Date: April 24, 2008
Littleton Public Schools to expand free, full day kindergarten offerings
District takes advantage of state funding change, adds program at Ames
Thanks to a change in the state funding formula, Littleton Public Schools will be able to expand its number of free, full-day kindergarten offerings. Currently, five LPS elementary schools offer free, full day programs: East, Field, Centennial, Moody, and Hopkins. Beginning next fall for the 2008-2009 school year, Ames Elementary will be added to that list.
The expansion is possible because of an increase to the state’s school finance formula earmarked for kindergarten. Currently, Colorado funds public school kindergartners as .5 FTE (full time equivalency). Beginning next year, kindergartners will be funded as .58 FTE, which will support the full-day programs at Centennial, Moody, Hopkins, and now Ames. Full-day programs at East and Field are supported by federal grants.
Funding additional full-day kindergarten programs fits well with the Board of Education’s strategic plan, which includes a focus on early childhood education. It will be cost-neutral to the district, as full-day programs will be added only as additional funding becomes available.
The decision to place the additional full-day program at Ames was based on the percentage of families that qualify for free- and reduced-lunch, as well as achievement data. These are the same criteria used to determine placement of full-day programs at the existing five sites. Should more state funding be available in the future, the next two schools in line to receive the free program are Whitman and Peabody.
The change comes late in the year, but district officials feel that the timing will not be a factor. Ames has offered a tuition-based, full-day kindergarten program for a number of years, and Ames Principal Nancy Klinedinst believes that the school will have no trouble filling the seats of the free program. Ames is informing its parent community of the free program this week. Those interested in learning more may contact the school directly, 303.347.4400.
The LPS Board of Education also values offering parents a variety of choices. Historically, when a full-day program opens at a school, there is little demand for a half-day program. Ames will work with families who prefer to enroll their child in a half-day program, as do the other five schools currently with full-day programs. Half-day programs and the opportunity for tuition-based, full-day programs will remain in place at Franklin, Highland, Lenski, Peabody, Runyon, Sandburg, Twain, Whitman, and Wilder. All LPS elementary schools also offer before- and after-school childcare.
“We are pleased to be able to take advantage of a legislative change that will provide more opportunities for full-day kindergarten, a program we believe strongly in,” said Superintendent Scott Murphy. “We have been anticipating the additional funding, but we couldn’t begin planning for additional programs until the change was finalized. Now we are moving quickly to ensure that everything is in place at Ames for next fall.”