old stay in your home until kindergarten?

Each of our homes cares for children from infancy (3 or 4 months, depending on the home) until kindergarten, so a 4-year-old can stay in the same home until they start kindergarten. See our program for a typical day.

More questions parents ask

Does my child have to go to TK?

No. TK is voluntary, and so is kindergarten. In California, school is required from age 6.

Is TK the same as preschool?

Not quite. TK is part of a two-year kindergarten program at a public school. Preschool can be at a center, a state preschool, Head Start or a family child care home, and all of them are part of California's Universal PreKindergarten.

Is after-school care free with TK?

Not always. SFUSD's before- and after-school programs need a separate application, many have costs, some use a sliding scale, and space may be limited.

Is the DRDP used in TK?

Only for some children. TK does not require a specific assessment unless a child has an IEP or IFSP or is in a combined state preschool and TK class. San Francisco's Department of Early Childhood strongly recommends the DRDP for ELFA programs.

Sources

Read on Oct. 14, 2026, and the KRI pages again on Nov. 2, 2026.

• California Department of Education, Transitional Kindergarten FAQs (last reviewed Jan. 29, 2026)
• SFUSD, Transitional Kindergarten and Enrollment Requirements (updated Oct. 6, 2026)
• SFUSD, Apply (updated Sept. 14, 2026)
• SFUSD, Before and After School Programs (updated Sept. 27, 2026)
• City of San Francisco, Eligibility for free or low-cost preschool and child care (July 1, 2026)
• SF Department of Early Childhood, ELFA Operating Guidelines (revised Feb. 2026) and Quality Standards (May 2025)
• SFUSD, TK Report Card Family Guide (updated Sept. 10, 2026) and Kindergarten Report Card Family Guide
• SFUSD, Early Education Curriculum and Assessments and Pre-Kindergarten Math
• SFUSD, Kindergarten Assessment System and KRI
• SFUSD, KRI reports
• SFUSD, KRI/DRDP crosswalk (printed handout)
• SFUSD, Commodore Stockton Early Education School: TK (2022) and Junipero Serra Annex Early Education School
• California Department of Education, Kindergarten Math Standards Map (2025)
• Learning Policy Institute, Universal Preschool in California: Promising Practices for Mixed Delivery Systems (Feb. 2026)