Early Ed Roundup: Week of May 12 – May 16

Full-Day-K Booming in Iowa, Massachusetts

If you build it, they will come. The Des Moines Register published a story this week about the West Des Moines school district, which will be doubling the number of its full-day kindergarten classrooms next year to accommodate the 600 students who enrolled for the program. Only 17 children had their names on the sign up list for half-day kindergarten. Heading east, 95 percent of kindergarten parents in Lexington, MA opted for a full-day program next year, the first year that FDK will be offered in the district. Like their counterparts in Iowa, Lexington administrators are facing challenges of finding teachers and classroom space to accommodate the higher enrollment.

Pre-K on Page One

USA Today highlighted the wopping 63 percent increase in public pre-k enrollment between 1995 and 2005, and in the process painted a portrait of pre-k in America that we don’t often see in major dailies. Referencing a recent RAND report, the article emphasizes the importance of providing adequate state funding to ensure high quality standards in pre-k programs.

Report Calls for Fine-Tuning Florida Pre-K Evaluation

A new report from the Florida legislature’s accountability office raises questions about the assessment that the state is using to hold providers in the state’s Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten (VPK) program accountable. According to the report, more than 60 percent of children who attended Florida’s VPK program were ready for kindergarten, and VPK participants had a higher level of kindergarten readiness than children who did not attend the program. The effect of VPK was especially pronounced among low-income children and English-Language Learners. But the accountability office is concerned that flaws in the assessment may lead to providers being inappropriately labeled as low-performing when they are not. In particular, the report expresses concern that providers serving minority and low-income are disproportionately labeled as low-performing. The report recommends changes in the readiness rating methodology, as well as additional assistance to help low-performing providers improve.