The Brief

In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers set out a plan to create the largest universal preschool program in the country for 4-year-olds, through a massive ramp-up of an elementary grade known as transitional kindergarten, or TK.

At a news conference, Newsom called it “a commitment that all 4-year-olds will get high quality instructional education,” and said that the investment could close learning gaps. “People aren’t left behind, as often as they start behind,” he added.

The state set a deadline that every district offer transitional kindergarten to all eligible 4-year-olds by fall 2025, and in the intervening years, schools have enrolled more than 175,000 children in TK. They’ve also had to hire new teachers and modify classrooms so that kids have enough space and quick access to smaller-sized bathrooms.

LAist spoke to more than a half dozen early childhood researchers who say a key piece has been missing in the state’s implementation: California itself hasn’t evaluated the program as it's expanded, nor does it have plans to going forward. This, despite studies showing how critical the early years are for a child’s learning, and research from another state’s public preschool program that found students tested lower on state assessments and had more behavioral problems compared to those who weren’t in that program..

“ It is a huge mistake to not evaluate the implementation of TK and whether or not the classrooms are providing developmentally appropriate practice,” said Jade Jenkins, associate professor of education at the University of California, Irvine.

The criticism comes as California has invested $1.2 billion to expand TK, and is paying about $3.9 billion this year to administer the new grade level.

“ We need to know whether this investment is actually lifting kids. We know it's a huge economic windfall for parents, and that's a great boost for families. But is it lifting kids without government research?” said Bruce Fuller, a professor emeritus of education and public policy at UC Berkeley.

A spokesperson for the California Department of Education said money for research has not been allocated in the state budget, and the department would “welcome a legislative appropriation” to “study the impacts of TK on students and families.”

“At this time, the Legislature and Governor have not appropriated funding for the CDE to conduct evaluations,” the agency said.

It’s not the first time the agency has brought up the need for a study — especially as the program was rolling out statewide. A state official told LAist in 2022 that they recommend an implementation study, but they opted not to suggest how it should be funded.

“You could launch a very high quality study at a tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of the total funding for that program, and that would help people figure out what we are actually offering our families and how to improve it — and that seems really important,” said Alix Gallagher,  director of education policy and outcomes for the research organization Policy Analysis for California Education.

“As a taxpayer, I don't find it acceptable that billions of dollars are being spent with no attention to how our systems can learn to use that in ways that are most beneficial for kids," she said.

TK experiences can look different school to school

The state sets standards for TK classrooms, which can have a max of 24 kids and need a 10:1 student to adult ratio. Teachers must be credentialed with early childhood educational experience or units. And while the state has guidelines on what students should learn in TK, it has no mandated curriculum — meaning programs can vary widely from being play-based to more academic.

Lyse Messmer, a parent of a TK child in northeast L.A., has seen even variation between two schools her son has attended in the same area. His first program relied more on screen time and worksheets; Messmer transferred him to another program with more outdoor play. And the teacher at the former school had not previously taught TK, she said, which made for a harder transition into school.

But she said the overall experience has been beneficial for her child, and a welcome financial relief. “I think the benefits of him getting used to a bigger classroom and like a bigger elementary school and navigating all that stuff for him has been really positive,” she said.

Adding a new grade is a massive endeavor for districts. As in Messmer’s case, it can be especially hard to find teachers with experience teaching kids this age, said Austin Land, a researcher at UC Berkeley’s Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood.

“ You can't require that every kid that wants a TK spot gets a TK spot and then also require this workforce to exist that has all this preexisting training,” Land said.

Land, who has been studying TK before the expansion, said he would like to know basic characteristics of TK classrooms today.

“Do you have a sixth grade teacher that got reassigned leading your classroom or is it somebody who's been working with little kids for a while?” Land said. “ Is the teacher having a one-on-one interaction with a child or a one-on-two interaction with some children? Or are they spending most of their time up at the front?”

Lack of data on quality

Without data, it’s hard to know what children are learning, said Allison Friedman-Krauss, an associate research professor at the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University.

“We want to make sure we're investing in quality for kids. And one way to know that we're doing it is to be able to monitor it… we want to make sure that the state can sort of have a pulse on what's going on in the classroom,” she said.

Transitional kindergarten classrooms can vary school to school, with some more play-based and others more academic.

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Mariana Dale

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LAist

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The institute scores public preschool programs across the country on a number of benchmarks of quality. According to the institute’s tracking, about two-thirds of public preschool programs in the country have a classroom observation system in place, she said. California’s TK program does not.

Researchers said it’s especially important to know what these youngest students are doing because early experiences can affect their learning later on.

“At the very least, we want to make sure it's not doing harm,” Jenkins said.

Tennessee: A cautionary tale

Researchers point to a study of Tennessee’s public preschool system as an example of where good intentions were not enough to benefit kids. The state has similar standards to what California put in place: max class sizes, low ratios, specialized teachers.

Dale Farran, a professor emeritus at Vanderbilt University, found in her research that children who attended the pre-K program ended up faring worse academically and behaviorally than their peers who didn’t attend. Farran said standards don’t guarantee quality, much less equity between students from different social, economic and racial backgrounds.

