A post about full-day kindergarten (FDK) and a nice to meet you (NTMY) from a new LEV staffer, Hannah Danielle Lidman (HDL: that’s me!).
The Foundation for Child Development just released a great new report about the importance about full-day kindergarten (or all-day kindergarten as we sometimes refer to it in WA) in the continuum of early education and education reform efforts. The premise of the paper is so logical to me that I find it sad they had to release another report on the subject.
You can (and should) read the whole interesting report, but I think the following sentence sums it all up if you want the short shrift:
In PreK-3rd FDK is the “pivot” year, serving as the pedagogical bridge between PreK and the early elementary grades
My take: If we are serious about building and sustaining educational momentum for kids early (which we should be), PreK funding cannot come at the expense of funding for FDK. And further, we cannot allow the gains made in quality prekindergarten to dissipate in half-day kindergarten if they can be maintained and grown in full-day programs.
I, LEV, and many others worked very hard during this last legislative session for high-quality PreK for all kids in Washington. During the months-long debates on the state budget and on the PreK bills we championed (HB 2731 and SB 6759), we were asked time and again what was more important, PreK or FDK?
Our answer was (and is) the same every time: Yes!
We need to start (and start smart) before kindergarten, but it is a mistake to put children in high-quality PreK and then not follow it up with strong full-day kindergarten programs. Our work with the legislative champions on these issues is one of the reasons that new funding for PreK beginning in 2013 will be phased-in in alignment with the state’s phased implementation of full-day kindergarten. But with just 20% of schools currently funded for FDK, we also have to keep the heat up on that particular iron in our collective fire.
With that: I am really excited to be a part of great work at LEV and if you want to know more about me check out my bio here. I will be posting as regularly as possible about early learning, K-12 finance, the state budget, and revenue. If you have questions or particular subjects that you would like to hear about, let me know.
And finally, Nice to meet you.
