District 196 Official: "We Are Behind" on Early Childhood Education

When it comes to early childhood education, School District 196 has a lot of catching up to do.

Only 6 percent of the incoming kindergarten students in the district have participated in a District 196 program for 4-year-olds, compared to 20 percent of incoming students in Prior Lake, 30 percent in Burnsville and 44 percent in Lakeville, District 196 Director of Elementary Education Julie Olson told school board members last week.

On April 22, Olson presented the board with findings from task force asked to evaluate the district's early education needs.

The verdict?

"We know that we have a number of obstacles to face as a district, both in terms of funding and in terms of space," Olson said. "Our programming is limited, especially as we begin to compare to districts surrounding us. Clearly, we are behind."

The district already offers a handful of early childhood programs, including: Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE), Bridge to School, Family School, Kindergarten Plus and Penguin Preschool.

But many of those programs suffer from long wait lists or transportation barriers, Olson said. And those problems fall disproportionately on English Language Learners and students from low-income families—the students that could benefit most from early education.

"The very kids that we want to make sure get that service, aren’t able to participate because of cost or transportation or other barriers," Olson said.

Ultimately, Olson said, the district must expand its programming for 4-year-olds, and roll out free, all-day kindergarten programs district-wide. Doing so will help the district address a shrinking but still significant achievement gap between white students and students of another ethnicity—and boost achievement across the district, Olson said.

"We know it’s critical to move forward on early learning," Olson told the board. "The kids who start kindergarten behind their peers often face significant hurdles to achievement and often never catch up."

Roughly 72 percent of district parents expressed interest in all-day kindergarten programming on a recent questionnaire, Olson said.

Growing early childhood programs is easier said than done, however.

The district simply doesn't have enough classroom space to accommodate an expansion of early childhood education programs.

To add full-day kindergarten, the district would need at least 21 additional classrooms to accommodate students, Olson said. Programming for 4-year-olds would require 23 more classrooms, she added. To make things more difficult,  District 196 officials are projecting a 200-student enrollment increase in the coming year.

Cost is also a factor, as District 196 School Board Chair Rob Duchscher pointed out during the meeting. If Gov. Mark Dayton backs an all-day kindergarten bill, but state funding falls through, District 196 schools will "another problem on our hands," Duchscher said.

"We’re coming to you with a really broad vision, knowing that there are significant barriers to making this a reality," Olson said.