Educators support plan to raise kindergarten age

By: DAVID FRIED - Staff Writer | Sunday, August 8, 2004 8:58 PM PDT ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- Linda Means, a kindergarten teacher at Bobier Elementary in Vista, has seen the difference a year makes in a child's development.

Two years ago, luck of the draw gave her a classroom full of students who had turned age 5 before the start of the school year. A colleague, with whom she regularly collaborated, received a roster full of 4-year-olds. The difference between the classes was enormous, according to Means.

The younger children, she said, grew antsy when they had to sit and listen. They had more difficulty completing activities on time. And some simply presented more behavioral problems.

"At the end of the year, (all the students) ended up the same," Means said. "But it was a lot more work for parents and teachers to get that outcome."

So for Means, a state government reform panel's recent proposal came as a welcome remedy for a problem she said she believes has long ailed California's kindergartens.

Among two dozen recommendations to revamp California's public education system issued by the California Performance Review's is the proposal to change kindergarten eligibility. Instead of admitting students whose birthdays fall before Dec. 2, the panel proposed only enrolling children who turn 5 before Sept. 1.

The recommendations were part of a 2,500-page plan to radically reform California's government and save the state an estimated $32 billion over five years.

The panel estimated that under their plan, kindergarten enrollment in the first year would drop by about 90,000 students, saving the state $660 million in each of the first two years. It would also bring California's enrollment policy in line with that of 38 other states.

While some of the panel's recommendations have drawn sharp criticism, local and state educators appear to support the kindergarten proposal, which has been batted around policy circles for years.

The recommendation also has the support of the California Teachers Association and state Assemblyman Mark Wyland, R-Escondido, who in most cases take views politically at odds with one another.

A question of preparedness

While the proposed change means a difference of just three months, the results would mean many students enter kindergarten almost a year later. That year is one many educators say they believe makes a world of difference in terms of a child's emotional maturity.

Ken Noonan, superintendent of the Oceanside Unified School District, said kindergarten has changed over the years. These days, a child's first year in school focuses more on academic activities rather than social skills and rudimentary scholastics such as the ABCs. As a result, kindergartners face greater pressure to perform, and many can quickly fall behind.

"They struggle, especially after kindergarten, because they're not developmentally ready for higher grades," said Noonan.

Not everyone agrees. Lori Wraase, who enrolled her daughter Kaelyn at Lake Elementary in Vista two months before her fifth birthday, said she found the opposite to be true.

Kaelyn, who had grasped basic academic concepts easily in preschool, has excelled ever since she started her first year at school, according to her mother. The once clingy child even became much more socially independent once she started kindergarten, her mother said.

"When I put her in kindergarten, she just blossomed," said Wraase.

She said she believes that parents should base their decision to enroll a 4-year-old in kindergarten on the personality and ability of the child.

"It's so much an individual thing," said Wraase, adding that she wouldn't make the same choice for her toddler son.

But in the case of Kaelyn, who will start the second grade this fall, the choice was obvious.

"If I had waited, she would have been bored stiff," said Wraase.

Getting an early start

Some supporters of the plan point to what they call a fundamental flaw that must be eliminated in order for all children to benefit from the change in enrollment dates.

"The problem is, when you do that, it bounces out kids who would normally go into kindergarten," said Pat Dorman, a public policy analyst for the California Association for the Education of Young Children, a Sacramento organization for education professionals. "And when they're bounced out, they're either left out, or you have to provide some kind of program."

While the association supports the Sept. 1 deadline, Dorman said the "condition of promoting the idea is that (the Legislature) provide funding for programs for the children that would be bounced."

Means, the kindergarten teacher, said programs are available for those who seek them out.

But availability does not necessarily translate into enrollment. About half of San Diego children ages 3 to 5 attended some sort of preschool program, according to a study released this week by Preschool California, a preschool advocacy group. The study cited cost as the chief barrier to preschool enrollment. It also found Latinos, particularly those with limited English skills, were about 20 percent less likely to have a child enrolled in preschool.

A bill before the state Legislature would provide publicly-funded preschool for any family that wanted to enroll its 3 or 4-year-old.

No changes soon

Although Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger endorsed the reform proposals last week, the political battles ahead of any plan to change the state's education system mean things will remain the same at public schools at least for this school year.

Schools will continue to accept any student who meets state eligibility requirements, even if teachers such as Means believe the child would be better served in preschool.

That is a suggestion Means said she makes often, but one that often is not well taken by parents.

"They're resistant," said Means. "They've learned that early education is good and they're waiting for a chance to get their kid in school."

Contact staff writer David Fried at (760) 631-6621 or dfried@nctimes.com.