Where is kindergarten mandatory

Please no. This is the wrong direction. If there is pressure to make kids perform at levels they are not developmentally ready for, we should remove that pressure. I have seen firsthand that some kids thrive on the formal academics of today's elementary schools, and that others are harmed by being judged for developing at a different pace.

We need to get rid of the standardized testing and move young kids into multi-age groups so they … Read More. We need to get rid of the standardized testing and move young kids into multi-age groups so they can learn from each other.

As for high absenteeism in kindergarten, I can tell you that my child learns in bursts and needs a break in between. Often that means staying home and not being social at all, even with family, to let my child internalize the lessons of the previous days.

And then they will make the same argument for TK, then preschool. This is pointless legislation. If a child comes to a school at age 6 with no experience, he is put into kindergarten. If he tests into first grade, he goes to first. Some moms do well handling kindergarten at home. Kindergarten is very critical to our children; it is the stepping stone to their learning curve. Young minds are still in the early years of development and need the knowledge that they can receive from our educators.

Not having kindergarten for the young mind is taking away the fundamental beginnings of education. Kindergarten is a much needed requirement for children as they develop their minds.

I am dismayed by the continued push to have younger and younger children reading and writing and doing math before it is developmentally appropriate. The disparities between households might be better addressed by paying rigorous attention to building social-emotional, physical and imaginative skills.

While I agree and advocate for a more developmentally appropriate kindergarten experience that develops the whole child, that is not the issue for this legislation. The problem is that children and yes there are always exceptions cannot just start in first grade if they have no had a kindergarten experience.

All of the children I have worked with who have not attended k were extremely unprepared for first grade and were significantly behind all … Read More. All of the children I have worked with who have not attended k were extremely unprepared for first grade and were significantly behind all of their peers. They do not miraculously catch up and struggle. I agree that Kindergarten is important for the social, emotional, and creative opportunities it offers children to enter into formalized learning for grades and beyond.

In , 25 years ago, , children were enrolled in public prekindergarten programs. Number of states not requiring districts to offer kindergarten: 5 Alaska, Idaho, New York, Pennsylvania; in New Jersey, only the Abbott districts must offer kindergarten. Number of states requiring children to attend kindergarten: 15 states plus DC 35 do not. September 1 — the most common birthdate by which children must turn 5 to be eligible to enroll in kindergarten 19 states.

View the discussion thread. Skip to main content. However, enrollment is not required. Children are required to attend school from the ages of years, unless they graduate from high school early. Under Fields' proposal, children who turn five years old by Sept. Fields said studies show that children who skip kindergarten do not fare as well in the first grade.

He said it goes along with the urgency to educate children early, especially since research shows how fast their brains are developing. The state Department of Education does not track how many children are eligible for kindergarten but not enrolled. Some families believe they can better prepare their children, both academically and socially, by keeping them home for another year. A total of 50, students were attending kindergarten classes in October, , according to state figures.

The head count for first graders totaled 53,