Provo City School District is proud to introduce full-day kindergarten in all our schools starting next academic year (with an option for half-day kindergarten still included).

Why Full-Day Kindergarten? Full-day enrollment is also an equity maker; working-class parents with less time at home can enroll students in a district service that will productively serve students’ academic and social growth. Students that may run into learning challenges can identify them earlier, providing teachers more time to build skills and differentiated support for each student.

To quote Utah State Board of Education’s (USBE): 

“Utah kids in full-day kindergarten regularly perform 2 to 4 times better than their half-day kindergarten peers in basic kindergarten proficiencies literacy and numeracy… It is a time-tested, evidence-based, early learning practice that can give children from all backgrounds a strong and equitable start in school.” 

It’s not just our Board of Education that reports positive, evidence-based research; according to the National Institute for Early Education Research, children who attend full-day kindergarten programs have better academic and social outcomes than those who participate in half-day programs. It’s a national trend that allows parents and students to offer more opportunities for learning and socializing.

Full-Day Kindergarten details: To clarify, full-day kindergarten is the automatic enrollment option; all students still have the option for half-day kindergarten if indicated during the registration process.

Provo City School District will not offer bus transportation services to students returning home after half-day kindergarten. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause; we want to ensure that all parents know about this change.

We also want to remind parents that our Kindergarten teachers instruct half and full-day kindergarten students in the same class through the same curriculum. All core instruction concludes at the half-day mark at lunch, but full-day students will use the full-day time to extend and reinforce their learning.

Readers can enroll their child in our full-day kindergarten program today and start building their academic and social skills. Contact your school to learn more about our programs and how they can benefit your child’s future.

(This article was originally posted on the Provo City School District Website at https://provo.edu/provo-city-school-district-introduces-full-day-kindergarten-programs-2/.