All-day kindergarten comes at a price

A growing number of kindergarten students in Wheaton Warrenville Unit District 200 could have a longer school day next year.

But the district's plan to expand its all-day kindergarten program for the 2011-2012 academic year would come at a cost for some parents.

In order to offer one full-day kindergarten class at each of its 13 elementary schools, District 200 would need to fund the program with an even mix of grant-funded students and tuition-based students.

So half the parents who enroll their children in the optional all-day sessions would need to pay a tuition fee of as much as $4,000 a year, per student.

Margo Sorrick, District 200's assistant superintendent for educational services, said Wednesday that the proposal, which school board members will review later this month, would pay for itself.

“Our recommendation is a neutral cost to the district,” Sorrick said. “It will not add any funds to the district. But it will not take any funds away from other initiatives.”

District 200 has been offering an extended day program on a limited basis over the past two years. It's only available to about 15 “at-risk” students at each of the nine schools that receive Title 1 funding. Longfellow, Pleasant Hill, Whittier and Wiesbrook elementary schools didn't have all-day kindergarten classes this year because they don't qualify for the federal funding.

While most District 200 kindergartners will continue to have half-days of school, Sorrick said the hope is to someday have all-day sessions available for every student who wants to participate.

“Our goal is to build the program, but we have to start somewhere,” she said.

In the meantime, the class sizes would have to be limited to 24 to 26 students per school. The proposal calls for each session to be filled on a “first-come, first serve” basis for both tuition-based students and grant-funded students. Existing financial and space limitations make it impossible for the district to offer all-day kindergarten for every at-risk student, officials said.

As part of the program, students in each all-day class would attend school from 9:10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The curriculum would be consistent with the existing kindergarten program, but allow extra time “for engagement with concepts in the core subjects,” officials said.

Sorrick said it's important for District 200 to offer the full-day sessions to give students “more opportunities for academic advancement.”

She said kindergarten students in the district's existing program are benefiting from the experience. “They are able to advance their academic skills beyond that of their peers who are not in the extended day program,” Sorrick said.

The school board is expected to review the recommendation to expand the all-day kindergarten program during a Jan. 26 workshop session. A vote on the proposal could happen during the school board's Feb. 9 meeting.