Growing the ECE workforce

Early childhood education is vital to school readiness, and California’s historic investment in its youngest learners includes the statewide expansion of transitional kindergarten (TK) through California Assembly Bill 130 (2021). This initiative makes TK available to all 4-year-olds in California by 2025-26 and requires school districts to ensure the workforce is grounded in child development.

In addition to expanding access to TK, AB 130 established new expectations for teacher preparation and allowed districts to define rigorous local-equivalency options for teachers to meet TK preparation requirements. Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) responded by bringing together its Division of Human Resources (HR) and Early Childhood Education Division (ECED) to develop an Early Childhood Micro-Credential as a district-approved pathway for eligible Multiple Subject credentialed teachers to meet TK preparation requirements and support universal implementation.

This article situates LAUSD’s Early Childhood Micro-Credential within California’s TK expansion and the growing need for well-prepared early childhood educators. It examines how LAUSD used newly legislated flexibility to create a districtwide strategy through collaboration between HR and ECED. It also explores the micro-credential’s structure, implementation, and role in advancing equity, while offering lessons for district leaders navigating similar challenges.

Expanding access to early learning California created TK in 2012 to give younger kindergarten-age children an additional year of learning before entering traditional kindergarten. TK supports early learning by focusing on foundational skills in language, literacy, math, and social-emotional development through developmentally appropriate instruction. TK classrooms prioritize play-based learning and hands-on exploration because young children learn best through active, meaningful experiences.

As the nation’s second-largest school district, LAUSD began fully expanding TK in 2023-24, two years before California’s statewide universal implementation in 2025-26. Today, the district serves more than 16,000 TK students across its early education programs.

“Universal Transitional Kindergarten is an investment in children’s potential during one of the most important stages of development,” shared Pia Sadaqatmal, chief of transitional programs, which includes ECED. “By expanding access to high-quality, play-based early learning experiences, we are creating stronger foundations for academic success, social-emotional growth, and lifelong learning for all children.”

Building early childhood expertise Expanding TK within LAUSD created demand for qualified early childhood educators who understand child development, support brain growth, foster language and social-emotional development, and design environments centered on play, exploration, and intentional teaching. As more 4-year-olds enter TK classrooms, it has become increasingly important to ensure teachers are prepared to meet their unique developmental needs. TK is not simply an earlier version of kindergarten; it requires developmentally appropriate teaching that reflects how young children learn. LAUSD aligned teacher training to the California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF), which guide developmentally appropriate practice (California Department of Education, 2025a).

While ECED provided strong professional learning grounded in the PTKLF for early educators, LAUSD also needed to extend this preparation to Multiple Subject credentialed teachers in elementary schools who would staff TK classrooms. Investing in teacher preparation helps ensure quality, consistency, and responsiveness for 4-year-olds.

Turning policy into pathways LAUSD supported legislation that expanded TK requirements, including locally determined pathways. For the district, the Early Childhood Micro-Credential became that pathway. This change removed unintentional barriers for future teachers while recognizing professional learning and ongoing job-embedded practice as meaningful indicators of educator growth and effectiveness.

As districts expand TK and respond to statewide workforce shortages, local educational agencies must help shape policies that maintain quality while broadening access to the profession. LAUSD’s support for flexible professional learning pathways, including board-approved micro-credential options, shows how districts can partner with policymakers and the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing to create responsive workforce solutions.

Breaking down silos through a cross-divisional approach In large, complex school districts, specialized divisions are often created to build expertise and efficiency. While necessary, these structures can also create silos that hinder collaboration on shared priorities. To support LAUSD’s commitment to high-quality early learning, ECED and HR partnered to develop the Early Childhood Micro-Credential as a shared workforce solution. This collaboration combined expertise in child development and TK implementation with a rigorous, competency-based micro-credentialing certification infrastructure.

Dr. Francisco J. Serrato, chief human resources officer, emphasized the broader significance of this partnership: “The challenges facing public education today are too complex to be solved by any one division working in isolation. When human resources and instruction come together around a shared vision, we move beyond compliance and staffing functions to create meaningful opportunities for educator growth and student success. The Early Childhood Micro-Credential is an example of what becomes possible when we align expertise, resources, and leadership around a common purpose.”

The success of this effort was fueled by intentional leadership and strategic resource alignment. Senior leaders from both divisions established a shared vision and clear goals centered on educator growth and student outcomes. Regular planning sessions supported collaboration, progress monitoring, and the agility to make course corrections. Ongoing dialogue and collaborative problem-solving helped refine the micro-credential design and fostered deep trust across teams.

Beyond developing the Early Childhood Micro-Credential, the collaboration also demonstrated how district systems can operate differently when leaders create the conditions for shared ownership. As Serrato reflected, “This partnership was not limited to developing a micro-credential. It was about creating the organizational conditions necessary for expertise to flow across divisions, resulting in a stronger system for both educators and students. The leadership lessons learned through this collaboration may be just as valuable as the micro-credential itself.

Building the micro-credential pathway LAUSD’s existing Micro-Credentialing Program offered a structure that extended beyond traditional professional development and provided a viable districtwide pathway to prepare highly qualified educators for TK classrooms. The program cultivates and recognizes educator excellence through year-long, competency-based professional learning.

