SOLANA BEACH — Leaders in the Solana Beach School District gave the green light Thursday to an early childhood education pilot program for high-need four-year-olds in the upcoming school year.
The program, known as Jumpstart, was approved unanimously by the district board of trustees at their Thursday meeting after months of planning. Jumpstart will offer two classes for students turning four years old by Sept. 1, with priority given to those who meet specific criteria.
Jumpstart will admit students based on a tiered system, with priority given to foster youth and those eligible for free and reduced lunch and second priority given to English learners. Staff members stated that after Priority 1 and 2 students have filled all available seats, other four-year-olds can apply via a lottery system.
The trustees said they look forward to serving even more children in the district through this program.
“It’s going to be a huge win. I’m super excited to walk into those two classrooms,” said Trustee Gaylin Albaugh.
The program will be funded by the General Fund. District staff anticipate the costs for two classrooms to be $120,000 for startup, including materials and curriculum, and $444,000 annually for ongoing costs, including personnel. The board agreed to implement a classroom ratio of two adults per 24 students.
The district has emphasized that this program is intended to prepare young students for all of elementary school and is not the same as universal transitional kindergarten (TK). Universal TK is a two-year kindergarten program the state requires to be offered to all four-year-olds in public elementary school districts by the 2025-26 school year.
Solana Beach claims that it is exempt from this requirement as a basic aid district, meaning it does not receive state funding on a per-student basis under the Local Control Funding Formula like most public school districts. Instead, most of its funding comes from property taxes, which exceeds what it would receive from the state.
A handful of other basic aid districts in North County have taken the same stance regarding transitional kindergarten, including Del Mar Union, Encinitas Union, Rancho Santa Fe and Cardiff school districts.
In January, Del Mar Union adopted its “early intervention” program to serve high-needs TK-age children. However, unlike Solana Beach, Del Mar Union will not open extra seats to other four-year-olds via a lottery.
“I like having a lottery, so we can help as many kids, and it can benefit as many students as possible,” said Trustee Katie Süel.
Trustee and board president Debra Schade said she favors the tier system and lottery but emphasized that Priority 1 or 2 students should be able to access seats in the program even up until the last minute in mid-August.
Solana Beach School District identified 11 children who would qualify for the program under Priority 1 based on surveys filled out by current district parents. However, leaders noted this figure does not include new families who may come into the district, making it hard to predict how many students will qualify and sign up.
While leaders have not yet confirmed which of the district’s seven schools will hold the two Jumpstart classrooms, they said they will be split between the district’s northern and southern areas to serve multiple populations.
Albaugh encouraged district staff to gather comprehensive data to gauge the program’s success in preparing students for elementary school. She added that the “pilot” stage of the program could be extended to a second year if needed.
“Because this is experimental in nature, we do need to be proactive in how we are gathering that data,” Albaugh said.
From now until the new school year begins in mid-August, district staff will conduct community outreach to inform qualifying families about the program.
