Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

All-day kindergarten debated

CARSON CITY -- Educators brought out all the stops Monday to ask an Assembly education committee to endorse all-day kindergarten.

In a meeting that stretched almost three hours, educators laid out data showing huge jumps in language skills between children who attend full-day kindergarten and those who don't.

They assigned two kindergarten children to read stories aloud to the room.

And Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, asked the panel to picture a middle-class student who falls behind early in his schooling and struggles with embarrassment and disappointment throughout school.

About 60 percent of the nation's kindergarten students attend between five and six hours of school a day, Perkins said.

"You want to talk about 'leaving no child behind,' " he asked. "This is the single most successful way to do that."

Two hours into the meeting, more than 30 people waited to testify in favor of the idea, and eventually Chairwoman Bonnie Parnell, D-Carson City, a former teacher, pushed Assembly Bill 198 to a work session next week.

Democrats have labeled full-day kindergarten one of their top priorities this legislative session, when lawmakers will be flush with a surplus spurred by high gaming and sales taxes.

Yet some Republicans have already begun to express doubts, including Assemblyman Garn Mabey, R-Las Vegas, who said parents in his district want the choice of sending their young children to half-day kindergarten.

Mabey said he sees the benefits of full-day kindergarten, especially for at-risk students.

But he also argues that the program would cost more than the $60 million a year that school superintendents have forecasted. And he pointed out that the Distributive School Account, the state money that funds education, already could take a hit if lawmakers pass a cap on property taxes, even a 6 percent cap.

While Mabey said he expects the idea to clear the Democratic-controlled Assembly, he predicted that ultimately "it's the money that's going to be the issue."

Advocates argued, however, that the state ultimately will save money on retention and remediation programs if it fronts the money for full-day kindergarten.

Children come to school at all different social and academic levels, but a full-day kindergarten can help smooth those differences, said Harriet Egertson, an early childhood education consultant who testified in front of the committee.

For example, a 1995 study found that low-income children have heard an average of 10 million words by the time they are 4 years old, compared with the almost 50 million words that upper-middle income students have heard.

Some test scores show that students can make huge gains in kindergarten. Risley Elementary School in Washoe County, for example, instituted full-day kindergarten and has seen more than 60 percent of students exceed standards in reading and 75 percent of students exceed standards in math.

Administrators contrasted the results with students in half-day programs in two other schools. About 40 percent fewer students exceeded standards in both subjects.

Clark County administrators presented scores first shown to the education committee earlier this session that showed full-day kindergarten students at one Summerlin school had more than double the language aptitude of half-day kindergarten students at the same school.

Some, such as Nevada Retailers Association lobbyist Ray Bacon, argued that money could be better focused on programs for at-risk students, who could then catch up to their peers.

But Carla Steinforth, assistant superintendent in the Northwest region of the Clark County School District, argued that all children should have the chance to realize their full potential in school.

"It accelerates the learning of all children," she said. "I guess I would say that even though I have a child that maybe comes in with some skills, why not let my child accelerate also?"

archive