When the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) was approved to offer the first PK-3 intern program in California, staff hit the ground running to ensure teachers would be properly equipped to support the community’s youngest learners.
“We began coursework almost immediately, like two weeks later,” explained Janna Anderson, a teacher effectiveness and preparation coordinator in the COE.
Despite the tight turnaround time between state approval and the start of the new school year, 28 candidates began pre-service requirements — 13 of whom were able to find an intern position after they were fully ready Anderson said, noting that many of those who did not find a position this year are anticipated to return to the intern program next fall.
SDCOE Human Resources Services Executive Director Sheiveh Jones noted that the county’s collaborative relationship with its districts played an important role in ensuring potential candidates knew of this PK-3 opportunity, as well as other intern programs offered by SDCOE.
That’s why, when it came time to sign people up for the new internship program, “all these pieces had been working together so that it’s not a scramble at the end when it’s time to enroll people,” Jones said.
Hundreds of people attended the county’s PK-3 information sessions to learn about the program, its requirements and more, Anderson added, noting there was significant interest among classified staff in preschool classrooms who wanted to earn their teaching credential.
“The new PK-3 credential has a very heavy focus on the developmental needs of young students, and so our SDCOE PK-3 intern program will be one option for candidates who are interested in pursuing their teaching credential,” she continued. “And we just really believe that it will support the school districts to put their best and brightest in front of their youngest learners.”
There was also significant interest among districts in the county, she said. In 2025–26, all 4-year-olds will be eligible for TK, and districts will be required to have a ratio of one adult per 12 students in these classrooms — a teacher-student ratio much lower than what is required for older children. “There will be a need for more qualified teachers in these positions,” Anderson said.
How it works
To participate, candidates must first complete their 120 hours of pre-service coursework outlined within the California Teacher Credentialing standards. SDCOE offers three-month programs consisting of three courses, twice a year to help candidates meet this requirement. Once candidates complete the pre-service component, have fulfilled the application requirements and have secured a position as the credentialed teacher of record, they are enrolled into the intern program.
For the two-year duration of the program, interns attend coursework once a week online via Zoom as a cohort, complete asynchronous work outside of that session, and work with an assigned field supervisor who meets with them at least eight times per semester in order to ensure that they are growing in their educational practices in relationship to the Teaching Performance Expectations, as required by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.
In addition to working with SDCOE-trained field supervisors, interns also have a mentor provided by their school district who they work with between four to six hours per month, and who provides onsite support to interns.
The intern program was built to align with the new California Preschool/Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations, which describe the knowledge and skills that most children ages 3 to 5 1/2 develop in high-quality early education programs.
“All of our candidates will first be introduced to them during their pre-service experience and begin the iteration of planning lessons during pre-service,” Anderson said. “That way they’re prepared to plan lessons using those preschool foundations at the beginning of the school year.”
Jones, again pointing to the importance of collaboration, said multiple departments within the COE applied together for a grant that allows the county to pay PK-3 intern program participants.
Next steps
SDCOE is currently gearing up to offer its next cohort for pre-service trainings in January. These candidates will have much more time to secure positions for next fall, Anderson said.
With the anticipated need for a large number of qualified early learning educators in the coming years, she said it’s vital that the program prepares candidates so they are ready to fulfill that need.
“We want those positions to be filled from day one of school, so that way it’s most consistent for those students. The goal is to ensure that teachers who are in these classrooms are highly trained, highly qualified, that they are enthusiastic and really wanting to support our youngest learners,” Anderson said. “We feel like the program that we’ve built will properly train them for the positions that they will step into.”