“Those structural elements  are the easiest things for states to make rules about, but are they having the kind of interactions in the classrooms that will be positive for children? That’s much harder to put into place,” she said.

Farran has said that one possible reason for this was the overly academic nature of the program and structured settings: kids sitting at desks and listening to a teacher up front, when kids this age need to move around and play.

Katie Flynn, a mom of a TK student in Pasadena, said while she’s had an overall positive experience with her son in TK this year, it still feels more like elementary school than preschool.

At the beginning of the year, her son wouldn’t drink his water all day, or avoided going to the bathroom until he got home, because teachers didn’t remind or prompt him like they did in private preschool.

“ I know it's also his responsibility, right? Like he needs to listen to his body. So it's a mutual, collaborative enterprise, but it just shows how limited this age group is in ensuring that that happens,” she said.

What can the state do?

The California Department of Education said absent funding from the state Legislature for the department to evaluate the program, it convenes a regular group of early childhood researchers in the state to share their work into TK. But researchers LAist talked to from that group said that approach can only go so far.

Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, chair of the Assembly Education Committee, said he wasn’t familiar with the Tennessee study, but funding for evaluation is something he will look into.

“We definitely need to make sure that we're again evaluating our most effective programs so that we can focus on best practices to continue to support those statewide,” he said.

When LAist asked how the state will assess the current program, Muratsuchi and a State Board of Education spokesperson pointed to one large-scale study of TK done by the American Institutes for Research, in 2017. (The governor’s office also directed LAist to the state board.)

That AIR study found that kids who went to TK when it first started in California had stronger literacy and math skills when entering kindergarten compared to similar-age peers who didn’t go to TK at the beginning of the year. (Those differences mostly faded by the end of the year).

Land, the UC Berkeley researcher, and Gallagher, of PACE, said the AIR study was done nearly a decade ago, and on a TK program that looks different from TK today.

That's because when TK started in 2012, they said, it was intended for kids who were nearly 5 years old, but had just missed the cutoff for kindergarten. Today, kids as young as 3 are entering TK in California.

LAist also reached out to Karen Manship, principal researcher of the AIR study. She said they’re still investigating topics related to transitional kindergarten, “but we do not have any funding or current plans to evaluate the program overall now that it is fully rolled out.”

The state education board spokesperson also cited research by economist Rucker Johnson, who looked at TK between 2013 and 2019, which found low-income children had greater reading and math gains by third grade than students who did not attend TK.

“These points tell us that an early start has proven to be beneficial for California students,” said a spokesperson for the board, which sets state policy.

LAist reached out to Johnson, who said that while his study of TK in the early years is promising, it’s “not a sufficient condition.”

“For improvements to be sustained, meaning even if they were good in the past, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't continue to be monitoring the success as they're expanded and expanded that scale to universal,” he said.

Kevin McCarty, Sacramento’s mayor and a former state assemblymember who championed the legislation to expand TK, told LAist funding is a challenge — given other budget priorities — but that he welcomes evaluation.

“We want to make sure that it's effective, that it works, and if there are any issues that we need to address and improve going forward,” he said.

In the meantime, he said the program has given many parents a huge economic relief — and parents have a choice on whether to send their kids.

“This is free, this is — California paid for free universal pre-K,” he added, “which is a big deal because, we reminded people, paying for private preschool costs more than sending a kid to UCLA.”

Republican Sonja Shaw conceded the race for California Superintendent of Public Instruction to Democrat Richard Barrera late Wednesday evening.

“Last night voters made their choice. I would be lying if I said my heart wasn’t heavy,” Shaw said in a statement shared on social media. “As a mother and a protector of children, I feel deeply saddened for the kids. They are the ones who deserve so much better.”

In her social media post, which included a photo of Shaw locking hands with her husband and two daughters, Shaw said her kids had motivated her to run for state superintendent. Shaw won election to the Chino Valley Unified school board in 2022, fueled by support from conservative parents.

“The problem is that for decades, the same people have had their hands on our education system while our children have continued to fall behind,” Shaw said. “I believe we had an opportunity to change that.”

The office of California superintendent of public instruction is nonpartisan, with no party affiliation listed on the ballot. In past races, it was not unusual for two Democrats to advance to the November election. But this year, endorsements, campaign funding and campaigning broke largely along partisan lines.

Shaw, a Republican and board president of Chino Valley Unified, emerged as the top vote getter in a crowded June primary that featured several Democratic state lawmakers. But she contended in her statement that her race didn’t have the “money or machinery” that her opponent did in the November election.

Shaw trailed Barrera by nearly 15 percentage points, according to the latest election results Thursday morning. Shaw’s campaign raised about $595,000 compared to Barrera’s $812,000. However, the California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union and a heavy spender in state superintendent races, also spent $8.4 million to support Barrera, the board president of San Diego Unified.

That pales in comparison to the combined $50 million raised in the 2018 state superintendent race Tony Thurmond won against Marshall Tuck in 2018. The 2026 state superintendent race had the distinction of featuring two local school board members.

Shaw said she’s not sure what her next steps will be.

“I don’t know exactly what God has next, but I know He isn’t finished,” she said.

