Report on the Kindergarten Development Grants:
Transition Planning for Full-day Kindergarten
Quality Full-day Kindergarten
Line-item 7030-1002January, 2009
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-4906
Phone 781-338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 800-439-2370
www.doe.mass.edu
This document was prepared by the
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
Board of Elementary and Secondary Education Members
Ms. Maura Banta, Chair, Melrose
Ms. Harneen Chernow, Jamaica Plain
Mr. Gerald Chertavian, Cambridge
Mr. Andrew “AJ” Fajnzylber, Chair, Student Advisory Council, Brookline
Dr. Thomas E. Fortmann, Lexington
Ms. Beverly Holmes, Springfield
Dr. Jeff Howard, Reading
Ms. Ruth Kaplan, Brookline
Dr. Dana Mohler-Faria, Bridgewater
Mr. Paul Reville, Secretary of Education, Worcester
Dr. Sandra L. Stotsky, Brookline
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D., Commissioner
and Secretary to the Board
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Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, MA 02148-5023
Phone 781-338-3000 TTY: N.E.T. Relay 800-439-2370
www.doe.mass.edu
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street, Malden, Massachusetts 02148-5023 Telephone: (781) 338-3000
TTY: N.E.T. Relay 1-800-439-2370
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.Commissioner
January 2009
Dear Members of the General Court:
I pleased to submit this Report to the Legislature on Kindergarten Development Grants pursuant to Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2008 line item 7030-1002 which addresses certain aspects of the Kindergarten Development Grant Program (line item 7030-1002). This language states that:
“…the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the total number of grants requested and awarded; provided further, that the report shall detail common factors associated with both successful and unsuccessful applications and shall include the total number of full-day and half-day kindergarten classrooms projected to be in operation in public schools in fiscal year 2010”
Universal, voluntary full-day kindergarten is a component of an early care and education system for children birth to third grade (PK-3). Kindergarten is the threshold year in children’s lives and education, standing between diverse preschool programs and the public education system. Funding for the Kindergarten Development Grant Program in the last ten fiscal years (FY2000 to FY09) has supported school districts’ voluntary transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten and quality enhancement of existing full-day programs.
Between FY00 and FY09 the percentage of kindergarten students attending full-day programs grew from 29 percent to 75 percent of students who attend public school kindergarten. A variety of factors contributed to the growth of full-day programs, including a commitment by districts to expand their early education programs and the support provided by the state. There are now 265 districts in the Commonwealth that have full-day kindergarten.
In FY09, 162 districts received Quality Full-day Kindergarten grants and of these 118 have district-wide full-day programs. No Transition to Full-day grants were given in FY09 although 31 districts were interested in applying prior to the FY09 budget downturn. Funding guidelines define full-day programs as 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, or a minimum of 850 hours per school year. Any district may charge tuition to families for children to attend the non-mandated hours of a full-day program.
Because of the current fiscal environment, FY10 may be a difficult one for full-day kindergarten. A reduction of funds will likely mean that individual classroom allocations or the number of full-day classrooms funded will be lowered. Some districts may decide to return to part-time programs, while others may institute or increase tuition. Families in these districts could face the task and expense of finding alternative early care and education programs, which may or may not be present in the community. Of equal concern is program quality. Support at the local level for the programs is made more difficult because there is no mandate for districts to provide full-day kindergarten.
One of the goals of the governor’s readiness initiative is to expand and improve early childhood programs. Despite the current fiscal crisis, the Department’s Kindergarten Development Grants have helped lay the groundwork in this effort and will continue to be an important source of support for school districts. In order to move closer to achieving the goals, training and other initiatives that improve curricula, instruction, and assessment in ways that predict and produce positive child and program outcomes are also needed.
The benefits of full-day kindergarten can be maintained and magnified as children continue though school. It can contribute to cost savings and improve educational outcomes if the elements of quality are in place from preschool through third grade, with strong leadership at every level.
If you have questions please feel free to contact me or Barbara Solomon, Administrator of Elementary Education at 781-338-6262.
