No Kindergarten Left Behind

Once again, Republican officials have helped to pave the way for a pet project of the overwhelmingly left-wing educational establishment—all-day kindergarten. Although the research on its benefits may be scant, several large Virginia counties are going full-speed, or as completely as they can, ahead with it.

“For the first time, all kindergarten students in Prince William County will have as much class time as older students,” staff writer Maria Glod reported in The Washington Post on September 4, 2007. “ Fairfax County is adding full-day kindergarten in 21 schools, a shift that makes the program available in about 70 percent of county elementary schools.”

“Students in the District, Arlington County and Alexandria have full-day kindergarten,” Glod reports. “Maryland made it mandatory this fall.”

And what is the impetus behind the push for a program that seems to have little support beyond public school officials and parents seeking alternative day care? “Educators say half-day classes are becoming a thing of the past because young students need more than a few hours of class each day to master the building blocks of literacy and math before first grade,” Glod reveals. “That foundation helps prepare them for more difficult work, such as the reading and math tests they will start taking in third grade under the No Child Left Behind law.”

“Lillie Jessie, principal at Elizabeth Vaughan Elementary in Prince William, said children who spend more time in kindergarten tend to have a better grasp of words and numbers, but just as important, they are more comfortable working with classmates, following instructions and even picking out lunch in the cafeteria.”

As Glod shows, although the benefits of adk might be future tense, sticker shock will kick in immediately for taxpayers, whether they have children in school or not. “Fairfax is spending about $5.6 million this year to add the program in 21 schools, for a total of 94 countywide,” Glod reveals. “Most of the money pays salaries for teachers or instructional assistants.”

“ School officials say it will be more expensive to add the program in the 42 remaining elementary schools because many are short on space and new classrooms may have to be built.”

But it’s a gift that keeps on giving, whether the giver feels indulgent or not. “Fairfax school officials hope to have full-day kindergarten throughout the county by fall 2009, at an annual cost of about $45 million,” Glod writes. “The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors supports day-long kindergarten countywide, but a predicted tight budget for the coming year may slow the initiative.”

Malcolm A. Kline is the executive director of Accuracy in Academia.