Help! Trying to understand TK in Oakland & Berkeley
Hi everyone! I'm planning to move to the East Bay (likely Rockridge, possibly Berkeley) next year after being away for 5 years. I now have an almost 3-year-old and am trying to understand how TK works in the Berkeley School District and the Oakland School District. Is it possible to get into TK at the school tied to your address? Or, is it a lottery? I've done some research, but I feel somewhat confused, so I wanted to ask here. Our son is currently in preschool, and we would be open to keeping him in one until he starts kindergarten. I've researched and found numerous preschool options in the area, but I am wondering if TK is a possibility and if timing our move makes sense so he can start TK and not have to switch to a new preschool for a year, then transition to kindergarten. Thanks in advance for any advice!
Parent Replies
My daughter goes to a private school in the Upper Rockridge neighborhood that does accept TK age kids in the regular Kindergarten class and the kids seem to do well because it is a small environment and caters to different learners (lots of neurodivergent and gifted kids). I do not know if they still have openings for Fall in the K/1 class but we are very happy there and know a lot of kids who are thriving who started before they turned 6. Its a small supportive environment focused on project based learning and social emotional learning. They also offer flexible tuition based on your income. We never thought we could afford private school and they offered us a very reasonable tuition every year we have been there.
Public school TK is relatively recent in California and has been phased in over the past several years. For the 25-26 school year, every four year old becomes eligible to attend public TK, so in theory all the elementary schools will have a TK. But not all the schools have sorted out how to accommodate a new classroom and get teachers in place. In past years, some schools had a TK, some didn't, so kids might go to a different school for TK from the one they'll attend for K. But it's constantly changing. It's hard to find info on the school districts' websites because so much depends on demographics from year to year and whether the physical site actually has a spare room for a TK. Your son is guaranteed a spot in a TK if he is the right age and you can prove residency, but a year from now which elementary schools will have a TK and which won't? It's hard to say. If I had to guess I'd say that nearly all the schools will be operating a TK a year from now because now, every kid is eligible. But there are some tiny K-5 schools here and there that just may not have room, so they might share TK with another school.
In the meantime make sure you understand that Oakland does have neighborhood schools, and kids who live in that neighborhood have priority. But Berkeley doesn't. In Berkeley there are three zones and you will be assigned to one of the 3 or 4 schools in that zone. You can request a specific school but you have no guarantee you'll be assigned there. Most people consider the Berkeley schools to be uniformly good from school to school, but you can end up driving your kid across town every day if your assigned school is at the other end of the zone.