1 in 4 Ky Children Ready for Kindergarten

WKMS | By The Associated Press,

Whitney Jones

Published October 10, 2012 at 8:21 AM CDT

Preliminary data presented to the Kentucky Board of Education shows just one in four children in the Commonwealth are ready for kindergarten. Next year all 174 school districts will be required to have kindergarten screening. Education Commissioner Terry Holliday says he expects the number of children not ready to start school will increase then. Associate Commissioner Felicia Smith says fewer than 110 districts participated in this year’s screening, representing 34,500 children. The tests assess the whole child, including social and emotional development. Holliday says these screenings are vital to state reform efforts because they’ll reveal which students need additional help.

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Whitney Jones

Whitney grew up listening to Car Talk to and from her family’s beach vacation each year, but it wasn’t until a friend introduced her to This American Life that radio really grabbed her attention. She is a recent graduate from Union University in Jackson, Tenn., where she studied journalism. When she’s not at WKMS, you can find her working on her backyard compost pile and garden, getting lost on her bicycle or crocheting one massive blanket.

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