First-day jitters last longer for some
Callen Neff wasn’t worried about his first day as a kindergartner at Holmes Elementary School.
As he sat coloring a picture at his new desk Tuesday, the 5-year-old barely glanced up when his father, Harry Neff, slipped out of Emily Sobczuk’s classroom.
For other little ones, the start of the school year wasn’t so effortless.
Patricia Ortiz tried several times to leave Sobczuk’s classroom. Each time, the lip of her daughter, Yevette Pimentel, would quiver and tears would follow.
“I think this is harder for me,” said Ortiz, fighting back her own tears.
Ortiz said Yevette’s first-day jitters were amplified when she learned she would be spending the whole day away from home instead of just a half-day.
Under funding provided by the Legislature, five Spokane elementary schools are implementing all-day kindergarten this year. Kindergarten students at Holmes, Bemiss, Logan, Stevens and Regal will spend six hours a day at school.
Spokane’s 29 other elementary schools will stick with half-day kindergarten.
East Valley’s Trent Elementary School – where classes began last week – is the only other Spokane County school that qualified for the two-year grant.
The funding was awarded to the top 10 percent of schools in the state with the highest levels of poverty, as measured by the number of students qualifying for free- and reduced-price lunch.
Next year the funding could include the top 20 percent of schools with high numbers of low-income families.
“For us that will mean additional schools,” said Irene Gonzales, Spokane Public Schools administrator. But beyond next year, the future is unclear. State funding is only approved for two years, and it was not fully funded this year. Spokane, which had to cut more than $10 million from the budget this year, paid about $300,000 above what the state funded for the program.
“Ideally we’d like all of our schools to have all-day kindergarten,” Gonzales said.
Research shows that low-income children enter first grade socially and academically behind their peers from higher-income families, who typically have better access to preschool or extended-day kindergarten programs.
Children in full-day kindergarten classes also show greater gains in reading and math compared with those in half-day classes, the research shows.
“Most people think kindergarten is lots of coloring and cutting,” said Sobczuk. “But anymore, kindergartners are expected to be readers when they leave here.”
All-day kindergarten allows teachers more time with individual students who may be struggling and to go deeper with subjects. Teachers are expected to teach the same curriculum in a full-day and half-day classes.
Full-day students also have access to library, art and music – not so with half-day classes.
“My students tend to be about six weeks ahead of where they were when I taught half-day,” said Linda Baggarley, who teaches full-day kindergarten in the Central Valley School District.
Central Valley began offering tuition-based extended-day programs for kindergarteners in 2000 and now has full-day kindergarten in eight buildings. None of CV’s schools qualifies for the state grants. Parents pay between $265 and $275 a month, based on income, for the program.
West Valley, which also has no schools qualifying for state funds, is using funds from a voter-approved initiative meant to reduce class sizes to offer a pilot program at Seth Woodard Elementary School this year. West Valley students return to class today.
While some of Spokane’s all-day students struggled Tuesday, most appeared ready.
“It seems like at this age they are very ready to learn,” Holmes parent Harry Neff said.
Holmes already has a waiting list from parents in other neighborhood schools not offering full-day kindergarten and may add another kindergarten class this year. The program is voluntary.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Holmes parent Anna Nelson, who works full time. She said the full-day option for her son Simon, 5, will also mean lower child care expenses for her family. “I’m more excited about that.”