While state education officials acknowledge the benefits of all-day kindergarten, they also lament its costs. According to the state Department of Education, only 1,700 of Rhode Island’s 11,000 kindergarten pupils were enrolled in a full-day program in the fall of 1998, mainly because it was offered only in five communities.
Though some national studies have shown that the additional three hours of a full-day kindergarten program result in a both academic and social benefits for students in the primary grades, many Rhode Island school districts say they can’t reap those benefits because of financial and spatial restraints.
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Though the Department of Education also supports the idea of expanding the all-day kindergarten program, which would increase a child’s learning time from two and half hours to almost six hours, officials agree with the districts, that it is unlikely the change will come any time soon
”We of course are supporting the notion of a full-day kindergarten,” said Charlotte Diffendale, early childhood coordinator for the Department of Education. “But we are very mindful of the fact that the only thing that benefits children is the highest quality of education. So we only encourage districts to do it if they can do it well.”
To do it well, Diffendale said, means a program that “provides lots of physical space, a low child to teacher ratio of 10 or 12 to one,” and having a program that is literacy-rich with lots of hands-on activities for the children.
”This is a time when a child is learning how to be a learner, learning how to be independent,” she said. “It’s not merely academic, but highly intellectual and is a predictor of how children will do in school in the future.”
Gov. Lincoln Almond agreed that early childhood education is crucial to a child’s learning success in his State of the State address earlier this month. In his speech, Almond suggested that an all-day kindergarten program should be available in all of the state’s 39 school districts.
”There is a gap between child care and first grade because most school districts only offer half-day programs,” Almond said. “That’s why I will be proposing additional incentives to expand full-day kindergarten.”
In the governor’s proposed budget, released less than a week after the State of the State Address, Almond recommended a $34.9 million increase in education funding. In addition, he urged an incentive for districts to begin the all-day kindergarten program by providing $500, $1,000, or $1,500 for each student enrolled in a full-day kindergarten program based on each community’s tax efforts. Almond said every community would be eligible for the funding based on the number of children it has in the program.
”While we are investing more in our schools, we have to spur the growth of programs that will enable children to enter school ready to learn,” Almond said. “That’s why I’m continuing my push for full-day kindergarten. Three hours a day simply isn’t enough time for children to receive the tools they need to succeed in schools. Let’s better prepare our children for the challenges before them by making full-day kindergarten more readily available.”
Still, many districts feel the increase in funding and the incentive are not enough to cover the cost of the program which the Department of Education estimated comes with a price tag of between $20,000 and $30,000 per classroom, not including the cost of teachers.
“There are a lot of sound educational reasons for an all day kindergarten,” said Tim Ryan, superintendent of Portsmouth Schools. “But it will take a lot more than the small increases that communities like ours are getting.”
Currently, only nine districts in the state have an all-day kindergarten program, and some of them offer the program to only a certain number of students. For example, of the 268-enrolled kindergarten students in Central Falls in the fall of 1998 only 38 were enrolled in a full-day program.
”We have two full-day kindergartens,” said Maureen Chevrette, Central Falls superintendent. “And we have a lottery to determine who gets those spots.”
Chevrette said because of the popular demand for the program, next year the district plans to offer the full-day program to all students, but has spent the past few years “saving up” to begin the program.
Diffendale said the idea of an all-day kindergarten is sweeping the nation, and is being most clearly articulated by parents.
“One of the reasons parents are excited about the all-day program is that it is better for the child,” she said. “Throughout the day the child was making so many transitions going from kindergarten to childcare to an after school program. Some children were making as many as four transitions a day, and that’s a big deal when you are talking about a five-year-old. Children can spend more time on the bus than they do in school.”
According to the state and officials from local school districts, students who come from a low socio-economic background, or who speak English as a second language benefit most from the all-day program.
”Right now in our kindergarten we have a large number of children who speak English as a second language,” Chevrette said. “And many of our kids come from families that can’t afford some of the enrichment things that some other children can, so a program like this is very important.”
In addition, she said, the all-day program allows for greater communication between parents and teachers, as well as teachers and students.
”Because (the all-day program) allows plenty of time to do things, there is greater parental involvement and the stress level is reduced for teachers and kids,” she said. “Teachers in half-day programs are dealing with 52 to 54 kids, whereas the full day program is less allowing more focus on individual children.”
Only in its second year of a full-day kindergarten, Mary Canole, director of Instruction and Grants for Newport Schools said the district is already seeing results.
”Teachers are amazed about what these children can do,” she said. “The full-day of kindergarten is driving the curriculum for the entire school. Teachers are astounded at the increase in writing and math skills and first grade teachers are expecting more from their children, so it’s really driving what we do here.”
Diffendale said even if the full-day program was adopted at least one half-day program would still be available for parents in each district.
”We believe in the notion that parents should have the choice,” she said.
