Mandatory Kindergarten

For many years kindergarten and first grade teachers have been calling for mandatory kindergarten, raising the starting age to 5 years old on the first day of school or September 1 (California is one of only a very few states in the country to have such a late birthdate allowable for starting school-Dec. 3 or 4), and wishing for full-day kindergarten.  Until these recommendations are in place I seriously doubt that we will make much improvement in the success of our poorest and most at-risk students (children of poverty and English language learners).  I am a reading specialist in a high-poverty district and I can tell you that in the last two or three years the stakes have gone up tremendously.  Kindergarteners are expected to and do leave kindergarten knowing how to read and write.  The first grade reading curriculum moves ahead so swiftly that children who begin their school careers in first grade are generally at a HUGE disadvantage that year and most likely will have tremendous difficulty overcoming the results of starting school too late. Many will be retained at huge sociological and financial costs (the public pays for another year of school for each retained child--roughly $5500--and studies show that retained children have a very high drop-out rate). Add onto that the large numbers of English language learners who, although born in this country, have not learned English.  Imagine yourselves living in China, knowing only English, missing kindergarten there, and suddenly having to learn to read in Chinese having never heard or learned much Chinese before.  The equivalent is what we are asking little five and six year-olds to do in our schools.  All the wonderful pre-school and other early childhoood programs are as naught if California does not do the logical thing--does not fill the gaping hole in early childhood education--and make kindergarten MANDATORY.  That would be a good first step with the other two I mentioned at the beginning following shortly thereafter.