Off to a Good Start

Kindergarten is where learning starts. Youngsters learn to count to 10 and sometimes to 100. They learn the names and the sounds of the letters of the alphabet. Their language skills expand, an important benefit for children who are not fluent in English. But kindergartens at 39 Los Angeles elementary schools are about to run out of room.

That is not surprising. Kindergarten enrollment is on the rise by close to 10% nationally, according to a recent U.S. Census Department report. That trend is also apparent regionally. In Orange County, for example, the Irvine Unified School District and the Capistrano Unified School District added classes, including double sessions of kindergarten held in the morning and in the afternoon, to accommodate additional children at the start of the current term.

Kindergarten is not compulsory in California. State law requires only that children between the ages of 6 and 16 attend school, but school districts admit every youngster who shows up. To accommodate an increase this year, the Los Angeles Unified School District added back-to-back sessions, portables and classrooms that had been designated for other purposes. Because the enrollment is expected to continue to grow, the district will need even more room next year.

If all goes as the Los Angeles School Board has adroitly planned, the district will use a local reserve fund to build two prefabricated kindergarten centers by February. Five hundred children will attend each of them. One center, built on property owned by the district in Cudahy, will also serve South Gate; in both communities every school is on a year-round calendar. A second center will serve Silver Lake, an area where many schools have reached capacity despite year-round calendars and numerous portable classrooms. The district may also build two more centers by September.

The centers cost $400,000, but do not qualify for state construction funds because the units are not considered permanent. By paying for the centers from the local reserve, the district is responding quickly to a critical need.

Educators have found that a strong start in the early grades can prevent problems that are difficult to fix in later grades. Kindergarten is crucial preparation for the first grade. Every district in the state must continue to make room for every child.