Full-Day Kindergarten

Perhaps it is a measure of a new optimism and confidence about what the future holds. Perhaps it is folly. But Newtown’s Board of Education, and now at least some of the town’s budgetmakers, are thinking expansively about what many local parents and educators believe is a very good idea: full-day kindergarten sessions. Funding for the initiative is included in the school board’s $70 million budget proposal for 2012-2013. The precise cost of the measure is likely to be debated as the budget goes through its rigorous review process, but in presenting her budget proposal, Superintendent of Schools Janet Robinson estimated the added cost would be under a half-million dollars once the savings from the elimination of midday bus runs for half-day kindergarteners are figured into the equation.

No stranger to contention in recent months, the Board of Education found rare unanimity on this issue. The budget, including the full-day kindergarten funding, was forwarded to the Board of Finance, which this week seemed poised to pass it on intact to the Legislative Council, where the idea is expected to face even more scrutiny. A longer, more comprehensive kindergarten program in Newtown’s elementary schools has a lot to recommend it. Several studies of similar programs in various states have demonstrated definite academic advantages for children — particularly disadvantaged children — through the initial years of their early education. How far those advantages extend into a child’s school experience is unclear; some studies show that, comparatively, the academic advantages of full-day over half-day kindergarten tends to level out by grade 5. Yet, as with any enterprise with so much at stake, the intangible benefits of a good start are undeniable.

There is, potentially, too much to gain from this change to put it off any longer. If the taxpayers agree to pay for it, we hope full-day kindergarten can be implemented in a way that does not exacerbate the few, but very real, social and behavioral disadvantages of supplanting parents and home with teachers and classrooms for children at the tender age of 5. While our emphasis in evaluating school programs is on academic results, for 5-year-olds, the fatigue and stress of a long day of learning may yield results that are not so beneficial or easy to assess. The importance of finding time in those extra hours for nonacademic activities that are developmentally appropriate may be just as important as whatever academic goals we may set for kindergarteners.

As always, parents will make or break this effort — first through their support of the initiative in a budget vote and ultimately through their involvement both at home and at school in this critical first year of schooling. Parents will determine whether this idea is folly or the auspicious start of an optimistic and confident future for these brand-new students.