CHDEV Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Certificate of Achievement

The Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Certificate of Achievement program is designed to prepare students who are interested in becoming Transitional Kindergarten teachers with the necessary Early Childhood Education units required by the Department of Education to fulfill the requirements of the position. This specialization option under the Child Development Department provides comprehensive knowledge of the California Preschool Learning Foundations and Frameworks, as well as instruction in effective behavior management strategies for working with children from diverse cultural backgrounds, and knowledge of how to create quality curriculum and environments for young children. This program is designed both for credentialed teachers who want to earn the Early Childhood Education units necessary to qualify as a transitional Kindergarten teacher and for current preschool teachers who want to deepen their understanding of the Preschool Foundations and Frameworks.  A Certificate of Achievement will be awarded upon successful completion of the courses specified below. The program can be completed in two semesters.

Child Development Courses - Number of Sections and Final (not census) Enrollment, Academic Years 2019-20 and 2020-21
Academic Year	Course		Course Description	Sections	Final         Enrollment
2019-2020		CHDEV 50	Teaching Young Children	9	196
2019-2020		CHDEV 502	Introduction to Infant/Toddler	1	31
2019-2020		CHDEV 503	Introduction to Infant/Toddler	1	28
2019-2020		CHDEV 504	Intro to Early Childhood Dev	1	25
2019-2020		CHDEV 505	Intro to Early Childhood Educ	1	30
2019-2020		CHDEV 51	Child Growth/Development	9	226
2019-2020		CHDEV 52	Observation and Assessment	2	54
2019-2020		CHDEV 53	Child/Family/Community	8	194
2019-2020		CHDEV 54A	Foundations/Early Learning	3	83
2019-2020		CHDEV 54B	Introduction to Curriculum	4	127
2019-2020		CHDEV 55A-C	Advanced Practicum-Field Experience	2	3
2019-2020		CHDEV 55A-C	Practicum-Field Experience	2	31
2019-2020		CHDEV 56A	Infant/Toddler Development	1	23
2019-2020		CHDEV 56B	Curriculum/Environments/Infants & Toddlers	2	49
2019-2020		CHDEV 58	Preschool Administration	1	22
2019-2020		CHDEV 59	Preschool Supervision	1	24
2019-2020		CHDEV 60	Literacy/Children’s Literature	1	10
2019-2020		CHDEV 68	Play-Based Curriculum	1	25
2019-2020		CHDEV 74	Health, Safety, and Nutrition	3	94
2019-2020		CHDEV 80	Teaching/Diverse Society	2	35
2019-2020		CHDEV 84	Curriculum and Strategies	1	24
2020-2021		CHDEV 50	Teaching Young Children	8	209
2020-2021		CHDEV 502	Introduction to Infant/Toddler	1	21
2020-2021		CHDEV 503	Introduction to Infant/Toddler	1	15
2020-2021		CHDEV 504	Intro to Early Childhood Dev	1	19
2020-2021		CHDEV 505	Intro to Early Childhood Educ	1	19
2020-2021		CHDEV 51	Child Growth/Development	9	235
2020-2021		CHDEV 52	Observation and Assessment	3	93
2020-2021		CHDEV 53	Child/Fam/Community	7	180
2020-2021		CHDEV 54A	Foundations/Early Learning	4	112
2020-2021		CHDEV 54B	Introduction to Curriculum	4	150
2020-2021		CHDEV 55A	Practicum Field Experience	1	18
2020-2021		CHDEV 56A	Infant/Toddler Development	2	43
2020-2021		CHDEV 56B	CURR/ENVIRON/INFANTS	2	41
2020-2021		CHDEV 59	PRESCHOOL SUPERV	1	17
2020-2021		CHDEV 68	PLAY-BASED CURRIC	1	19
2020-2021		CHDEV 74	HEALTH, SAFETY, & NUTRITION	3	102
2020-2021		CHDEV 80	TEACHING/DIVERSE SOCIETY	3	91
2020-2021		CHDEV 84	Curriculum and Strategies	1	34

 

The goal of the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Certificate of Achievement is career education. It was developed as part of the CVC-OEI Improving Online CTE Pathways grant to increase the financial mobility of part time early childhood education workers by providing them with industry-required units. The Child Development Transitional Kindergarten (TK) Program proposed will meet the following needs: 

-Need of CA K-6 credentialed teachers for 24 CHDEV units to teach in a Transitional Kindergarten (TK) classroom 

-Need of CA Title 5 Early Childhood Education teachers for training toward professional growth requirements in the state permit system which lead to re-certification of their teaching permits

-Need of Child Development (CHDEV) students seeking professional development for specialized professional growth as required by permit renewal process

-Need for Early Childhood Education (ECE) professionals who can work with this special population of Transitional Kindergarten (TK) students, which is increasing every day in California

-Need for easier access for Transitional Kindergarten (TK) professionals with workloads with limited accessibility to face to face classes

 

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

·      Identify, evaluate and develop developmentally and culturally appropriate practices and curriculum for preschool aged children.

·      Expand on knowledge and ability to work with diverse children, families and communities

·      Communicate effectively orally, and in writing on relevant topics in the field of Early Care and Education specific to preschool aged children.

