What is Transitional Kindergarten?
Transitional Kindergarten is designed for children who are not socially and/or academically ready for entry into a traditional kindergarten program, although they are age-eligible. Many parents feel their children may not be quite ready for the academic rigor of today’s kindergarten. These students often have birthdays in the summer/early fall and may still be developing the skills they need for academic work. Just as children learn to walk and talk at various rates of developmental growth, academic readiness occurs at different times for different children. Our program gives children additional time to develop the necessary social and academic skills to be successful in school.
In most cases, Transitional Kindergarten is intended for students who have previously been enrolled in a preschool program, teacher recommendation, birthdate, and social-emotional and/or academic data indicates a need for an additional year of school before kindergarten. Please note, children attending Transitional Kindergarten will be marked as "retained" if they attend a year of Transitional Kindergarten and a year of Kindergarten.
Transitional Kindergarten Curriculum & Standards
There are no state-mandated standards for transitional kindergarten. Western Dubuque’s Transitional Kindergarten utilizes the Iowa Core Kindergarten Standards as well as Iowa Early Learning Standards carried over from Preschool to teach children the foundational skills they need in order to be successful in the classroom environment. Transitional Kindergartners have the opportunity to build the foundational skills necessary for them to be successful in the kindergarten classroom. Students not only learn essential academic skills but also develop appropriate social emotional skills and self-regulation strategies.
Transitional Kindergarten Logistics
Transitional Kindergarten meets five full days per week following the same calendar as the K-12 program.
There is a limit to the number of Transitional Kindergarten classrooms we have in our district; as of 2024-2025 school year, we have two Transitional Kindergarten classrooms - both at Peosta Elementary School center. Please reach out to your building of residence to talk more about Transitional Kindergarten placement for your child.
When completing the registration process, register your child as a Kindergarten student first. Follow up with the Transitional Kindergarten Interest Form made available after Feb.12th of 2024.