One of the innovations that Provo District has piloted in the past couple of years is Optional Extended-day Kindergarten (OEK). Currently, children who are identified as needing assistance to be ready for Kindergarten can be placed in a longer program of Kindergarten, if the parents request it. These children are considered “at risk” because it has been shown that if a child enters regular Kindergarten behind most other students, they fall increasingly behind in subsequent years. Data from the pilot program show that if they receive the extra help during their Kindergarten year, they catch up rapidly and stay up with their peers.
There is a cost to this specialized program but it is much less than remediation and frustration for the children in subsequent years. Still, the Legislature must approve the funding for OEK and one legislator is proposing an alternative to the program. HB111 would prohibit schools from offering OEK but instead would allow Kindergarten students to apply to attend both the morning and the afternoon sessions of regular half-day Kindergarten. These students would get a repeat of the lesson material, a repeat of the activities, but with a different set of classmates and perhaps with a different teacher. OEK offers a comprehensive curriculum that brings children up to speed from their level. If you find yourself in a situation where the conversations that surround you and expectations other have of you are all over your head, does it help to repeat the instructions twice? I believe that rather than helping, this will lead to even more frustration for these at-risk children.
If you have experience with the OEK program in the past few years, your legislators should hear from you. It is important to point out that OEK is not just a matter of time in a Kindergarten classroom but a different way of teaching children who need specialized help. HB111 has not yet been heard in committee.
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