California initiated the Universal Prekindergarten Program (UPK) to provide access to play-based learning for all 4-year-old children statewide. Fully implemented in the fall of 2025, this initiative enabled age-eligible children (age 4 by Sept. 1) to enroll in their local education agency. Districts across the state developed implementation plans and received funding in compliance with a re-envisioned UTK framework. However, even with full implementation of UTK, confusion persists regarding enrollment, high-quality UTK requirements, and the significant commitment of administrators overseeing this grade level.

Now, school districts must solidify UTK implementation strategies to ensure they benefit from California’s historic investment in early education to reap the benefits explained by simple economics. UTK implementation plans included five focus areas: 1) vision and coherence, 2) community engagement and partnerships, 3) workforce recruitment and professional learning, 4) curriculum, instruction, assessment, and 5) LEA facilities and operations. District plans were often submitted without consulting early learning experts, potentially imposing greater demands on classroom staff. School site administrators who oversee these programs without understanding what UTK needs can exacerbate these challenges.

Administrators must pay attention to the needs of these 4-year-olds. People in a position to make decisions about UTK need a new pedagogical focus and realistic expectations for the staff and students in these classes. School districts should focus on reducing ratios, hiring qualified staff, and leveraging multiple funding sources to provide a developmentally appropriate learning environment that meets the same high-quality expectations that are provided across the mixed-delivery system in California.

Here are five important things to consider.

5. Administrators of early education programs need to understand early childhood development. UTK children require adults who understand learning through play. This classroom is grounded in developmentally appropriate practice and provides children with opportunities for independence and autonomy through play. UTK teacher teams become facilitators of play, elevating early learning standards and allowing children to guide their learning. UTK needs administrators who understand foundational learning while children engage in sensory activities, play dough, or cutting pieces of paper. Classrooms are noisy and look chaotic in learning through play, which requires administrators who understand intentional play and provide effective feedback to build the confidence needed to design intentional learning environments each day for children.

4. Administrators can support the connection of early educators to the larger school campus. Learning through play is criticized as babysitting, a pervasive opinion that play is not learning, which leaves early learning educators feeling isolated and unimportant in the larger school community. Administrators must elevate the importance of UTK in building global citizens by creating articulation opportunities among teachers from PK to third grade. The connection between the early learning standards, observational assessment, and Common Core Kindergarten Standards helps teachers to create alignment as children in early learning work to become kindergarten-ready. Administrators’ efforts to support here help early educators feel connected in this work and on the school campus.

3. Early learning administrators need instructional competency in early learning. As noted in the book “Principals as Early Learning Leaders,” administrators with UTK classes should understand developmentally appropriate practice in early learning to support educators in designing instruction that meets the inclusive, individual, and developmental needs of each child. Administrators competent in what this looks like support a child-centered environment. This includes uninterrupted chunks of time in unstructured play, while providing additional staff with the fundamentals of child development to necessitate a rich outdoor play space where appropriate materials are available to children, and a mindset shift away from the idea of recess toward structured play outside. Administrators support instruction in a non-punitive environment that considers diversity, equity, and inclusion of all children. All staff in the space need targeted professional development in social-emotional learning to determine age-appropriate behaviors and developmentally appropriate strategies for young children.

2. Administrators should understand the unique social and emotional development needs of early learners. Building self-regulation in young children is hard. Children need explicit instruction to develop connections around self-regulation and executive functioning, including recognizing and naming their feelings. They need consistent caring adults who allow them to make mistakes while they learn to regulate their big emotions in a safe space, and administrators who understand that this is incredibly hard work for teachers. They need administrators who understand that hitting and not wanting to go to group time are typical development milestones for UTK, where children need forgiveness in learning the expectations without punitive reactions such as calling the caregiver, suspension, or expulsion. UTK may be the first time the child is away from home, and the entire school system should recognize and support that.

1. Administrators need to appreciate families as the child’s first teacher and partner with families to benefit the whole child. Primary caregivers are key to the whole-child approach. Building a relationship with the family supports the child’s foundational readiness for lifelong learning. Working and communicating with the family supports feelings of safety for the child, allowing them the opportunity to build relationships with staff. Children are then able to develop social-emotional awareness, which supports all other learning domains. Including families in the UTK space builds partnerships and strengthens school culture.

In conclusion, school and district administrators, now charged with the oversight of UTK, should seek out the early learning expert in their district or community. They should partner in the work and engage in conversation to provide a high-quality learning environment for their districts’ 4-year-olds across the mixed delivery system. Lean into the early learning educator’s expertise, regardless of their certificated or classified status, and strive to think outside the box.

UTK looks different, with unique needs, which means a successful implementation will challenge the status quo. The children in California deserve dedicated educators who respect the early learning years as a unique and pivotal time in the child’s brain development. Administrators who commit to supporting the needs of UTK will play a pivotal role in the trajectory of children’s lives.