Nov. 18--Parents of incoming kindergartners will have a shot at getting their child into one of 17 full-day kindergarten classrooms in Plainfield next year.
Parents interested in getting their students into full-day kindergarten must apply for a spot in one of the 17 classrooms. Applications will be available on the school's website beginning January 8 through January 22. Students will be chosen by lottery in February.
"People are excited about the idea of full day kindergarten," Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 Spokesman Tom Hernandez said. "A lot of people wish -- and we do too -- that we could serve all students who want full-day kindergarten right now, but unfortunately that is just not our reality."
The district would need 72 classrooms, or about four per building, to serve all of its kindergarten students with a full-day option. The district does not have enough space to do so, Hernandez said. Although one full-day kindergarten class will be offered to students at each of the district's 17 elementary schools, the physical location of that class may end up at a nearby school if there is not enough room for a full-day class at the student's home school, Hernandez added.
Families who opt for the full-day option will be required to pay $100 a month in tuition to help offset the costs of hiring additional staff and materials.
School board members in July approved the pilot program for full-day kindergarten. A full-day option for kindergarten was identified as a top priority in the district's five-year strategic plan in 2011.
The Plainfield district is one of the few remaining districts in the state that does not offer full-day kindergarten. Only 330 schools -- 17 of them in the Plainfield district -- do not have a full-day option, said Mina Griffith, assistant superintendent for student services.
Griffith said students in the full-day program will follow the same curriculum as half-day kindergarten. Full-day students, however, will have some additional time to spend on core subjects along with other offerings such as music, art or physical education.
District officials will host informational meetings on Monday, November 30 at Ira Jones Middle School, 15320 Wallin Drive in Plainfield, and Wednesday, December 2 at Aux Sable Middle School, 2001 Wildspring Parkway in Joliet, to lay out details for the new program. Both forums will be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Applications will be available at http://www.psd202.org/pages/PlainfieldSD202.
Alicia Fabbre is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
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