Shaw will not be returning to the Chino Valley Unified school board where she began her political career. Her husband, Chris Shaw, ran for her open seat and is trailing his challenger by 11 points, according to the San Bernardino County Register of Voters.

This story was originally published by EdSource.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills is set to officially open next month, but that hasn’t stopped some wildlife from already using it.

Cameras captured coyote footage twice — once last week and again on Thursday morning — making the mammal the first large animal species seen using the crossing.

“This is amazing — obviously, the wildlife are not waiting for our opening date,” said Beth Pratt, president of the Wildlife Crossing Fund. “The animals are already blessing this crossing and saying, ‘Yep, you got it right.’”

Construction of the expansive bridge began in 2022, aimed at giving wildlife safe passage between the Santa Monica Mountains and Simi Hills after years of research.

Pratt said it’s unclear whether the images of the coyote are of the same animal. The coyote in the most recent image from Thursday morning can be seen on the 101 structure holding a bone or a stick in its mouth.

“The coyote is validating that we got this designed right, and I think that there's something also about a coyote being first — kind of the L.A. mascot next to P-22,” Pratt said.

The National Park Service is installing more cameras along the crossing to document and study how animals use it. While images will be made publicly available, there will not be a livestream.

“We can't, for security reasons, because this is L.A., and if there's a mountain lion going across, somebody's gonna go try to pet it,” Pratt said.

Topline:

• How we got here: Roy held on to a strong lead over McKinney ever since polls closed and is currently ahead by more than twice as many votes. Roy will be a fresh face to the role after the incumbent city attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, was ousted in the June primary in a rare defeat of an elected city official. 

• What the candidates had to say: 
  
  • Roy said on social media Wednesday that election night was “a really good night for the people who believe that we should take care of one another, that we can stand up for our rights — even in what feels like an increasingly lawless world — and that we will achieve justice when we fight for it.”
  • McKinney posted on social media Thursday that he’s back in his old office at the Hall of Justice. “The run for City Attorney was an incredible journey, and I’m truly grateful for everyone who believed in me, supported me, and stood by my side,” McKinney wrote. "While I’m disappointed things didn’t turn out the way we hoped, I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything." He acknowledged Roy in a social media video earlier this week, describing her as a “hard worker” who put together a strong coalition of support. McKinney added that he would be “rooting for her.”
  • Neither campaign immediately responded to LAist’s requests for additional comment.
• What’s at stake: The city attorney runs an office of more than 550 lawyers representing L.A. in all legal matters, including filing lawsuits and defending against them. Roy, backed by powerful progressives like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, has vowed to take on the Trump administration in court.
• Go deeper: Read more about the city attorney's role and what's on the table for Roy's first term.

Construction of the green metal fence around MacArthur Park will begin Monday, Nov. 16, with work scheduled to continue through fall 2027.

The city announced the start date Nov. 4, saying crews will install an 8-foot fence around the park’s perimeter. Nearby residents and businesses can expect some noise, dust and vibration during construction, although the city said mitigation measures will be in place.

Crews will work Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and the park will remain open while crews are working. 

The fence is the city’s latest attempt to tackle longstanding problems at MacArthur Park, including drug use, homelessness and crime.

The city first approved plans for the fence in October 2025, and the proposal has since drawn both support and criticism from residents and community groups.

Some say they hope the fence will make the park safer, while others question whether it will actually improve conditions there. Police and city officials say the fence will give them more control over the space and make it easier to enforce the law.

Ana Luz Vazquez, a street vendor near MacArthur Park, said her main concern about the fence is what will happen to the unhoused people who stay in the park throughout the day and whether the city plans to address that issue directly.

She is also concerned that construction during the day could affect her ability to work because of traffic, less parking availability and loud noise.

Vazquez said she would prefer construction to take place at night so it would have less of an impact on street vendors.

“If they’re working in the day then how are we supposed to come here and who is going to help us survive,” Vazquez said.

Construction will happen in two phases

Phase 1

• Alvarado St. from W. 6th St. to Wilshire Blvd.
• S. Park View St. from Wilshire Blvd. to W. 6th St.
• Wilshire Blvd. from Alvarado St. to S. Park View St.

Phase 2

• Alvarado St. from Wilshire Blvd. to W. 7th St.
• S. Park View St. from W. 7th St. to Wilshire Blvd.
• Wilshire Blvd. from S. Park View St. to Alvarado St.
• W. 7th St. from Alvarado St. to S. Park View St.

Existing trees will be protected and monitored during the work, according to the Department of Recreation and Parks. Traffic control measures will be in place during work hours, and crews will post temporary “No Parking” signs near active work areas in advance.

Services at the park are expected to remain the same throughout construction. The schedule could change because of weather or other unforeseen circumstances, according to the city.

The city has allocated $2.3 million for the project, but officials have not said whether that will cover the full cost.

After the fence is installed, the city plans a second phase focused on adding decorative elements. Officials have said residents will have an opportunity to provide input on the design.

Residents with questions or concerns about the project can contact Recreation and Parks at RAP.PublicInfo@lacity.org or 213-202-2700.

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