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McCracken County Schools to Offer Half-Day Kindergarten

Robert S. Donovan
/
Flickr (Creative Commons License)

McCracken County Schools will begin a new half-day kindergarten class as soon as enough students enroll in the program.  The class will be held at Lone Oak Elementary.

Principal Dan Pope said the half-day program is being formed in preparation for a bump in the age cutoff for kindergarten that goes into effect in 2017. The Kentucky legislature passed a bill in 2012 that requires incoming kindergarten students have their fifth birthday on or before August 1st.  The current cutoff is October 1st.   

Pope said the change was made to better suit developmental needs.

“There is a segment of students that, every year, really aren’t ready for kindergarten,” Pope said. “Mainly it’s because of their age. They may fall in that July to October birthday and maturity-wise they are not ready to start school.”

The half-day program will meet the needs of students who do not meet the new August age cutoff but are ready for early enrollment.

“When kindergarten date changes to August 1st then you’re going to have a larger segment of students that are four, will be turning five before the next year, and they would not qualify for either preschool or kindergarten. That’s why we have to have a plan in place to try to address the needs of those students,” Pope explained.

Pope is hoping to start the half-day  program in September. It could accommodate 48 students total between two half-day classes. This is the only option for students who petition for enrollment before age 5. Students who do well in the half-day program will have the option to continue to first grade the following school year.

The Kentucky Department of Education reports 8 districts currently offer half-day kindergarten.
 

A proud native of Murray, Kentucky, Allison grew up roaming the forests of western Kentucky and visiting national parks across the country. She graduated in 2014 from Murray State University where she studied Environmental Sustainability, Television Production, and Spanish. She loves meeting new people, questioning everything, and dancing through the sun and the rain. She hopes to make a positive impact in this world several endeavors at a time.
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