 

Career Opportunities (See the attached document for LMI data):

Based on all available data, there appears to be an undersupply of Transitional Kindergarten Teachers compared to the demand for this cluster of occupations in the Bay region. The gap is about 838 students annually in the Bay region. In the East Bay sub-region (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties) the gap is 13 students annually. However, this assumes that all students who received an award on TOP 1305 (i.e., supply) would be seeking positions as Transitional Kindergarten Teachers after completing the program. Since this is highly unlikely, the supply of students for this specific occupation is in all probability less than all awards on TOP 1305. Therefore, the undersupply is likely larger in both the Bay region and the East Bay sub-region.  

 

Because the Merritt College Child Development Department has worked through the CVC-OEI Improving Online CTE Pathways grant to provide this much-needed Transitional Kindergarten (TK) professional certificate in response to the demand for prepared professionals to work with this special population of children, the courses developed passed two rigorous rubrics for quality and equity in content. Furthermore, the development of this program was in partnership with the Child Development Training Consortium. Their Curriculum Alignment Project (CAP) was granted a contract by the California Department of Education to develop Transitional Kindergarten (TK) teacher preparation courses that could be adopted by California community colleges. As one option for professional learning, Transitional Kindergarten teachers and administrators in local education agencies (public schools) as well as early childhood education professionals may now enroll in unit-bearing community college courses designed to address the specific developmental needs of children in Transitional Kindergarten. This program would create an additional pathway to the labor force of these employers and community agencies that provide support to our target student pool. The department has in the past and continues to collaborate with community agencies to contract educational units for their employees. This includes online programs. In addition, the department, through the Merritt College Child Development Resource Center, regularly communicates with a large data base of local early childhood education employers as to their needs and also to inform them of our new programs, resources and continued professional development for their employers. All the above-mentioned illustrates how the program would align to the district and college goals as shown in the table below:

 

Peralta District and Merritt College Strategic Goals 

2015-2016 Goals 

PCCD Strategic Goals	Merritt College Goals
A. Advance Student Access, Equity, and Success	Create an environment of exceptional student access, equity and success.
B. Engage and Leverage Partners	Engage our community through respectful dialogue to create partnerships and opportunities for our students.
C. Build Programs of Distinction	Create and implement effective innovative programs that meet the diverse needs of our community.
D. Strengthen Accountability, Innovation and Collaboration	Through collegial governance, support institutional communication, innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
E. Develop and Manage Resources to Advance Our Mission	Develop human, fiscal and technological resources to advance and sustain our mission.

Certificate of Achievement: Transitional Kindergarten (TK)                                                

Requirements	Dept. Name/#	Name	Units	Sequence
	CHDEV 201    CHDEV 202   CHDEV 203  CHDEV 204    CHDEV 205   CHDEV 206    CHDEV 207      CHDEV 208	California Preschool Learning Foundations: English Language Development  California Preschool Learning Foundations: Literacy   California Preschool Learning Foundations: Math  California Preschool Learning Foundations: Performing Arts   California Preschool Learning Foundations: Science   California Preschool Learning Foundations: Visual Arts   California Preschool Learning Foundations: Social and Emotional Development    Strategies for Working with Challenging Behaviors	1    1   1   1    1    1    1      3	Year 1 Fall  Year 1 Fall  Year 1Fall  Year1 Fall    Year 1 Fall    Year 1 Spring    Year 1 Spring      Year 1 Spring

Required Core Total:                10 units

TOTAL UNITS:                        10 units

 

Proposed Sequence:  

Year 1, Fall = 5 units  

Year 1, Spring = 5 units

TOTAL UNITS: 10 units 

Summary of LMI: “Based on all available data, there appears to be a significant undersupply of Transitional Kindergarten workers compared to the demand for this cluster of occupations in the Bay region and in the East Bay sub-region (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties). There is a projected annual gap of about 12,152 students in the Bay region and 3,561 students in the East Bay Sub-Region.” Transitional Kindergarten Occupations Labor Market Information Report, Merritt College, Prepared by the San Francisco Bay Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research, August 2020. Gap Analysis: “Based on the data included in this report, there is a large labor market gap in the Bay region with 14,581 annual openings for the Transitional Kindergarten occupational cluster and 2,429 annual (3-year average) awards from community colleges and Other Educational Institutions for an annual undersupply of 12,152 students. In the East Bay Sub-Region, there is also a gap with 4,436 annual openings and 875 annual (3-year average) awards from community colleges and Other Educational Institutions for an annual undersupply of 3,561students.” Transitional Kindergarten Occupations Labor Market Information Report, Merritt College, Prepared by the San Francisco Bay Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research, August 2020.

Chabot College Effective: Spring 2020 PROGRAM OF STUDY Early Childhood Curriculum Specialist/Transitional Kindergarten (Certificate of Achievement) This certificate provides students who are interested in becoming Transitional Kindergarten teachers with the necessary Early Childhood Education units required by the Department of Education to fulfill the requirements of the position. It provides in-depth knowledge of the California Preschool Learning Foundations and Frameworks (with which all Transitional Kindergarten curriculum must be aligned), as well as instruction in effective behavior management strategies, strategies for working with children from diverse cultural backgrounds, and knowledge of how to create high-quality learning environments for young children. This program is designed both for credentialed teachers who want to earn the early Childhood Education units necessary to qualify as a transitional Kindergarten teacher and for current preschool teachers who want to deepen their understanding of the Preschool Foundations and Frameworks. Teachers from both groups who enroll in this certificate program will receive robust professional development, particularly focused on curriculum development across the content areas. They will also meet California Community Care Licensing requirements to work as a preschool teacher, and qualify for the Associate Teacher California Child Development Permit. A minimum grade of “C” in each course is required to earn the certificate and/or qualify for the Child Development Permit.