Category: Education Kindergarten

All Illinois school districts to offer full-day kindergarten

Riko Dwianto, 11/10/2025

All Illinois school districts to offer full-day kindergarten by 2027-28

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CHICAGO (CBS) – Every school district in Illinois will be required to establish a full-day kindergarten program by the 2027-2028 school year after Gov. JB Pritzker signed a bill into law on Wednesday.

Under the bill, every district must also establish a half-day program.

According to the National Education Association, children in full-day classes show greater achievements in reading and mathematics than those in half-day classes. Full-day kindergarten also offers several social and emotional benefits to students.

Districts that do not offer a full-day program can apply for a waiver to extend the implementation date up to two years past the 2027-2028 school year if they meet certain criteria.

“Full day kindergarten is an essential step toward getting young Illinoisans off to the best possible start in their education, which has long-lasting positive effects on reading, math, and social skills,” said Pritzker in a statement. “From Smart Start to school funding to early childhood, we’re investing heavily in our state’s youngest residents because we know that every investment we make now is paid back multiple times over by engaged

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Studies at the intersection of equity, computing, and education | MIT News

Riko Dwianto, 28/09/2025

Before joining the Lifelong Kindergarten group in the MIT Media Lab, Cecilé Sadler saw computer engineering and community service as separate aspects of her life. Alongside her bachelor’s and master’s work in computer engineering at North Carolina State and Duke University, respectively, Sadler also spent a lot of time working with young people through local Boys and Girls Clubs and public schools. Now, she blends both of her passions as a graduate student in the Program in Media Arts and Sciences.

“The work I do now is that happy medium,” says Sadler, whose thesis grew out of a collaboration with a Cambridge-based grassroots community organization called blackyard, which organizes after-school programming centering Black youth. Sadler brings STEM and coding activities developed by MIT’s Lifelong Kindergarten group to blackyard, while trying to understand what makes a positive learning environment for the students.

“The activities that I’ve been doing with the young people have been centered around this idea of dreaming through code,” says Sadler. “How do you cultivate and support radical imagination and engage in conversations that allow you to describe ideas important to you and your community?”

Sadler wants to have an impact with everything she does, whether it’s generating

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Solana Beach district plans to create its own transitional kindergarten program

Riko Dwianto, 23/09/2025

The Solana Beach School District is beginning the process to start serving the district’s youngest learners, aiming to craft its own transitional kindergarten program tailored to the needs of local district students.

Transitional kindergarten (TK) refers to a program that uses a modified kindergarten curriculum that is developmentally and age-appropriate. By 2025-26, Universal Kindergarten in California is expected to be fully phased in for all 4-year-old children statewide at no cost to families, in districts that receive funding through the Local Control Funding Formula.

As a community-funded basic aid school district supported by property taxes, Solana Beach does not receive state funding for kindergarten. Of the 133 districts that are TK-eligible in the state, eight do not offer TK and five are in San Diego County including Del Mar, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas and Cardiff.

SBSD Superintendent Jodee Brentlinger said that while they are not required to implement Universal TK, there is nothing precluding them from looking at a locally-created TK program.

“This school board regularly demonstrates their commitment to the success of each and every student,” Brentlinger said at the board’s Nov. 8 meetings. “We recognize that we do have students across the district’s schools who would accelerate their

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Celebrating the Achievements of Our Transitional Kindergarten Students!

Riko Dwianto, 16/09/2025

At Minter Creek Elementary School, we recently had the honor of hosting a graduation celebration for our Transitional Kindergarten (TK) students and their families. This special event marked the culmination of a remarkable journey as these young learners prepared to embark on their K-12 education.

Transitional Kindergarten is a newer program offered by the Peninsula School District (PSD) for children who have not had access to high-quality early learning experiences before kindergarten. Designed to provide a solid foundation, TK ensures that every child receives the necessary tools and support for a successful academic journey.

Unlike traditional half-day kindergarten programs, Kindergarten at PSD is a full-day, full-week program. This ensures that our students have ample time to engage in meaningful activities, develop crucial skills, and form lasting connections with their peers and teachers.

Transitional Kindergarten is available at multiple elementary schools within PSD. Alongside Minter Creek Elementary, these schools include Discovery Elementary School, Evergreen Elementary School, Harbor Heights Elementary School, and Voyager Elementary School. By expanding the availability of TK across these campuses, PSD is committed to providing equitable opportunities for all students to thrive.

We are immensely proud of our TK graduates and their families for their dedication, resilience, and

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Texas teachers are struggling financially. The school voucher war killed a salary increase.

Riko Dwianto, 14/09/2025

Many Texas public school teachers are struggling financially. Recent data shows their annual salaries are nearly $8,000 less than the national average.

All year long, Texas teachers have been hoping the Texas Legislature would pass measures to increase teacher pay. And during the current special legislative session, the state’s fourth this year, lawmakers filed a proposal that would have given them those sought-after raises.

