Plainfield District 202 To Present Full-Day Kindergarten Study

PLAINFIELD, IL — The Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 will present a study on the feasibility of implementing full-day kindergarten and adding an eighth period to the school day for high schoolers at the January 14 Board of Education meeting. Both are top priorities for the district, officials said, and while logistical and financial challenges long have stood in their way, that may finally be changing.

The district currently operates a half-day kindergarten program. Illinois does not require schools to have a kindergarten program at all, but families have clamored for it for years, the district said. Parents have cited both the educational benefits of kindergarten and the financial benefits it would provide parents strapped for child-care costs.

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"When the law was written, it was the other way around," said Superintendent of Schools Lane Abrell. "No one was thinking about full-day kindergarten. Families were more interested in flexibility. But the world has changed."

While several neighboring school districts have implemented full-day kindergarten programs, none are as big as District 202. Despite having 17 elementary schools, the district has not previously had the space to accommodate more than 1,500 new kindergartners. Instead, a pilot program has selected just 24 of those students at random from each school to participate in an all-day program.

"Being the fourth or fifth biggest school district in Illinois continues to make it difficult for us to meet some of our goals," Abrell said. "We had to do the pilot program because we understand people prefer a full-day program, but we simply do not have the physical space in our 17 elementary schools to house 1,500 kindergartners all day long."

The obvious solution, he added, is to create more space. Administrators presented preliminary information to the board's Finance Committee last week on the feasibility of building an 18th elementary school to house both regular education programs and some special education programs currently spread among the 17 existing schools. Officials believe an 18th school would free up enough space for full-day kindergarten programs in each school.

"If we can make it work, this would be the ideal solution for our students, families and taxpayers alike," Abrell said.

Also up for discussion is the possibility of adding an eighth high school period. The extra period would allow students more access to advanced courses and electives, officials said. Currently, students must take an "early bird" class or attend summer school to fulfill missing graduation requirements, though officials said adding the period might also raise the question of whether to increase graduation requirements.

"There is a cost to everything, and I am not sure we can achieve both goals yet," Abrell said.

The Board of Education meets January 14, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. The board will immediately go into closed session and reconvene in a public session at 7:30 p.m. Find more information here.

Image via District 202