TK vs. MCPC - Teacher to child ratios

1:5 teacher to child ratio at MCPC

It’s about that time of the year when prospective parents look into preschools and older preschoolers’ parents look into Kindergarten. But, did you know that there is another “grade” called Transitional Kindergarten or TK at some elementary schools? And since it’s part of the public elementary school system, it’s FREE!. And let’s be honest, who can beat FREE tuition, right?!

A little background on my little one: she is currently a Bobcat at MCPC, but she also goes to Thornhill Elementary for Speech class twice a week. If you don’t know, Thornhill Elementary is right across the street from MCPC, so walking her over from Speech to MCPC twice a week is very convenient. Our daughter’s birthday is at the end of December, so she qualified for the TK program for the 2023-2024 school year.

Here is some information that we learned going through the process of applying to OUSD that might help other parents:

Transitional Kindergarten or TK: Prior to starting the 2023-2024 school year we learned that TK is the optional “grade” before Kindergarten that is offered to children with birthdays between September and April of each year. These students who enter TK essentially “miss” starting Kindergarten because OUSD requires that all children who start Kindergarten turn 5 years old before September 1st of the school year. Montclair and Thornhill Elementary schools have TK and Joaquin Miller is expected to start during the 2024-2025 school year.

Applying for an elementary school in OUSD: This was the timeline for the 2023-2024 school year, which is similar to the future school year application timelines:

  • On-time application window opened November 30, 2022

  • On-time application window closed on February 10, 2023

  • On-time offers began March 9, 2023

  • Late offers began April 5, 2023

  • School year for most school began week of August 7, 2023

  • Offers ended August 25, 2023

  • Waitlists closed on August 25, 2023

So yes, we applied really late during the application timeline so we were waitlisted. If you’re curious, Thornhill is our neighborhood priority school and we were #8 on their waitlist and #98 on Montclair Elementary’ s waitlist. We talked to some of the administrators because we were late for the school tours and we asked about the teacher to student ratios and the classes. The administrators told us that there is only 1 TK class for Thornhill and Montclair, with a 1:24 ratio. Sometimes the TK classes have aides, which would make the ratios 1:12.

It was during this waiting period when my partner and I started weighing out the pros and cons of TK vs. MCPC. Here are some of the things we came up with:

Pros for TK Cons for TK

  • FREE * Teacher to child ratio is 1:12 or 2:24

  • No parent participation required *Probably only 1 TK class per school

  • Prepares child for Kindergarten *Classroom based - not sure she’ll enjoy

  • Speech class is there during school hours

Pros for MCPC: Cons for MCPC:

  • Across the street from Speech class * A LOT of parent participation required

  • Teacher/parent to child ratio is 1:4 or 1:5 * Not free, but FSA eligible

  • One of us is there once per week to help support child

  • Parent education provided to help us raise our child

  • Play-based and more fun

  • Helps child become more independent with choosing activity

We continued to assess our child to see what program would fit her needs best. She took ballet classes and we noticed that when there were more than 8 children in the class, she would slowly close-up and became quieter and quieter. Part of this was because of her speech delay and not being able to express herself, and the other part was that since there were so many other kids, she didn’t get that attention she needed from the teacher. As a parent, this was really heartbreaking to watch since at school, she seemed to flourish and was very confident.

So, even though we never got off the waitlist, my partner and I had already made the decision to keep her at MCPC. At MCPC, the teacher to child ratio is only 1:4 or 1:5 and the extra attention from the working parents and teachers is what my child needed to grow and become confident. I just didn’t see that happening in TK where she would disappear into the huge group of kids.

Now, you might be reading this and be thinking, “your child is still at MCPC, so of course you’d advocate for MCPC!” But no, I am advocating that each parent pay attention to their child’s needs to provide what’s best for him or her. Of course, if you’re a single parent, then the weekly workday requirement might be hard and MCPC might not be a fit for you. But, each child is different and our daughter really needed that extra attention that MCPC could provide. She definitely couldn’t have gotten that type of attention in TK and that’s why MCPC was the best choice for us to make for our daughter.

If you have any questions about speech evaluations at OUSD, the application process for MCPC, or anything about this blog, feel free to contact these parents at marketing@mcpckids.org.

MCPC IT ADMIN