Studies tout the benefits of full-day kindergarten

Two school boards received glowing reports Tuesday on budding full-day kindergarten programs, just as the Utah Legislature gears up to consider a $7.5 million bill to help take the concept statewide.

A study of Jordan District's program at Midvale Elementary, conducted by Brigham Young University, found full-day kindergartners made greater gains in literacy exams — especially kids learning English as a second language — than children in half-day kindergarten programs.

Two Granite District schools that were examined also have twice as many students scoring as established readers on one literacy test, and half as many considered at-risk, in the first half year of its pilot program, Title I schools director Rob Averett said.

"These preliminary observations are impressive," Averett told the Granite Board of Education. "We wanted you to have that punch line right now as the Legislature considers the governor's very positive initiative to extend extended-day kindergarten in more Utah schools."

Optional, full-day kindergarten targeting low-income, at-risk students is one of Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s top priorities. It is supported by the State Board of Education as a way to fill in achievement gaps between whites and minorities, the haves and have-nots, before they take hold, as several studies have suggested.

"Extended-day kindergarten provides the time necessary and direct assistance to our students who are most at risk," Huntsman said in his State of the State speech Tuesday night. "The $7.5 million I have requested will make extended-day kindergarten a reality for every district, charter and Title I school — and for more than 10,000 students who need it most."

Huntsman's proposal is fleshed out in SB49, sponsored by Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan. It has not yet been debated.

Fifteen Utah school districts, including Weber, Ogden, Salt Lake City and Box Elder, offered full-day kindergarten programs last year, mostly with federal Title I dollars for low-income schools. Programs also are available to about half the nation's schoolchildren.

Midvale Elementary in Jordan District has offered full-day kindergarten for two years and now has five such classrooms enrolling 116 children.

The BYU study, conducted by Kendra M. Hall, Gary E. Bingham and Byran B. Korth through the department of teacher education, weighed Midvale's data with that from two unnamed schools' half-day programs. It examined student achievement on five literacy and math tests, instructional quality, perceptions and attendance. It included 96 students — just over half are English language learners — 53 parents and six teachers.