ELYRIA — All-day kindergarten has become so popular among parents in Elyria, school officials say it could be the only kindergarten program offered next school year.

Ten years after the district decided to embrace the concept with the formation of Kindergarten Village at the former Elyria West High School, the program has grown faster than expected, said Michelle Stoffan, director of elementary academic services.

“The hope is next year we will be able to provide all-day kindergarten to nearly all Elyria children,” she said. “We really believe students who have that extra time will have a higher likelihood of success because they got that really strong start.”

When Kindergarten Village was developed, neighborhood schools still had kindergarten classes as well. Initially, about 220 students participated in the all-day program while more than 400 were enrolled in half-day classes. Now, the opposite is true.

There are more than 540 all-day kindergarten students in 27 different classes and just 60 who attend classes for a half-day. That demand has meant broadening the program beyond Kindergarten Village. Two years ago, all-day kindergarten classes were added at both Franklin and Spring Valley elementary schools. Next year, Prospect Elementary School will join them.

Half-day kindergarten for parents who want that options could still be available. However, school officials hope parents will see the benefits of the all-day program and choose to enlist their children. Parents who prefer half-day are being encouraged to discuss the matter with school officials at registration.

The switch from half-day to all-day didn’t happen overnight, Stoffan said.

When she started her career 30 years ago as a kindergarten teacher, she saw kindergarten as a 2½-hour program where students had some academic expectations, but were really there to be socialized and become familiar with the idea of school. She taught kindergarten for 15 years and gradually saw the focus change, she said.

“Many households were either one-parent homes where parents had to work or two-parent households were both parents worked outside the home. So, a lot of our kids were already in daycare all day long,” she said. “It made sense to provide some academic support beyond just 2½ hours.”
And teachers and administrators also found that all-day kindergarten gave kids a solid foundation for the future.

Data appear to support Stoffan’s theory. She said Kindergarten Village’s inaugural classes are now ninth-grade students and many of them are performing well. Those same students also did noticeably better on their fourth-grade proficiency test than some of their classmates, she said.

Crayons and computers
Today’s kindergarten goes beyond coloring, show and tell, snacks and naps.

Now, teachers and administrators recognize that kindergarten is as important as any other grade. That’s why today’s kindergarten classes are longer and more academically intense.

Inside a brightly decorated classroom adorned with the masterpieces of the students at Kindergarten Village, the talk was about sea turtles when Principal Rita Tomsic walked in Thursday morning.

Teacher Rebecca Porter, busy with children seated in front of her, asks them to tell her why the cold-blooded creatures just stick their heads out of the water when surveying an area. In no time, a dozen hands shoot up into the air. But Porter told the kindergarten students to think hard because their answers will be included in their research projects.

Research projects in kindergarten? Thirty years ago, who would have imagined the district’s youngest students would be engaged in such work? After all, isn’t kindergarten the place where first-time students learn how to sit still while a teacher talks and to share their crayons with their neighbors because the favor will likely be returned later? “What first-grade used to look like 20 years ago is a lot of what you see in today’s typical kindergarten class,” Stoffan said. “Now, it’s not surprising — it’s something typical — to see a 3-year-old name shapes, colors and numbers. That used to be the work of kindergarten, but now it’s the work of preschool.”

Tomsic believes the technologies that today’s youngsters are growing up with have greatly influenced what children learn and when.“The amount of information that’s out there is just so much more than what it was,” she said. “Parents know this and realize that the benefits of sending their youngsters to school all day outweigh their need to keep their kids home a little longer.”

Kindergarten in the county
Midview officials are embracing a little different schedule that gives more options to parents who want all-day kindergarten for their children.
For the 2008-09 school year, the Midview Schools kindergarten program will continue to be an all-day, every other day program with students attending either Monday, Wednesday and every other Friday or Tuesday, Thursday and every other Friday.

There, the opportunity exists for some students to attend a half-day, every day program. If parents are willing and able to provide mid-day transportation, and sign a statement indicating such, their names will go into a lottery drawing for the half-day program. The first 23 names selected will be able to attend.

Some districts in the county would love to embrace all-day kindergarten, but can’t because of finances and space. In North Ridgeville, kindergarten is a half -day program with morning and afternoon sessions. Currently, there are no plans to expand.

“That’s not because we don’t believe all-day kindergarten is the way to go, but we don’t have the space to house a full-time program or the funds to pay for it,” said Tissy Simon, district spokeswoman. “We would love to offer our students that option, but we have to do what’s best for the entire district and that means no all-day kindergarten.”

In other school districts, all-day kindergarten is offered but only if parents are willing to pay. Avon, Avon Lake, Brookside, Firelands and Wellington each charge $200 per month or more to run all-day kindergarten.

Elyria, considered an urban district by the state, does not charge parents as state funding picks up the cost.
Clearview, Columbia, Lorain, Oberlin and Vermilion also have free full-day programs.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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