All-Day, Everyday Kindergarten Has Momentum at Minnesota Capitol

Momentum seems to be growing at the Minnesota State Capitol for a funded, all-day kindergarten program. 

Minnesota Senate and House leaders are in lockstep with Gov. Mark Dayton, who as said since his State of the State address he would be making full day programs a priority in 2013. 

Among those supporting all-day kindergarten is Rep. Jason Isaacson, DFL assistant majority leader whose District 42B includes that part of Roseville north of County Road C and east of Snelling Avenue.

"The benefits of all-day kindergarten far outweigh the costs," Isaacson, of Shoreview, contended in an interview with Roseville Patch. He noted that Minnesota has been slipping in its national ranking for investment in education.

Isaacson asserted that a greater investment in children at an earlier age would help reduce the number of students who struggle in later years in K-12 school and aren't prepared to attend college or trade school.

"If there is only one thing I could do this session (for education), it would be establishing all-day (funded) kindergarten,"  Isaacson said. "It would be the one single biggest thing to turn around the educational system."

Asked whether he thinks the Legislature is likely to pass legislation this session for all-day, funded kindergarten,  Isaacson said, "This is a priority in the House and the Governor is on board. I think we will get something done." 

Sen. Chuck Wiger, a leader in the DFL-controlled Senate, said earlier this session that said the funding would provide “an important step toward enhancing Minnesota’s commitment to quality education for all children.” 

The House budget, unveiled last week, includes funding for all-day programs for "any district that wants it." 

If the state ultimately provides funding for all-day kindergarten, that would be a boon in the Roseville public schools where Disrict 623 currently offers all-day kindergarten but many parents pay nearly $3,000 a year to enroll their children in the tuition-based program. 

"It (all-day kindergarten) is growing in popularity," said Peter Olson-
Skog, Roseville District 623's director of teaching and learning. More than half of kindergarteners are in the district's all-day program, he said.  

Olson-Skog said the state's interest in all-day kindergarten is based on early childhood education having a postive impact on the long-term development of students. 

He disagreed with critics who contend that all-day kindergarten serves as daycare for parents. "Our motive as a school district is to give students more early childhood educational opportunities," he said. 

Olson-Skog said that "the ability to receive greater funding (from the state) could allow us to provde it (all-day) kindergarten as a free option to all students." He noted that District 623, on its own, has been considering whether to  make all-day kindergarten a free option to all students.  

Meanwhile, the State Senate's version of the budget includeds more than $485 million in education spending, the bulk allocated to fund all-day kindergarten.

Currently, other districts from St. Michael-Albertville and Maple Grove in the Twin Cities metro to Moorhead in the western part of the state offer a tuition-based kindergarten program that offers full-day programming. 

Some districts, however, including Minneapolis, are discussing defunding all-day programs in part or entirely and returning to a half-day offering because of costs. 

and offer it to district residents only. 

The state Department of Education estimates about six in 10 students in full-day programs. About $2,200 in the so-called per pupil payments would be required in state money to fund programs.

Education Minnesota, the state's largest teachers' union, said the DFL's unity behind full-day kindergarten is a step in the right direction. 

“Leaders clearly listened to Minnesotans, who have said that the state should invest in small class sizes; free, all-day, every day, kindergarten; and a strong higher education system,” said Tom Dooher, president of Education Minnesota. “These kind of investments are precisely what Minnesota needs to create the nation’s best workforce.”

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