Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The Educated Guess: LA Unified to pilot 2-year kindergarten


The Educated Guess:
"In most states, children must turn five by June 1 or Sept. 1 to enter kindergarten in the fall. To its disadvantage – and against the advice of many educators – California has a late starting date of Dec. 1, with kids as young as four years and nine months starting kindergarten.

Recognizing that many children that young are not developmentally and emotionally ready for elementary school, Los Angeles Unified will start a two-year kindergarten next fall on a limited basis. There will be one program in each of the district’s eight districts.That’s a sound idea, but it’s also a more expensive alternative to what others have proposed for years: pushing up the cutoff date to Sept. 1 and plowing the initial cost savings into pre-school for low-income children.

The current s"