Morning Report: School District Sees 4-Year-Olds As Way To Blunt Enrollment Woes

By Voice of San Diego, the Voice of San Diego

January 3, 2023

California’s new universal transitional kindergarten program will expand its current TK program to all 4-year-olds in the state by 2025. San Diego Unified, however, bypassed that phase-in period, leading to a significant influx of transitional kindergartners into the district last year. That helped SDUSD shrink its rate of enrollment decline to the lowest level in at least five years.

But even given that boost to enrollment, it may be an isolated bump. Larger trends like a long decline in birth rates and the increasing unaffordability of housing locally indicate that enrollment decline is likely to continue.

San Diego Unified officials, however, view transitional kindergarten as much more than an isolated bump. They believe that, if done right, it could create a pipeline of students that continue on at its schools, and could help combat the larger trends forcing enrollment down.

Read the full story here.

VOSD Podcast: Softball Star Maggie Balint Throws Heat

For the latest episode of the VOSD Podcast, host Scott Lewis sits down with star pitcher Maggie Balint.

Balint played for San Diego State University last year and led the school to the Women’s World Series. She was named the Mountain West pitcher of the year in 2022.

In this special episode, she opens up about transferring to San Diego from Oregon after injury, depression and broken promises led her to rethink the relationship she had to the sport, academics and her own identity.

Listen to the episode here.

In Other News

• The Union-Tribune profiled a courtroom sketch artist who has offered a look inside some of the biggest court cases in San Diego.
• It’s going to rain throughout the week. Here’s why. (Union-Tribune) Related: The county has issued warnings to beachgoers as bacteria levels exceed health standards. (NBC7)
• San Diego’s new Sheriff Kelly Martinez officially took office this week. KPBS has more on the upcoming swearing-in ceremony.

The Morning Report was written by Jakob McWhinney and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.

Voice of San Diego is a nonprofit news organization supported by our members. We reveal why things are the way they are and expose facts that people in power might not want out there and explain complex local public policy issues so you can be engaged and make good decisions. Sign up for our newsletters at voiceofsandiego.org/newsletters/.