‘All-Day K’ Program Gets Passing Grade

An experimental daylong kindergarten program at Walnut Canyon Elementary School appears to give students an edge in first grade, one teacher says.

After two months of school, this year’s first-graders approach reading more easily, stay more focused and follow directions better than previous students, said Kathy Wilson, a first-grade teacher at the district’s new magnet school.

The difference is slight but noticeable, she said.

“It’s hard to judge because every group of kids is different,” Wilson said. “But it’s an overall feeling of being better prepared to do what is expected of them.”

Walnut Canyon Elementary, the district’s newest school, was the first to offer all-day kindergarten.

This year’s first-graders came in with about the same academic knowledge but more preparation for handling longer days, Wilson said.

“What I noticed was behaviorally, being able to sit and do their work,” she said.

Having better-prepared students allows her to do more teaching, Wilson said.

“I do less housekeeping, less of teaching children to stay in their chairs,” she said. “I definitely see that it is helpful.”

Although youngsters in the “all-day K” program become independent quickly, many children come to her class already knowing the ropes, said Walnut Canyon kindergarten teacher Cheri Webb.

“We have a lot of children who have preschool child-care experience,” she said. “From day one, every child in my class knew to take all their things with them.”

More one-on-one time provided by smaller classes has benefited young students more than the all-day kindergarten, Webb said.

“The full-day K is a great program, but it’s the class-size reduction that has really made the big difference,” she said. “Teachers got to meet their needs more quickly because they got to know them more quickly.”

As long as highly structured activities do not dominate the school day, the all-day kindergarten rates high with Linda Cravens, head of the child development department at Moorpark College.

“We know that children who have been in quality early childhood programs do better in school, in first-grade, but I stress ‘quality,’ ” she said. “As long as the children have some quiet time and time to explore materials in a developmental setting, that would be appropriate.”