What will kindergarten look like this year?

'It really depends on the child, the school, the district'

In Washington County Schools, superintendent Linda Carr does not yet know what last year’s kindergarten enrollment drops will mean for this year. The district’s kindergarten average daily membership (ADM) dropped 25% at the start of last school year. So far, enrollment has not made up for that loss this year.

Many districts across the state experienced the same as families “redshirted” their children rather than enrolling them in school. Statewide, kindergarten ADM fell by 15% last year — a larger decrease than any K-12 grade. Children are not legally required to enroll in school until age 7.

Going into this school year, whether enrollment will bounce back and where children who missed last year will end up are both still up in the air. The answers to those questions will be different across the state and will have implications on early grade class sizes, staffing needs, children’s learning experiences, and teachers’ workloads.

“It really depends on the child, the school, the district, how many numbers they’re allocated per teacher … per grade level,” said Amy Rhyne, director of the Office of Early Learning (OEL) at the Department of Public Instruction

Carr said she wants to encourage parents to enroll their young children in school. “I cannot emphasize enough the importance of schooling for children. It is more than just the academics. There are many life lessons that come with being together with people. And in those early grades, you really learn how to share, how to get along, how to work as a team… Those are things you just can’t learn in your home when you’re by yourself.”

What are you seeing in your community and in your classrooms? Reply to this email and let me know. I’ll be following how these issues unfold in the coming weeks.