{"id":109629,"date":"2026-05-11T14:01:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:01:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T14:01:53","slug":"as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/neclink.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/11\/as-transitional-kindergarten-grows-hundreds-of-child-care-centers-close\/","title":{"rendered":"As Transitional Kindergarten Grows, Hundreds of Child Care Centers Close"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe are serious about child care, and we know it\u2019s expensive, but that also means that more and more families need relief, and it\u2019s a part of making California affordable again,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cWe have to provide these services in order to be able to make sure families are able to make it here and thrive here in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

A combination of these forces are playing out in preschools like Carquinez Garden School, the only licensed child care center in Crockett, a Bay Area community of 3,600. The school will close in July after enrollment dwindled from more than 30 children two years ago to just 10 this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve lost essentially a class of kids every year to TK,\u201d said Heather Posner, the school\u2019s director.<\/p>\n

She said she expected to serve fewer 4-year-olds as TK rolled out, and that more 2-year-olds would take their spots. The preschool was in a so-called child care desert<\/a> with an insufficient supply of licensed care. The monthly cost for full-time care \u2014 $1,870 \u2014 didn\u2019t seem to deter demand; the school had a waitlist and enrolled families who qualified for subsidies.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it seems like the low birth rate is causing a lot of schools to be underenrolled on both ends,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re not getting a lot of 2-year-olds and then you\u2019re not getting any 4-year-olds \u2026 so with 10 kids, there\u2019s just no way to really cover the overhead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trying to keep the school open felt like performing CPR on a patient, she said, and she barely broke even.<\/p>\n

\u201cI basically have not paid myself in two years. Literally, I cannot pay my own salary,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Fuller said researchers took California\u2019s declining child population into account when they calculated the effect of TK expansion on thousands of communities. They concluded that for every 200 students who enrolled in public TK, there would be a reduction of 38 seats at community-based programs.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Grace Dare (center) supervises children digging in the dirt of a planter in the school yard of Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. (T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In Berkeley, a surge in public TK enrollment during the last four years caused The Berkeley School\u2019s early childhood program to lose more than two-thirds of its students, dropping from 90 to about 25. It will close in July after serving local children for more than six decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a loss for our community, it\u2019s a loss for our school as a whole,\u201d said Mitch Bostian, head of the private school, which serves kids aged 4 to 14 and practices the Montessori philosophy of mixing children of different ages in the classroom so that younger children learn from observing older peers, and older students develop leadership skills by mentoring younger peers.<\/p>\n

That model unraveled when the local school district added more TK classrooms.<\/p>\n

\u201cReally what we saw was the bottom dropped out of our 4- and 5-year-olds,\u201d Bostian said.<\/p>\n

He said the school began enrolling younger children, including 2-year-olds, added year-round options and extended its hours to attract working families, but couldn\u2019t bring enrollment up to a sustainable level.<\/p>\n

\"\"
The interior of a classroom at Carquinez Garden School in Crockett on May 8, 2026. (T\u00e2m V\u0169\/KQED)<\/cite><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Posner, the shuttering of Carquinez Garden School represents the loss of a tight-knit community she formed with families. Every Friday, parents hang out in the yard when they come to pick up their children. Once a month, they gather for a potluck.<\/p>\n

The school takes advantage of being right next to a regional park and lets children learn through playing outdoors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re running, they\u2019re digging, they\u2019re riding bikes, they\u2019re hanging from the climbing structure, they\u2019re being active, they\u2019re using their brains and bodies and they\u2019re with their friends,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Posner fears that when the kids enter TK, they\u2019ll have less time to play outside and develop friendships.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything\u2019s truncated,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd I feel the gift that I can give them is just that languishing outside in the sunshine.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n