Genesee Joint Schools moves to Full Day Kindergarten

Genesee Joint Schools will begin offering full day kindergarten in the fall of 2016.

Although the state of Idaho does not require students to attend kindergarten, we as a district believe that prekindergarten and kindergarten offer students a great opportunity to build a strong foundation for K-12 education. Full day kindergarten will increase the amount of instructional time for students significantly throughout the school year. This additional time will allow students to receive more academic instruction, therefore increasing opportunities for students to build the skills necessary for academic success.

Research from the National Educational Association (NEA) identifies that full day kindergarten not only increases students' academic abilities, but strengthens social and emotional skills as well.  Longitudinal data shows children enrolled in full day kindergarten show greater reading and math ability than those in traditional half day programs. Research also shows full day kindergarten helps narrow achievement gaps, especially for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. By providing additional time, students show greater short and long term academic, social and emotional gains.

While some parents may be concerned that full day kindergarten is too much for kids, research shows that 5 & 6 year olds are ready for longer instructional days and do better when allowed additional time for in depth exploration. Our purpose for implementing full day kindergarten is not only on the potential for increased academic development of our students, but we believe that attending school promotes many social emotional skills that are designed to help children in and out of the school environment.

If you have questions regarding the full day kindergarten program, please contact me at wmoore@sd282.org or 208-285-1161 ext 201.


Source

• NEA . Full day kindergarten helps close achievement gaps. http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/mf_PB12_FullDayK.pdf
• NEA. Full day kindergarten: A missing link in the Pre-Kindergarten though third grade. http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/18781_Full-Day_Kindergarten_Backgrounder-Final.pdf