Full Day Kindergarten Programs

Imagine two parents who have a child getting ready to go to kindergarten. They are very smart and seem completely prepared for this big milestone. There is only one problem, her child’s birthday does not meet the cutoff date. Now she is faced with the decision of where to educate her child. Does she put her child back in preschool? Should she homeschool her child until the next school year? This is an obstacle faced by many parents all over the country whose children do not meet the cutoff age for enrollment. The answer to the issue is transitional kindergarten. Already implemented in California schools, it is a state-funded, two-year program that allows children to get an extra year of schooling before kindergarten if their fifth

Thesis Statement: Children benefit more from a high quality full-day pre-k program because their daily attendance rate is better than average and have reduced chronic absences, their social-emotional development is better, and their achievement scores in language and math are higher than their peers who attend a half-day or no pre-k program.

Oftentimes, children who are not introduced to the guidelines and principles of their kindergarten classroom spend much of their first year trying to catch up to their peers. By implementing a universal preschool, early childhood educators are able to apply kindergarten policies to their classroom procedures in an effort to prepare students for the transition. For instance, when the educators from various grades are able to communicate with one another, health records, learning disabilities and classroom procedures are discussed and teachers are able to employ solutions before the school year starts. As many as half of all children entering kindergarten display difficulties in the transition. Moreover, teachers expect children to have certain skills sets upon entering the classroom that they may not possess. Finally, kindergarten teachers identified weaknesses in academic and social kills, including the inability to follow directions, working independently or perform adequately in a formal school setting (Stormont, 213). By introducing children to these basic skill sets in preschool, they are able to transition smoothly to kindergarten and succeed among their

To start off, many students aren’t ready yet for the basis of kindergarten as they never finished, or even attended preschool. Attending a preschool gives children an early advantage, and stimulates an early mind. When a child starts their educational journey at the age of three, they get a two year “Head Start,” for themselves, compared to kids who have not attended preschool. This early advantage is a physical and significant benefit for them as it helps strengthen the child from early on. According to greatschools.org, “To sustain children’s excitement and motivation for learning, high-quality preschool and child care programs introduce early literacy and math skills

As the sensible Robert Ehrlich once illustrated, “Experts tell us that 90% of all brain development occurs by the age of five. If we don’t begin thinking about education in the early years, our children are at risk of falling behind by the time they start Kindergarten” (1). Preschool should be universal in America. Preschool programs available in America today are subpar. Experts agree that attending preschool produces numerous benefits for children, and that preschool is where the achievement gap begins to form.

One of the greatest tragedies is the effect of the economic margin between ethnic and racial groups. Families of minority groups are more likely to be the living in what is relatively speaking, poverty levels, than the majority group. The majority, primarily of the white race, live with the advantage of their much better economic standing, and are benefitted with the advantage of having the ability to get their kids ahead academically. Which leads to disproportionate ease of transition into kindergarten for kids. In a sample of 3,595 teachers surveyed by using the National Center for Early Development and Learning’s Transition Practices Survey (1996), it was reported that about 16% of children faced difficulty during entrance to kindergarten. The rates of problems acknowledged among the children also reflected the minority composition, and

country becoming profusely diverse. Before entering kindergarten, millions of children in the U.S. will attend some type of preschool, Head Start, or daycare program. Given the current negative climate of our country due to the beliefs and values that have been taught and reinforced regarding race, gender, ability, socioeconomic status, family structure, religion, and political affiliation to people throughout their lives, young children need a program that includes an anti-bias curriculum. “With the rise in the number of working parents and children participating in group programs from an early age, preschools have also become an influential socialization force” (Berthelsen & Karuppiah, 2011, p. 3). It is important to teach children to respect

On September 2010 more than 600 schools across Ontario opened their doors for a new program full-day kindergarten. This project is supposed to help parents to build a better future for their children. Almost every parent has a daydream in which she or he wants to see his or her child’s success. The project of full-day kindergarten can drive this dream to a reality. This program has been approved in the USA and given a significant result; this program became very popular, according to Viadero` and Debra (2005), because it is affordable for families with low income. Today parents in Ontario are given a hope to see

The evidence for positive economic, educational and health benefits from targeted preschool interventions is substantial (Barnett, 2010; Campbell, Conti, Heckman, Moon, Pinto, Pungello & Pan, 2014; Finn, 2010). However, the current research does not provide evidence that universal preschool will give the same long-term benefits as targeted preschool (Armor, 2014). This writer argues that universal preschool is not appropriate in the American context because the current government preschool programs have limited long term benefit, it subsidizes those who can afford to pay for private preschool and it takes money from targeted preschool for the neediest.

Early childhood education has many benefits and there is the potential for many significant outcomes if universal preschools were put into place. Some feel that children who start kindergarten without previously attended preschool sometimes lack certain skills such as social and communication skills and an inability to follow routines. There were also studies done that found attending preschool could help to close the achievement gap in the grade school years. A child’s first few years of life are most important, and they absorb the most during those years. By providing universal preschool, all children would be benefiting, especially those who are in at-risk families or part of the lower class. As a society, we have a responsibility to help the children in our communities and provide them with the education they need in order to help them succeed in life.

Early years in a child’s life ( when the brain is forming) represents a critically important window to develop a child’s full potential and shape academic, social, and cognitive skills. The Universal Prekindergarten Initiative urges each state to provide access to state funded preschool programs for four year olds. These programs would vary due to teacher qualifications, number of students, staff-child ratio, and operating schedule. Economic analysis ( Bowman) indicates that a better educational investment is in preschool education is in preschool education. To have a successful program states would need to support the prek. President Obama has called upon Congress to expand access to high quality preschool

Currently, nearly half of all kindergarten teachers report that their children have problems that hinder their success. Children unprepared for kindergarten tax the resources of the entire system. In the long term the unprepare chilern become a burden to all of society. However, classrooms where all children are prepared have higher learning productivity and classroom

With the achievement gap already so big between urban cities like Camden and other neighboring districts, it is crucial that parents have the resources they need to provide their children with a high quality early childhood education. Most of these students do not attend a preschool program and so they enter kindergarten lacking many basic social skills. It is much harder to teach these students the skills they need for 1st grade while following state standards when the teacher only has them for 3 hours a day. Shortening kindergarten will leave these students behind and struggling to catch up for many years. Realistically speaking, any worthy plan to close the current achievement gaps involves strong early childhood schooling.

Preschools do not participate in state testing; they are designed as an early introduction to school. The school puts special emphasis on the families treating the preschool the same as they would an elementary school. There are no true grades, however report cards are sent out every 6 weeks showing progress and giving a letter “grade” meant to mimic the standards of elementary school. Attendance is the most measureable “grade” to give and the school has a reward initiative for those with perfect attendance which is given out monthly. Signs posted throughout the school promote attendance which reminders of how just five minutes late adds up to a week of school missed over the course of a year. Encouraging students to maintain attendance and timeliness helps the parents and students recognize preschool as important.

California offers many different forms of early childhood education. There are privately funded preschools that are aimed towards upper-class families that can pay for their children to attend preschool. There are also publicly funded preschools, such as Head Start, that are designed for low-income families so that their children can attend preschool at no cost to the parents. However, there still are many middle-class families who have children that don't attend preschool because they can’t afford private schools however they make too much money to qualify for publicly funded preschool. All these preschool programs are designed to teach children basic skills necessary to transition into Kindergarten when they turn five. Since there are still many children who do not attend preschool, many schools have started offering transitional kindergarten(TK) for children who turn five by September 1st. TK is designed to help children gain the social and academic experience needed to begin Kindergarten.