Berkeley, CA, [Sept 9th, 2024] — The Berkeley School of Education, in collaboration with Berkeley Extension and the 21st Century California School Leadership Academy (21CSLA), is thrilled to highlight the launch of the second year of the Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) Leadership Certificate program. The UTK Leadership Certificate is a no-cost two-course program, started in the fall of 2023, that aims to provide educational leaders with the tools and knowledge needed to promote equity and play in early childhood education settings.
Chris Thomas, Coordinator of the UTK Leadership Certificate and a former elementary school principal emphasizes, “People are coming into this space who have varying experience and little to no exposure to early learning. Even folks within the elementary level may not have foundational knowledge about preschool or TK. It’s going to be new learning for a large percentage of folks. What does high-quality, developmentally appropriate instruction look like in the UTK model? This is a new paradigm for everyone. We have an opportunity to think about how we align TK in our buildings instead of just having TK that exists in our buildings but operates separately.”
As California moves toward the full implementation of Universal Transitional Kindergarten for children 4 years old by 2025-2026, our school leaders need the skills, knowledge, and tools to lead this work. Access does not mean equity, though, so it is essential that we provide leaders with an opportunity to reimagine our schools and build a bridge between early childhood and the K-12 system.
Thanks to sponsorship from 21CSLA, the curriculum is offered virtually to those in the process of earning their administrative credential. It is informed by the California Department of Education and current research and covers essential topics such as policy integration, family and community engagement, and social emotional learning.