Sincerely,
Mitchell D. Chester, Ed.D.
Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education
Table of contents
Legislative request 1
Program overview 1
Quality Full-day Kindergarten Grants 2
Transition to Full-day Kindergarten Grants 3
Projections for fiscal year 2010 5
Conclusion 5
Appendix A: Fiscal years 2008 and 2009 Kindergarten Development Grants 6
Appendix B: FY09 district kindergarten programs (map) 12
Appendix C: List of FY09 district kindergarten programs 13
Appendix D: Statewide data on kindergarten programs, fiscal years 2008 and 2009 20
Appendix E: Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2008 line item 7030-1002…………………………….22
Legislative request
The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is pleased to submit this Report to the Legislature on Kindergarten Development Grants pursuant to Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2008 line item 7030-1002. This report to the House and Senate Committees on Ways and Means addresses the progress made on certain aspects of the Kindergarten Development Grant Program (line item 7030-1002). This language states that:
“…the department shall report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the total number of grants requested and awarded; provided further, that the report shall detail common factors associated with both successful and unsuccessful applications and shall include the total number of full-day and half-day kindergarten classrooms projected to be in operation in public schools in fiscal year 2010”
Program overview
Universal, voluntary full-day kindergarten is a component of an early care and education system for children birth to third grade (PK-3). Kindergarten is the threshold year in children’s lives and education, standing between diverse preschool programs and the public education system. The legislature and the governor have approved funding for the Kindergarten Development Grant Program in the last ten fiscal years (FY2000 to FY09) to support school districts’ voluntary transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten and to address the quality of existing full-day programs. The grant was designed as an ongoing program to accomplish two primary goals:
1. Increase the number of districts with high-quality full-day kindergarten by supporting districts’ preparations to implement full-day kindergarten classrooms through the Transition Planning for Full-day Kindergarten Grant
2. Support elements of high quality in order to provide children with optimal learning experiences in their first formal year of public education through the Quality Full-day Kindergarten Grant.
Between FY00 and FY09 the percentage of kindergarten students attending full-day programs grew from 29 percent to 75 percent. A variety of factors contributed to the growth of full-day programs, including a commitment by districts to expand their early education programs and the support provided by the state through Kindergarten Development Grants. There are now 265 districts in the Commonwealth with full-day kindergarten (see Appendix D).
In FY09, 162 districts received Quality Full-day Kindergarten grants and of these 118 have district-wide full-day programs. No Transition to Full-day grants were given in FY09, but in FY08 30 districts received Transition funding, among them 17 were grants to new districts and 13 were grants to districts expanding the number of full-day classrooms. Funding guidelines define full-day programs as 5 hours per day, 5 days per week, or a minimum of 850 hours per school year.
Any district may charge tuition to families for children to attend the non-mandated hours of a full-day program. If the district has a Quality or Transition grant, tuition for families earning less than 100 percent of the state median income is based on a sliding fee scale. Annual tuition is capped at $4,000 and a formula is provided to calculate the sliding scale payments. Children from families earning less than 25 percent of the state median income and children on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) requiring a full-day program must attend free of charge. Districts not offering universal access to full-day classes place children by lottery, parent request, or full-day classes may be restricted to particular neighborhood schools. Forty-three districts that received grant funding in FY09 charged tuition ranging from $870 per pupil to $4,000 per pupil with an average rate of $2,682.
Table 1 shows the programmatic and funding history for the Quality and Transition grant programs. While funding for Transition grants has fluctuated with changing fiscal conditions, Quality grants have been supported consistently and over time the number of grantees and the number of classrooms funded have increased.
