Kindergarten

The Children’s Alliance of NH believes the state should require and provide funding for every community to provide both half- and full-day public kindergarten options and allow parents to choose which is best for their children and their families.

The reasons for a full-day kindergarten option are both educational and economic. Children who attend full-day kindergarten start grade school more ready to learn, and full-day kindergarten strengthens the state's workforce today and in the future.

March 30, 2005
Board of Education yields to political pressure, backs down on universal kindergarten and smaller class sizes

March 9, 2005
Valley News editorial hits state Board of Education for "spineless" reversal on kindergarten.

March 3, 2005
Children's Alliance urges Board of Education not to abandon New Hampshire's students

March 3, 2005
Concord Monitor reports that Board of Education is poised to drop kindergarten from its proposed standards.

January 3, 2005
Children's Alliance proposes changes in Board of Education's draft standards for public schools.

December 1, 2004
Public hearings on the Board of Education's proposed public school standards begin Dec. 15. Deadline for written comment is Feb. 18, 2005. Link to the NH Dept. of Education's Revised Public School Rules page.

October 5, 2004
Commentary by Children's Alliance President Ellen Shemitz: "Full-day kindergarten is an essential part of education choice."

September 28, 2004
New Hampshire's Board of Education includes in its proposed public education standards the requirement that every school district "offer" kindergarten. (See ED. 306.25)

August 20, 2004
Concord Monitor: Gov. Craig Benson proposes system of kindergarten vouchers

June 7, 2004
"Full-day and Half-day Kindergarten in the United States: Findings from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99." A report from the National Center of Education Statistics.

January 29, 2004
Christian Science Monitor: "Learning trend: Kindergarten becomes an all-day affair."

December, 2003
Child Trends issue brief: "Attending Kindergarten and Already Behind: A Statistical Portrait of Vulnerable Young Children" (PDF file)

Resources

Report: "Ready, Set, GROW: Investing in Quality Early care and Education for a Thriving New Hampshire" (PDF)
Children's Alliance of NH

Data brief: "Indicators of Early School Success and Child Well-Being" (PDF)
Child Trends DataBank
Examines indicators of well-being and development among children entering kindergarten and describes changes in these indicators as children move from kindergarten to first grade. The brief pays particular attention to differences in children's progress on these indicators by gender, race and ethnicity, language spoken at home,disability status, and socioeconomic status.

Report: "Beyond the Usual Suspects: Developing New Allies to Invest in School Readiness" (PDF)
State Early Childhood Policy Technical Assistance Network
This publication helps advocates understand why teachers, health care professionals, business leaders, and other groups think school readiness is important and how best to approach them when building coalitions.