The Honorable Joseph Simitian, State Senator, State of California.
Education leaders including Carl Cohn, California State Board of Education member; Dave Gordon, Superintendent of Sacramento County Office of Education and John Mockler, president of John Mockler and Associates, convene to discuss how transitional kindergarten gives California an exciting opportunity to support our children's love of learning and help ensure they are better prepared to succeed in kindergarten and beyond.
The Transitional Kindergarten Implementation Summit is a forum for educators to share promising practices, strategies and resources for implementing transitional kindergarten in a high-quality and efficient way. Educators share learning on family outreach and engagement; curriculum; standards and assessment; and administration.
Bio
Joseph Simitian
The Honorable Joe Simitian was elected to the California State Senate in November 2004 to represent the 11th State Senate District, which includes portions of San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties. His public service over the years includes stints as a State Assemblymember, member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, Mayor of Palo Alto and President of the Palo Alto School Board. He has also served as an election observer/supervisor in El Salvador and Bosnia, and participated in refugee relief and resettlement efforts in Albania and Kosovo.
Senator Simitian received his Bachelor of Arts degree, with academic honors, from Colorado College. He also holds a Master of Arts degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford University, a Master in City Planning degree from the University of California at Berkeley, and a Juris Doctor law degree from the University of California at Berkeley (Boalt Hall).
School or class intended for children age four to six as a prominent part of preschool education. The kindergarten originated in the early 19th century as an outgrowth of the ideas and practices of Robert Owen in Britain, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi in Switzerland and his pupil Friedrich Froebel (who coined the term) in Germany, and Maria Montessori in Italy. Kindergartens generally stress the social and emotional growth of the child, encouraging self-understanding through play activities and creative expression.