Unlike traditional professional learning, micro-credentials are job-embedded, personalized, applicable, and relevant to educators’ settings (Center on Great Teachers and Leaders, 2020). They allow participants to learn by doing and applying, rather than simply absorbing information.

In LAUSD, each full micro-credential follows a 105-hour hybrid model: 30 hours of face-to-face, instructor-led learning; 45 hours of self-paced online learning; and 30 hours of independent application. Participants develop a digital portfolio with five Evidence of Learning Artifacts that demonstrate mastery and application. Upon successful completion, educators earn a digital badge that serves as a portable record of demonstrated expertise, and HR records the achievement in each recipient’s personnel file.

Developing and launching the micro-credential required cross-divisional collaboration and shared leadership. For more than a year, HR and ECED teams met weekly to research and develop the program’s content. ECED contributed expertise in the PTKLF, child development, classroom environments, assessment, and developmentally appropriate practice. HR contributed operational knowledge related to the design, launch, scaling, and sustainment of the rigorous districtwide professional learning opportunity.

The work paid off. The program has recently concluded its fourth cohort. As one participant shared, it provided “a beginning foundation to someone new to the TK world” and challenged educators “to build our ECE programs to their fullest potential.”

Advancing equity In a district as culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse as LAUSD, educational equity requires early childhood educators who can meet the needs of students from California’s most historically underserved communities. Current district data indicate that more than 83 percent of LAUSD’s nearly 400,000 students are identified as economically disadvantaged and reside in historically underserved communities. Additionally, 16 percent of students have been diagnosed with a disability, and 18 percent are English learners (California Department of Education, 2025b).

Behind these statistics are complex realities, including housing instability, income inequality, limited access to health care, food insecurity, and unequal access to high-quality early learning environments. These barriers can significantly affect a child’s educational future and underscore the need for equity-centered early childhood education.

The Early Childhood Micro-Credentialing Program addresses opportunity gaps by providing free, accessible professional development and certification pathways for credentialed teachers seeking TK authorization. As an alternative to costly outside programs, this tuition-waived, high-quality, job-embedded learning experience is led internally by LAUSD expert practitioners. It emphasizes culturally responsive, asset-based, and developmentally appropriate practices tailored to the needs of LAUSD students and communities. By removing financial barriers and strengthening internal educator capacity, the program expands the district’s ability to provide equitable learning experiences for its youngest learners and strengthens the workforce needed to deliver them.

The impact of expanded early childhood education opportunities is already evident in LAUSD’s early literacy outcomes. District data show consistent yearly growth in meeting kindergarten early literacy benchmarks, rising from 63.5 percent in 2021-22 to 71.4 percent in 2024-25 (Los Angeles Unified School District, 2026). These gains highlight the positive impact of increased access to high-quality early childhood instruction and targeted support for early learners.

A job-embedded learning journey The Early Childhood Micro-Credentialing Program prepares educators to teach and support young learners effectively. The program strengthens educators’ understanding of the California Content Standards, the Guiding Principles of Early Childhood Education, and other foundational early childhood frameworks. Through research-based, job-embedded professional development, participants cultivate the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to create and sustain emotionally and physically safe, culturally responsive, learner-centered classrooms. Educators build expertise in developmentally appropriate, evidence-based instructional practices, use assessment data to inform instruction, and design asset-based learning experiences that reduce opportunity gaps and promote positive outcomes for all learners.

The program is grounded in the Carnegie Foundation’s Improvement Science framework (Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, n.d.), guiding participants through a disciplined process of inquiry, reflection, and continuous improvement. Ongoing coaching and feedback from experienced Support Providers help educators translate theory into effective classroom practice.

The program’s impact is reflected in the experiences of participating educators. Tamerra Butts, a TK teacher at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools, an inaugural participant in the program’s first cohort, and a current support provider, shared, “The Micro-Credential Program reconnected me to invaluable foundational early childhood practices and gave me the opportunity to collaborate with like-minded colleagues.” Her reflection illustrates the program’s ability to strengthen educator practice, foster collaboration, and deepen teachers’ capacity to create inclusive learning environments that support the whole child.

Ultimately, the Early Childhood Micro-Credentialing Program is cultivating a network of transformational educators who are advancing equitable, developmentally responsive instruction and strengthening the future of early childhood education across LAUSD.

Lessons for district leaders The rollout of transitional kindergarten in LAUSD has highlighted the importance of leadership, collaboration, and workforce development during large-scale change. Expanding access to early learning requires more than additional classrooms; it requires intentional investments in educator capacity, strong partnerships, and systems that keep the needs of young children at the center of decision-making.

Connect policy to practice: Effective policies must reflect implementation realities, including staffing needs, workforce challenges, and educators’ day-to-day experiences.

Leverage cross-divisional partnerships: Aligning leadership, resources, and expertise across departments can break down silos, accelerate innovation, and create sustainable systems that benefit educators and students alike. Invest in professional learning: Building early childhood expertise through ongoing professional learning strengthens instructional quality and prepares educators to lead equitable outcomes for young learners. Elevate practitioner voice: Engaging educators in decision-making helps ensure that initiatives are relevant, responsive, and grounded in classroom and school-site realities.

As California expands access to early learning, districts must ensure that access is matched by educator preparation, instructional quality, and systems of support. LAUSD’s Early Childhood Micro-Credential offers one example of how cross-divisional leadership can turn a statewide policy shift into a sustainable workforce strategy that benefits educators, students, and families.