October 29, 2026
The briefing presenters and speakers (from left to right): Hanna Melnick, Soledad Villalobos, Patrica Lozano, Rucker C. Johnson, and Dr. Austin Land.
On October 22nd, Early Edge California, the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), and UC Berkeley Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood (E3C), hosted an in-person briefing, The Public TK and Preschool Payoff: How Complementary Investments Shape Student Success, in Sacramento, CA.
The briefing began with welcome remarks from Early Edge Executive Director Patricia Lozano to set the stage and celebrate the impacts the state’s investments across the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Transitional Kindergarten (TK), and the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) have had on children and families. Participants also had the chance to hear directly from a parent who saw these impacts firsthand, Soledad Villalobos, whose daughter attended CSPP and TK sequentially at an elementary school within the Elk Grove Unified School District.
“Having access to state funded preschool helped give Maya the structure and guidance she needed to speak for herself. And it gave my husband and I the peace of mind to know that she was in a safe place where she would learn and develop skills needed to be successful when she started kindergarten. We didn’t have to worry about finding the means to pay for additional help for Maya and finding a place where she would have that same education and structure she received from these programs…I think it’s important for all families to have access to safe preschool and Transitional Kindergarten so [their kids] can be ready and successful in school,” Soledad said.
Researchers from UC Berkeley, Professor Rucker C. Johnson and Dr. Austin Land, presented compelling findings from their new brief on Who Benefits From Universal Prekindergarten? Examining the Complementary Effects of Three California Education Reforms.
Key findings shared from the brief included:
After the research presentation, Hanna Melnick, Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Early Learning Policy at LPI, shared policy considerations for the incoming new administration and Legislature to advance to ensure all students thrive, including:
Afterwards, she led a rich Q&A discussion with attendees. The conversation focused on key areas of opportunity for additional research as well as ways to further strengthen the quality across early learning settings, including diversifying the TK workforce and supporting children’s home language as they develop English.
Patricia closed the event in celebration: “We should celebrate what we learned today. It’s been 15 years, and we have to thank our leaders, our legislators, and our governor. To our future governor: let’s keep the work going. We need to keep learning and funding research so we know what to do next and what play-based learning really means. What we’re learning is that children who attend CSPP and TK do better. We need to reach those 3-year-olds. The programs are there, but we need to reach more families like Soledad’s, who found this program and saw it change her daughter’s life. Her daughter is now thriving. We want to hear those stories more and more.”
From L to R: Victoria Wang & Hanna Melnick (LPI), Patrica Lozano (Early Edge), Prof. Rucker C. Johnson (UC Berkeley), Carolyne Crolotte & Andrew Avila (Early Edge), Dr. Austin Land (UC Berkeley), & Katie Albright (UC Berkeley E3C)
Early Edge California’s Executive Director, Patricia Lozano, giving welcoming remarks.
Soledad Villalobos, parent of daughter who attended CSPP and TK at Elk Grove Unified School District, giving special remarks.
Rucker C. Johnson, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy, UC Berkeley, presenting research findings from the new brief.
Dr. Austin Land, Director of Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood (EXCEL) at the UC Berkeley Equity and Excellence in Early Childhood (E3C), presenting research findings from the new brief.
Rucker C. Johnson and Dr. Austin Land co-presenting research findings from the new brief.
The Learning Policy Institute’s Senior Policy Advisor and Director of Early Learning Policy, Hanna Melnick, presenting policy considerations.
From left to right: Patrica Lozano, Hanna Melnick, Rucker C. Johnson, and Dr. Austin Land during the Q&A session.
The briefing presenters and speakers (from left to right): Hanna Melnick, Soledad Villalobos, Patrica Lozano, Rucker C. Johnson, and Dr. Austin Land.
The Early Edge team (from left to right): Administrative Coordinator Lorraine DeGraffenreidt, Executive Director Patrica Lozano, Director of Policy Carolyne Crolotte, and Policy Analyst Andrew Avila.