But that measure passed in the Texas House earlier this month after a coalition of rural Republicans and Democrats took out a provision that would have created education savings accounts. That voucher-like program would have given families public funds to use towards private school tuition and other education expenses.

The Texas Newsroom talks to teachers from across the state who say losing that salary bump is worth it if it keeps school vouchers at bay.

While many teachers have received cost-of-living adjustments that have translated to about an extra hundred dollars per paycheck, some still feel like they need to take a second — or even third — job to make ends meet.

Raven Morris, Princeton ISD

From Monday through Friday, Raven Morris teaches reading language arts at Princeton Independent School District outside of Plano.

But

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Cedar Rapids schools’ new model keeps students together from kindergarten to high school

Riko Dwianto, 13/09/2025

Mark Timmerman, one of three new chiefs of schools for the Cedar Rapids Community School District, observes second-graders Emmett York, right, and Royce Moeller, during a Sept. 20 art classes at Erskine Elementary in Cedar Rapids. Timmerman said the chiefs have a job to “coach leaders.” He helps principals identify the challenges they face and find steps to address them. (Savannah Blake/The Gazette)

CEDAR RAPIDS — Three new chiefs of Cedar Rapids schools are helping principals “grow as leaders” and hoping for better student outcomes under a new feeder school model implemented in the district this year.

The chiefs each oversee one of three “areas” that include elementary schools, middle schools and high schools in the Cedar Rapids Community School District. Under the model, students in elementary school will continue to the same middle school and eventually to the same high school as their classmates — creating a more cohesive learning experience, educators say.

Cedar Rapids Chief of Schools for Area 1, Comfort Akwaji-Anderson (Cedar Rapids Community School District photo)

“We love the fact that kids are going to be going to school together with their peers and take that educational journey together. It’s very comforting and going to make

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Roseville family outraged after two kids, 5, walk a mile from school unnoticed

Riko Dwianto, 07/09/2025

ROSEVILLE — The Roseville City School District is promising to step up security after two 5-year-olds walked a mile away from Blue Oaks Elementary, in the middle of the school day, without anyone noticing.

The incident happened on August 21, and the family of one of the kindergarten students says they have not been able to get specific details into how this happened and how long the boys were missing. The child’s great-uncle, Kevin Russell, said more than an hour went by before the mother was notified that the child had left campus unattended.

“Lunch started at 11:03 am and the mother got a call at 12:40 pm, and staff stated, ‘This is not urgent and please give me a call back,'” Russell said. “They are two 5-year-olds that walked a mile from the school, crossed a busy road. What if it was your kid? How would you react? Would you be nonchalant about it?”

The family also wants to know what security measures will be implemented to prevent another child from unknowingly walking away from school in the future.

“This would have been a totally different outcome if they had been kidnapped, hit by a car, you know what

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Kindergarteners Already Use AI – News

Riko Dwianto, 06/09/2025

David Touretzky(opens in new window) wants teachers and students to understand artificial intelligence. Whether or not they do, it’s already a part of their lives.

Dave Touretzky — *David Touretzky*(opens in new window)

A research professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Science(opens in new window)Touretzky is the founder and chairman of AI4K12(opens in new window)an initiative to develop guidelines and resources for teaching AI to students in kindergarten through grade 12. He’s also the principal investigator on a project funded by the National Science Foundation called AI4GA(opens in new window) that is developing an AI elective course for Georgia middle school students.

In the following Q&A, Touretzky explained why AI is such a hot topic, why learning about it is crucial for students and how it’s frequently misunderstood. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Q: Why should we teach kids about AI?

A: AI has been called the new electricity. It’s powering this fourth industrial revolution. It permeates everybody’s lives. Your phone, for example, is full of AI-powered applications. It’s important that kids understand AI because they’re growing up with it already. It’s not in their future, it’s their current life. By the

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As the new school year begins, hopes are high for LAUSD pre-K for four-year-olds

Riko Dwianto, 01/06/2025

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Kindergarten class age differences vary more as parents choose to send kids later

Riko Dwianto, 31/05/2025

The ACT and Victoria allow a student to start school if their fifth birthday falls on or before April 30 while in the Northern Territory and Queensland the cut-off is June 30.

“I would say NSW is a bit of an outlier compared to other states,” Chiang said.

“The issue of children being sent too early when they’re not ready causes problems for the child in terms of how they adjust at school.”

The trend of holding children back is particularly pronounced in Sydney, with boys more likely to start school older than girls. But researchers say it has no long-term academic benefits.

University of New England research shows students who were held back received slightly higher results in NAPLAN results on average in year 3 but that advantage dissipates by the time students reach year 9.

Co-author of that research Dr Sally Larsen said the cut-off date should be brought forward to April to reduce the gap.

“In terms of development, a year is quite a long time. If you have kids who should be in year one, there is a possibility that they will get bored and misbehave; I don’t think parents consider that aspect of it,” she

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