After a few years of constant budget cuts and pressure to do more with less, Albert Lea Kindergarten teachers are having the great experience of planning to do more with more.

Thanks to the successful passage of the school referendum, Albert Lea Area Schools will now be offering all-day-every-day Kindergarten to all five-year-olds entering the District in the fall of 2003.

A recent study showed that &uot;participation in full-day kindergarten is positively related to subsequent school performance, at least through first grade&uot; (Clark & Kirk, 2000).

Many other studies have shown that it is critical to have children working at grade-level by the end of second grade. With great excitement about these new possibilities for students,

the kindergarten teachers and all the elementary principals are currently working on planning and developing the new all-day program. One important part of the planning process is visitation to other elementary schools with all-day programs.

A grant request was made to the District Teaching and Learning Council to help fund the visitations and curriculum planning time. The grant was approved and the visits have already begun. Visits will be made to school in the surrounding area and exceptional programs throughout the state including St. Peter, Eden Prairie, and Oronco.

One of the many strengths of an all-day program is the opportunity to extend the current program. The teachers are not planning to add a great deal of additional content to the day, but all students from the most gifted to the most needy will be given longer periods of time to work on activities and concepts. Many children come to school needing to learn social skills and increase their vocabularies. Additional time spent playing games, working in small groups, and learning to work in a large group will help all students gain these important skills. The goal is to have more children ready and able to enter first-grade with confidence!

The school year will more than likely start out slowly giving children plenty of time to adjust to their new day. The kindergarten teachers and elementary principals will be working the rest of this school year and into the summer preparing for the start of this exciting new program in District 241.

Again, everyone in the district thanks the voters for their support and the opportunity to offer these great learning experiences to our youngest students. If you have any questions or concerns, call your local school principal or attend informational meetings that will be starting soon.

Jean Jordan is principal of Lakeview Elementary School.