Starting in the 2025–26 school year, California’s Universal Transitional Kindergarten program is fully rolled out. Every 4-year-old in Temecula now has a free seat waiting at their neighborhood school. It’s a meaningful milestone — and for many families, it will be the right choice. But “free” and “best fit” aren’t always the same thing. If you’re weighing your options for next year, here’s an honest comparison of what public TK and Montessori TK actually look like day-to-day