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Indiana's largest school district conducted a study in 1998 comparing students in full-day programs supported with federal Title I funds and students in half-day programs. There was no doubt that the students in the full-day programs were better prepared for the academic rigors of first grade and beyond.

Children from urban households in particular need the edge they can gain from a more vigorous start to their education. Full-day kindergarten ensures better nutrition and more educational opportunities, things that sometimes can be in short supply for children from low-income households. Hunger is a major reason why children are unable to concentrate on their schoolwork. Full-day kindergarten forces school officials to feed those children.

Many urban children also don't have the benefit of parents who can afford to take vacations, visit zoos and museum or provide other experiences that broaden a child's horizons. Often students from these households have not learned things that now actually are expected to be taught at home prior to entering kindergarten, such as their numbers, the alphabet and their addresses. The extra time can be spend teaching these things to those who don't know them and reinforcing them for those who do.

The amount of information students are expected to learn has increased over the past several decades without a corresponding increase in class time. The average high school student studying U.S. history is responsible for understanding 20 years more history than his parents. Yet the school day remains about as long as it was when his parents attended. That extra half day, if used wisely, will jump start the infusion of information and add 540 to the 15,500 hours students spend in the classroom in 13 years of school.

But heck, in Indiana, we first have to worry about making kindergarten mandatory.

Learn more about this author, Rebecca Bibbs.
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