Our Lady of Talpa is excited to announce we will launch a new Transitional Kindergarten (or TK) at the start of the 2013-2014 school year. TK is the first year of a two-year Kindergarten program. The two-year setup includes one year of TK (for children who are 4 years old by September 1), and one year of traditional Kindergarten (for children who are 5 years old by September 1 and who have completed TK). Students must complete both TK and Kindergarten before they proceed to 1st grade. Therefore, students are not permitted to spend one year in TK and then advance immediately to 1st grade.

Last year the Archdiocese of Los Angeles created specific TK curriculum standards. The TK curriculum has an emphasis on the developmental stages of 4 and 5 years olds and is aligned with the California and Common Core State Standards (which focus on depth, understanding and higher-level thinking skills at all age levels).

Many Los Angeles Archdiocesan schools launched TK programs during the past school year and are currently using the established TK curriculum. Additionally, many dioceses throughout the entire state of California have adopted the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ TK curriculum standards and are using them in their TK programs. Our Lady of Talpa will follow suit for our new TK program, which will operate on a full-day schedule and will follow the same calendar as Talpa’s kindergarten through 8th grades.