Full-day dream

By Emily Richmond

Wednesday, May 14, 2003 | 11:56 a.m.

When Yailin Ayala comes home from kindergarten at C.P. Squires Elementary School, the 5-year-old chatters excitedly to her mother, recounting the day's lessons, songs and games.

"She tells me in English, and I have to say to her, 'No, no, start again in Spanish so I understand,' " her mother, Juliana Ayala, said through an interpreter Tuesday. "She tells me she's going to teach me English so I can help her with her homework."

Yailin's newly acquired language skills are just one of the benefits of the full-day kindergarten program offered at Squires, said Principal Carol Lark. When Yailin heads into first grade she'll be ready to learn, which makes it less likely that she'll require remedial services later on and less likely that she will ever drop out of school, Lark said.

"We shouldn't be waiting until these kids need remedial programs in high school," Lark said. "We should be getting children ready to learn and then keeping them on grade level. That's how we really tackle our dropout rate, we start when we have the best chance of making a difference."

In his State of the State address in January, Gov. Kenny Guinn recommended funding full-day kindergarten programs for students attending at-risk schools at a cost of about $15 million. It's also a key component of the $900 million iNVest plan, backed by all 17 of Nevada's school superintendents.

But with a little more than two weeks left in the legislative session, one of the proposal's biggest backers said she doubts the governor's proposal will be approved.

"At this point, I'd be very happy if the $6 million pilot program recommended by the Assembly gets funded," said Assemblywoman Chris Giunchigliani, D-Las Vegas, a former special education teacher in the Clark County School District. "That doesn't mean I've given up. I still think full-day kindergarten is the way to go if we really want to see improvements in achievement."

Assemblyman Lynn Hettrick, R-Douglas, said Monday he opposes the full-day kindergarten proposal, primarily "because of the cost of adding the program at a time when we have to look at at massive tax increases to fund existing programs."

There are already a "myriad of programs addressing underachievers and the federal No Child Left Behind (Act) will address them as well," Hettrick said in a written statement. "Some will argue about No Child Left Behind, but it is the law."

It may be the law, but that doesn't make it sound policy, Giunchigliani said.

"We're being told to hold our students, teachers and schools to a new level of accountability, which is wonderful, but we're not getting the financial support we need to make that happen," Giunchigliani said. "There are gaps where the state is going to have to step in if our children are going to succeed, and I firmly believe funding full-day kindergarten programs at at-risk schools is one of the necessary steps."

Nevada, particularly in Clark County, faces an ever-widening gap between the achievement of students from low-income households and those living in more affluent surroundings. Many educators, both locally and at the national level, say the best way to bridge the chasm is to boost early learning programs for at-risk children.

Dozens of studies conducted over the past decade tend to support that approach.

Studies of full-day kindergarten programs showed children overall were better prepared for first grade, with the most significant gains among students for whom English is not their first language, and or from low-income families.

The Clark County School District has plenty of both. Currently about 20 percent of the district's more than 258,000 students are English Language Learners, a percentage that continues to grow. And 104 of Clark County's 172 elementary schools qualified for Title I funds in the 2002-03 academic year.

Title I is a federal designation based in part on the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced meals.

The district decided to divide the money among the 41 campuses with the highest needs.

Because there's no way of predicting whether a school will receive the same amount of Title I funds every year, administrators are often reluctant to use the money to launch programs such as full-day kindergarten.

"You don't want to put in a program this year that you could lose next year," said Martha Tittle, superintendent of curriculum for the district. "That's why we've all been so hopeful the funding would come from the state, to remove that uncertainty."

What's frustrating is that no one disagrees the full-day programs can -- and do -- have a profound effect, Tittle said.

"It all comes down to funding," Tittle said. "I know it's expensive, and I know these are tough times, but these programs are very much needed."

Lark said she knows firsthand about that uncertainty. She expects to reduce her school's full-day kindergarten program from six to five classrooms next fall, because of a $67,000 shortfall in Title I dollars.

"We're talking about bright children who are more than capable of learning if they're given a fair chance," Lark said. "The thought of having to turn any of them away is devastating."

Nevada requires children entering first grade to have attended an accredited kindergarten program or passed a screening process -- an evaluation by the district to determine whether they are ready to advance.

But for many children, the two and a half hours in the average kindergarten day isn't enough, said kindergarten curriculum specialist Judy Piccininni, who has been with the district 10 years.

The longer school day isn't too much to expect of young children, Piccininni said. The schedule includes play time, rest periods and lunch, Piccininni said.

"We're not talking about having a kindergarten boot camp where kids are forced to do worksheets all day, we're talking about having the time to meet more kids' needs on their individual levels," said Piccininni, who returns to the classroom next fall.

While Nevada's lawmakers wrestle with whether to fund a similar program in the Silver State, Yailin's mother said she's already convinced of the benefits.

"I come every day that I can to help out in the class," Juliana Ayala said. "It's a wonderful place. I'm grateful for all it has done for my daughter."

While kindergarten programs vary significantly from state to state, about 98 percent of children attend at least a half-day program prior to entering the first grade, according to the Education Commission of the States, a nationwide clearinghouse. Of those, about 60 percent attend full-day programs.