An extra two months can mean a lot when you”re 5.
When Edna McGill”s son started kindergarten, he was one of the youngest students in his class. He had a tough year.
“(Other students) are almost a full year older than a child who turned 5 just before they had to go to school,” said McGill, who now serves as assistant superintendent for Lowndes County schools. “Especially for boys, it makes a big difference. Girls mature faster than boys.”
Currently in Mississippi, children must be 5 by Sept. 1 to enter kindergarten in the fall. Recently passed legislation could push that date back to July 1, as early as the 2013-14 school year.
House Bill 619 calls for the Mississippi Department of Education to research the feasibility of the change and return a report to Legislature no later than January 2012.
“Just regarding children”s development, I think it”s a good thing,” McGill said. “I think it would allow those children with late birthdays to mature and be more ready for instruction.”
For Columbus schools, the change would mean more opportunity for parents to enroll their children in the pre-kindergarten program, an initiative shown to improve student achievement in the long run.
Columbus Municipal School District has 100 pre-k seats — 60 at Stokes-Beard Elementary Technology and Communication Magnet School and 40 at Cook Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School. The program currently takes those students whose 5th birthday is in the summer months. Each year, there are 20 to 30 children turned away due to space, said Dr. Martha Liddell, CMSD assistant superintendent for elementary curriculum.
“We”re still not able to provide for all the children who apply,” Liddell said, noting children have the most brain development in ages 3-5, so those are key ages to begin foundational learning such as literacy skills.
“By getting them into the system earlier, not only are they able to be more proficient … they”re also more competent and they”re able to do better,” Liddell said. “It”s very advantageous. The more students we can get into our system the earlier, is a great advantage … The earlier, the better.”
A study of CMSD”s first class of pre-k students showed 90 percent of those students performed proficient or advanced on tests; whereas, the control group had more students to perform at basic.
Though Liddell believes most parents would take advantage of the potential to enroll their children in kindergarten sooner, she admits about 5 percent of parents do not place their children in kindergarten.
State law begins compulsory attendance in the first grade. A Senate bill to change the law requiring parents to enroll their children in kindergarten died this year.
“Those children, many times, struggle and they struggle for years, because it”s not mandatory in the state,” Liddell said.
Parents not adhering to compulsory attendance rules can face fines and jail time.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.