Kindergarteners traditionally have gone to school half a day, but all-day K is increasingly popular in Snohomish County, giving kids twice the preparation time for first grade.
By Eric Stevick
Herald Writer
Like a lot of other parents, Karen Schoneman had reservations when she learned the Darrington School District would operate an all-day, every-day kindergarten this fall.
In her mind, kindergarten was a gradual, dip-the-toe-in-the-water process.
"I was a nervous wreck," she said. "I was so used to half-day kindergarten. I just wasn’t ready for all day."
As it turned out, her daughter, Madison, was more than ready.
Madison is one of about 1,350 Snohomish County kindergartners — nearly one out of five — attending school all day.
Nineteen percent of kindergarten students are attending school full-time this fall compared with 16 percent last spring, according to periodic Herald surveys. Ten years ago, there were none.
Snohomish County mirrors a national trend, which in many ways reflects changes in American lifestyle with more single parents and dual-income families looking for child care options and more schools trying to build an early foundation, particularly among academically at-risk students.
While some local districts have lowered class sizes in half-day kindergarten, many others are stretching the school day to give children more time to absorb and explore.
Several local schools are reporting promising results.
Eleven of 15 school districts in Snohomish County offer at least one classroom of all-day, every-day kindergarten. Darrington, Everett, Lakewood, Marysville, Mukilteo and Northshore school districts have expanded full-day kindergarten offerings.
Parent-paid tuition covers the extra half-day for 65 percent of the county’s all-day kindergartners, school surveys show. Most districts charge around $1,500 per child.
Although cost comparisons can be difficult to make, paying parents surveyed in Mukilteo last year said they liked the cost, fewer disruptions in their child’s day, and the safe, structured learning environment of all-day kindergarten.
Mukilteo doubled its slots for full-time kindergarten this fall.
Tuition-based kindergarten is an option many families are willing to pay. Last spring, parents of incoming kindergartners at Mill Creek Elementary began lining up at 10 the night before the school began registering for its full-time kindergarten program this fall. Enrollment was first come, first served; they didn’t want to take any chances.
Other students attend for free, primarily in schools that qualify for grants based on socioeconomic conditions. Darrington, Lakewood and Marysville school districts are using money from Initiative 728, approved by voters a year ago, to lengthen the day for kindergartners.
"I believe it’s the best thing for most kids," said Deenie Berry, principal at Darrington Elementary School. "I think children developmentally need to have exploration time. There is so much expected at the kindergarten level. To do it in half-days, you lose that freedom to explore, which is when they do their best learning."
Darrington kindergarten teachers Eileen Porch and Susan Wales spent part of their summer visiting the homes of their incoming students. While one would explain the teachers’ philosophy and the merits of all-day kindergarten, the other would assess the student.
"We have not added more to our curriculum," Porch said. "We are just giving them more time to build a more solid base."
Lessons that lasted 20 minutes a year ago can be taught over 30 or 40 minutes now. The school district has also invested in three kindergarten aides, allowing small group instruction between the adjoining classrooms.
Even at lunch in the cafeteria, teachers and aides remain close to their students, handing out milk cartons, ladling salad dressing, squirting ketchup and sprinkling cinnamon over applesauce.
In the afternoon, students meet in small groups exploring art, literacy, poetry, science and social skills. On a recent day, the science group discussed what it means to make observations as they sanded basswood blocks and studied the sawdust. Nearby, a literacy group listened to stories about Clifford the big red dog while an art group created papier-mache turkeys.
Once a week, the kindergartners make oral presentations to their classmates about what they have learned.
Cindi Fitterer, whose son, Robbe, is a kindergartner at Darrington Elementary, believes the all-day kindergarten will prepare the students for "the huge jump" to first grade.
"They can actually take the time to work with an individual child who may not be focusing," Fitterer said. "They are patient with the children, and they are not on such a fast schedule."
While Darrington is in its first year of all-day kindergarten, other schools and districts are recording impressive results from all-day, everyday kindergarten graduates.
In the Marysville School District, Paula Jones is the principal at Liberty Elementary, where 60 percent of its students receive a government-paid or subsidized lunches. All 19 of last year’s all-day kindergarten students in Cheryl Bertagni’s classroom were reading at or above a first-grade level.
In Liberty’s three half-day kindergarten classes, 27 students were assessed at a kindergarten level last spring.
The full-day kindergartners also fared well above the district average in meeting academic standards in reading and math.
"I had hoped that our full-day kids would do better because they should, having double the amount of time," Jones said. "They were almost 100 percent (meeting standards) across the board. Usually in any classroom you have one or two kids who can’t keep pace. … They not only kept pace, but they kept pace without many of the interventions we would have put in place in a regular classroom."
Liberty added another all-day kindergarten class this fall.
The Edmonds School District tracked the progress in first grade of full-time kindergarten graduates from six elementary schools with certain socioeconomic factors, such as high percentages of students qualifying for free or reduced- priced lunches.
"We had good results at the end of their kindergarten year, but we got better results at the end of their first-grade year," said Pam Hopkins, an assistant superintendent in the Edmonds district.
For instance, 15 percent more of the all-day kindergarten graduates met the district’s reading comprehension standards at the end of first grade than the half-day kindergarten graduates from the same schools.
In writing, 12 percent more met the district’s standards in spelling, grammar and punctuation. In math problem solving, there was a 14 percent difference. Thirteen percent more were deemed to have established solid independent work habits, "a huge predictor of future success in school," Hopkins said.
All-day kindergarten does raise equity issues. Some families can afford tuition while others can’t. Some districts can offer it for free at some schools but not others. Some schools have space, others don’t.
In the Edmonds district, where nearly half the students attend full-day kindergarten, a committee is searching for ways to broaden the opportunity for more children to enroll.
At Darrington, all 44 of the district’s kindergartners attend full time.
Monica Franke is one of those students; her mother, Tracy, is a teacher at the school.
Tracy Franke believes the time investment in kindergarten will prove to be money well spent in the future.
"They are giving them all the time they need for future success," Franke said.
You can call Herald Writer Eric Stevick at 425-339-3446
or send e-mail to stevick@heraldnet.com.
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