Week 6: Sharing Web Resources

While exploring outside links, CDF has a link to their interactive map.  The interactive map is an illustration of Full-Day K.  Full-Day K is an initiative, by CDF, that promote full-day preK for all children.  Please see the green link below!  The interactive map is quite interesting.  Please be sure to click over your state.  Also, listed below the interactive map, you will find fact sheets from each state.  Great info!

INTERACTIVE FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN IN THE UNITED STATES MAP

CDF has taken a snap shot of the status of kindergarten in America in order to focus the national, state and local dialogue on the missing half-step of our public school K-12 system. A thorough review of the literature was done followed by research correspondence and calls with state department of education staff for clarification. Finally staff at all 50 state departments of education were given the opportunity to fact check (www.childrensdefense.org).*

What Do the Colors Mean?

GREEN: Full-day kindergarten is provided at no charge to all children per state statute and funding.

ORANGE: State only requires school districts to offer half-day kindergarten and cannot charge tuition.

YELLOW: No state statute requires any type of kindergarten program although many school districts offer half-day kindergarten at a minimum.

RED: State allows school districts to charge families tuition for the “other portion of the kindergarten day” (www.childrensdefense.org).

The second link, I followed, on this page took me to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website.  I was not aware that nine states have not yet adopted the common core state standards:  Alaska, Nebraska, Minnesota, Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa Islands, and Northern Mariana Islands.

CORE STANDARDS

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy (www.corestandards.org).

Information that adds to my understanding of equity and excellence in early childhood education:

Full-day kindergarten (Full-Day K) boosts children’s cognitive learning, creative problem-solving and social competence. Yet for many young children Full-Day K is a missing half step in the early learning continuum. Unequal access to publicly funded full-day and full-week high quality kindergarten programs means too many young children lose a critical opportunity to develop and strengthen foundational skills necessary for success in school and lifelong learning. All children should have guaranteed access to high-quality, publicly funded Full-Day K each day of the school week if they are to meet the learning and work-force challenges of the 21st century (www.childrensdefense.org).

Full-Day Kindergarten in the States

Public education in America is built on the foundation of equal access for all children. But access to Full-Day K in reality is more akin to a game of chance in which the lottery of geography and income are the determinative factors (www.childrensdefense.org).

• Only ten states and the District of Columbia require by statute that school districts provide publicly-funded Full-Day K. An additional 34 states require school districts to provide half-day kindergarten, and six do not require districts to provide kindergarten at all.
• The majority of states in the country do not require kindergarten to be the same length of day as the other grades in the system, nor does funding for Full-Day K appear in state statute along with funding requirements for grades 1-12. Instructional time for kindergartners varies from a half-day of 2.5 hours to a full-day of six hours.
• Many children are only able to access Full-Day K if their parents pay tuition for the half of the day not covered by other funds, if they qualify for tuition assistance based on family income, the child is at risk of school failure, or if the school district voluntarily chooses to provide Full-Day K. (www.childrensdefense.org).