Schools offer free all-day kindergarten

All day kindergarten is available at no cost for children in the Sisters School District this year.

In past years, kindergarten has been offered half-day for free, but parents had to pay if they wanted their child to attend all day. Depending on family finances, the fee for all-day last year was as high as $225 per month, according to the district, so the savings could be significant and affect registration.

According to Schools Superintendent Elaine Drakulich, the district received funds from the State of Oregon for education improvements in the "Early Childhood" category.

The district decided to use those funds to waive fees for all-day kindergarten.

Parents can still register for half-day kindergarten if they feel their child is not ready to attend the full day. But Drakulich said that in past years, teachers noted a skills improvement in those children attending kindergarten all day as opposed to half-day.

"This matches national statistics," Drakulich said. "Full-day kindergarten is a very productive educational strategy for almost all kids."

Parents with children registered for kindergarten have been notified by mail that the full-day program is available at no additional cost, according to Drakulich.

Drakulich said that so far, 58 children have been registered for kindergarten in the the 2008-2009 school year, up from 48 last year.

Eighty were registered two years ago. Final registrations usually increase by the first day of school.