Pocatello-Chubbuck School District adopts full-day kindergarten

POCATELLO (IdahoEdNews.org) — Families in the state’s fifth-largest school district will have access to free, full-day kindergarten starting next school year.

Pocatello-Chubbuck School District trustees voted swiftly and unanimously Tuesday to bring the optional service to incoming kindergarteners starting in 2022-23.

Not all students will have to attend full-time. The board’s decision included continuation of a part-day option. The vote accompanied no discussion among trustees, who have spent weeks considering the change in prior meetings.

Wednesday’s vote falls in line with new full-day programs in the state’s two largest districts following an inrush of early learning money from the Legislature this session. The West Ada and Boise school districts are both expanding their full-day kindergarten offerings — and figuring out how to keep half-day options in place for families that want them.

Pocatello-Chubbuck spokeswoman Courtney Fisher told EdNews Wednesday that her district is also still working out details, including gauging interest in half-day programs and determining what time of day parents uninterested in switching would send their youngsters to school.

Pocatello-Chubbuck plans to get more information out to parents as early as tomorrow, Fisher said.

Most Idaho elementary schools offer full-day kindergarten, though the state doesn’t directly fund it. Click here for more.

More reading: Despite the influx of early learning dollars, smaller Idaho schools cite lingering headwinds for full-day kindergarten.

This article was originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on April 20, 2022