Table 1: Funding history of full-day kindergarten grants
Fiscal Year / 2000 / 2001 / 2002 / 2003 / 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009Grantees / 119 / 145 / 132 / 119 / 130 / 128 / 132 / 158 / 178 / 162
Quality / 81 / 105 / 118 / 119 / 130 / 128 / 128 / 130 / 149 / 162
Transition / 38 / 40 / 14 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 4 / 28 / 30 / 0
Classrooms / 1,434 / 1,671 / 1,746 / 1,624 / 1,743 / 1,797 / 1,913 / 2,103 / 2,306 / 2,246
Quality / 1,260 / 1,470 / 1,651 / 1,624 / 1,743 / 1,797 / 1,837 / 1,966 / 2,134 / 2,246
Transition / 174 / 201 / 95 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 76 / 137 / 172 / 0
Full-day Enrollment / 23,588 / 26,460 / 31,369 / 29,232 / 32,246 / 33,245 / 31,650 / 35,710 / 39,520 / 42,674*
Funding ($ in millions) / $14.0 / $27.0 / $28.0 / $28.2 / $22.8 / $22.8 / $24.8 / $26.8 / $33.8 / $30.5
Quality / $11.2 / $23.5 / $26.5 / $28.2 / $22.8 / $22.8 / $23.8 / $24.8 / $27.8 / $30.5
Transition / $2.8 / $3.5 / $1.5 / $0.0 / $0.0 / $0.0 / $1.0 / $2.0 / $6.0 / $0.0
*Estimate
Quality Full-day Kindergarten Grants
Quality Full-day Kindergarten grants support the development of existing full-day programs. Quality grants are continuation grants, meaning that there is no limit on the number of years that a district can receive funding as long as they comply with program requirements. In FY09, $30.5 million in Quality grants will be distributed to 162 districts (see Appendix A, the map in Appendix B, and Appendix C). Most Quality grant dollars, 90 percent, fund staff positions, including administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals. Funding priorities and activities include:
· Develop a full-day curriculum based on the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, particularly reflecting the Kindergarten Learning Experiences (ESE, 2008);
· Support paraprofessionals in each class to maintain appropriate adult-child ratios and appropriate class sizes;
· Improve continuity of curriculum and assessment, preschool to grade 3;
· Promote family involvement and improve the transition of children and their families from preschool into kindergarten and then into first grade;
· Seek accreditation from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) or an alternative accreditation path approved by ESE;
· Increase the number of children with disabilities included in the regular classroom, improve the quality of inclusion, and improve the quality of classes and services for children with disabilities;
· Improve the education of English language learners;
· Offer effective professional development for administrators, teachers, and paraprofessionals;
· Purchase of materials and resources to support curriculum, assessment, and accreditation.
All districts with Quality grants must establish ongoing School Readiness and Early Childhood/Early Elementary Curriculum committees, which may operate separately, jointly, or as a subcommittee to another council. Required members include representatives of private preschools and kindergartens; Head Start; teachers from public preschools, kindergartens, grades 1 to 3, and special education teachers; after-school programs; school administrators and curriculum coordinators; parents; Reading First and Even Start (if applicable); and other interested community members.
The primary tasks of the committee are to: improve the readiness of children and the readiness of schools; assist with developing and aligning an interdisciplinary and inclusive full-day curriculum that addresses all domains of development using the Kindergarten Learning Experiences; align assessment from preschool to at least grade 2; and improve transitions for children and families from preschool into kindergarten and from kindergarten into first grade.
Transition to Full-day Kindergarten Grants
Transition to Full-day Kindergarten grants assist districts that want to convert part-time sessions to full-day programs. The $3 million that was allocated for Transition grants in FY09 was eliminated by the 9c budget cuts in October 2008. Before funding was eliminated, however, 34 districts had submitted applications that would have qualified for $2.1 million in funding.
Looking back at FY08, $2.2 million of the $6 million appropriated was granted to 30 districts at $15,000 per classroom for an estimated 172 new classrooms (see Appendix A and Appendix D). Unexpended grant funds reverted to the general fund at the end of the fiscal year. Overall, grant requests fell short of expectations. Some school committees chose not to accept funding after their districts were approved due to concerns that they would not be able to financially support a full-day kindergarten program over the long-term. Others may have decided not to apply because of the ongoing expense or lack of space. In converting to full-day programs, most districts must allocate twice as much space for kindergarten classrooms than they do for part-time programs, where often one classroom can be used for two sessions each day.