PORT ANGELES — About 75 children in public schools will attend all-day kindergarten classes starting next year in the hopes of better preparing them for entering first grade.
The Port Angeles School District board approved creating an all-day kindergarten program for at-risk children earlier this week.
Cindy Kelly abstained from voting, but the other four board members supported the concept.
At-risk students are defined as children who are having a difficult time academically and/or socially in classes.
Teachers will identify students they feel will benefit from attending all-day classes based on academic performance and social interaction with other students, said district Assistant Superintendent Ron Spanjer.
Spanjer said students will move in and out of the program depending on whether they have improved skills.
The district’s five elementary schools — Dry Creek, Hamilton, Jefferson, Franklin and Fairview — will each have between 12 and 15 kindergartners attending all-day.
Board members voted 4-1 Monday night to close Monroe Elementary School.
Dry Creek has operated all-day kindergarten for at-risk students for the past four years, and Jefferson started an all-day program this year.
Improvements noted
Spanjer said children who attend all-day classes have shown improvements both academically and socially.
“All-day kindergarten provides a very intentional level of individualized support to students who need additional time to work on skills,” he said.
District Superintendent Gary Cohn said this is the first step in the district’s process to implement all-day kindergarten for all students.
