![]() Parents, educators, and advocates want school districts to offer full-day programs because they say teachers would have more time to help children learn foundational skills such as their alphabets, colors, and numbers, working parents would have child care covered, and students would be better prepared to enter elementary school. “We’re going to come up with the best approach possible,” Wilson said.The bill has already passed the house with bipartisan support and is in the Senate’s education committee where it will go up for a hearing on April 25. Parents can work with principals on a flexible “hybrid” full-day option that allows kids to have more time at home. West Ada is trying to provide options, beyond a strict full-day or half-day session. But unlike Boise, if West Ada parents sign up for the half-day program, they will need to commit for the full school year. Slightly more than 200 respondents said they were entertaining the half-day option, district spokesman Greg Wilson said Tuesday.Īs in Boise, no busing will be available for West Ada’s half-day kindergarten. The district received about 900 survey responses earlier this spring - representing a fraction of West Ada’s 3,000 or so incoming kindergartners. West Ada has identified eight possible half-day kindergarten sites - based partly on geography, but also based on available classroom space.ĭistrict officials are still trying to gauge interest in half-day kindergarten, but it appears most parents are comfortable with the all-day plan. That’s when district officials plan to send out notifications, letting parents know where half-day classes will be available. In West Ada, kindergarten open enrollment ends Wednesday, and parents should learn more about their half-day options by June 1. After that, spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. ![]() ![]() Fewer than 20 students are enrolled for the half-day option, district spokesman Dan Hollar said Tuesday, and the district chose to hold the class at Liberty because most of the families that are interested in half-day kindergarten live in Southeast Boise.īoise parents must sign up for half-day kindergarten at Liberty by June 1. Previously, the Boise district said it needed enrollment of at least 15 kids to make a half-day kindergarten class viable. “However, overall parent interest warranted offering families the ability to open enroll in the half-day kindergarten program at one location.” “The number of students who committed to participate in half-day kindergarten for 2022-2023 fell below the district’s desired enrollment threshold at every school in the district,” officials said in a May 11 email to parents. The district says the limited options reflect limited demand. No busing will be available for the morning sessions, no lunch will be provided and parents will need to commit to half-day kindergarten at least through the fall semester. ![]() In Boise, Liberty Elementary School will be the only half-day option. And some parents want to keep their kids at home part of the day or ease them into the school day. West Ada and Boise have offered tuition-based, full-day kindergarten - as many districts and charters have cobbled together funding to supplement state-funded, half-day kindergarten.īut while all-day kindergarten is popular with many parents, the move poses logistical challenges for large and small schools alike. Idaho’s two largest districts will offer tuition-free all-day kindergarten this fall, using increased state funding for early literacy programs. The West Ada School District is still figuring out where to provide half-day kindergarten.īut for Boise parents who prefer half-day kindergarten, they will have to send their child to a single elementary school in Southeast Boise.
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