After a seven-month examination of the Evanston/Skokie District 65 Early Entrance to Kindergarten program, the D65 School Board voted Monday night to eliminate the program after the current school year.
The vote put an end to the 50-year-old program, which allowed parents to enroll their children in kindergarten even if they had been born after Illinois’ Sept. 1 deadline, provided that the child turned five years old by Sept. 30 and demonstrated both a minimum IQ of 130 and an appropriate level of maturity.
Superintendent Hardy Ray Murphy requested the formation of an ad hoc committee to investigate the program in August 1999 after some concern about the program arose, primarily from the parents of children who were denied, said D65 Information Officer Marshall Rosenthal.
Dan Thompson, chairman of the ad hoc committee of teachers, administrators and curriculum specialists, said the committee was formed to review the district’s methods of assessing a child’s level of development.
But after months of discussion with local kindergarten teachers and education scholars, the committee concluded there is no concrete way to correctly identify a child’s preparedness to enter kindergarten.
“The readiness of a child is multidimensional,” Thompson said. “It’s physical, cognitive and emotional.”
Thompson noted the lack of research proving that children benefit from early exposure to academics. The committee’s report also stated that early entrants generally do not “fare well socially and emotionally when compared to their peers.”
The district granted early admittance to 25 students for the 1999-2000 school year. Six of these were dropped during the school year at the suggestion of a parent or staff member and two others were recommended for removal but continued at their parents’ insistence.
But John Chatz, D65 vice president, said he was concerned about the way parents would respond to a definite deadline.
“If we eliminate early entry, what do we do in the event that a child is born Sept. 5?” he said.
One Evanston grandfather, Tony Kelly, also questioned the committee’s recommendation due to the lack of parental input.
But Thompson said he would prefer giving the parents a definite “no” to having them negatively introduced to the school district.
“No matter what we say, parents are going to argue about it,” Thompson said. “If we say their child’s not ready, they will want want to know how much their child is not ready. Then there’s a lot of discourse.”
Thompson said he has not heard any complaints from upset parents but advised those wanting their children to enter school early that a pre-kindergarten program or a home setting may be better for their child’s development.
“The key thing to remember is that kindergarten programs have changed over the years and become more academic,” he said. “Children still need time for free play and discovery, not academics.”
