Drew Comer, left, and Nathaniel Schultz paint
butterflies in "Young 5s" developmental kindergarten at Kenwood Elementary in
TROY -- A change in the way the state funds kindergarten is starting to affect programs geared toward the youngest kindergartners.
Some districts have begun canceling developmental kindergarten programs, also called Young 5s or Begindergarten, leaving parents scrambling to find alternatives for students who have late fall birthdays or are not considered developmentally ready for kindergarten. The programs move at a slower pace and with more individualized attention than traditional kindergarten.
School officials in Wayne-Westland, Clawson and Troy, which are canceling programs in the fall, say they will accept the students into traditional kindergarten programs, and trained teachers will address the needs of the youngest kids.
That's of little consolation to parents who worry about placing their children in programs with students who are in some cases a half-year older -- an age span that means vast differences in maturity for small children -- or paying for other programs.
It's unclear how many children could be affected because the state doesn't track enrollment in developmental kindergarten programs. They are simply counted as kindergartners.
Kim Fritz-Lindemeyer of Troy enrolled her son, Jacob, who has a late fall birthday, in Troy School District's half-day developmental kindergarten program on the recommendation of friends. She decided against keeping Jacob in preschool because she wanted him to get more academic development to prepare him for school.
"I knew he was going to get the structure and letter development in developmental kindergarten, and that was the perfect stepping stone for kindergarten," she said. Now, she's faced with placing Jacob in a traditional kindergarten program, which she believes would not suit him.
"My son does not have a very long attention span," she said. "He just really does not have an ability to focus and sit and write. I planned for the past two years how we would go about this. The rug has been pulled out."
Fritz-Lindemeyer said she knows the perils of enrolling a child in kindergarten too soon. Her daughter turned 5 just as school started, and she struggled in kindergarten, she said.
Tim McAvoy, spokesman for Troy schools, said the district was forced to cut developmental kindergarten for the fall because of the funding change, which takes effect in the fall. Under the new formula, districts get full funding only if they offer full-day programs and partial funding if they offer less. Developmental kindergarten programs are generally half-day. In the past, all programs were fully funded.
Keeping the half-day program would mean a loss of more than $200,000 in state aid, McAvoy said. The district now has two sections of developmental kindergarten with nearly 50 students, compared to about 760 students in traditional kindergarten.
If the funding changes were rolled back, he said the district would continue to offer developmental kindergarten. The district's assistant superintendent for elementary instruction recently went to Lansing to ask lawmakers to reverse the funding changes, he said.
Jan Ellis, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Education, said the change will ensure the amount of state funding matches the amount of education provided.
"In the past, districts have been allowed to receive full funding for either a full- or half-day program," she said. "Studies show there is a significant educational, social and emotional benefit for students who attend full-day programs. Full-day programs also offer taxpayers a substantial return on investment."
McAvoy said the district is confident it can accommodate the needs of the younger students in its traditional kindergarten classes.
Wayne-Westland Superintendent Greg Baracy said his district is canceling the program because of the funding changes and waning interest. But he acknowledged that parents appreciated the program.
"I think as a service, parents would have liked it to continue, but with the extreme budget cuts -- not only in kindergarten but across the board -- we can't maintain some programs for next year," he said.
In Clawson schools, about 40 students participated in developmental kindergarten, said Superintendent Cheryl Rogers. Rogers said research shows that students would be best-served in a full-day kindergarten program, which is offered in Clawson.
But parents like Jenyfer Lapish, whose son Ryker, 4, will be 5 years old Oct. 20, said their children would struggle in an all-day program. Because of Ryker's late birthday, Lapish had been planning to enroll him in developmental kindergarten in Troy. She said though Ryker would be old enough for traditional kindergarten, he doesn't appear socially ready, she said.
While he can sit down and color, he has a hard time waiting his turn, she said. And when he isn't given full attention, he sometimes has "a meltdown," she said.
"I just think developmental would give him another year to prepare for real school," she said.
Lapish said adding to her dilemma is that Troy is now offering a tuition-based developmental kindergarten program for $2,300 a year -- an amount she can't afford. Lapish's husband was laid off from his job, and she is now working as a bus driver and at a watch shop to make ends meet.
"I would've saved more money and planned to put him in a more structured preschool had I known developmental kindergarten would not have been available," she said.
Virginia Mantela, principal at Clawson's Kenwood Elementary, said she believes the younger students would be well-served by the school's kindergarten teachers, who are trained to address children across the age and development spectrum.
On a recent day in one of her developmental kindergarten classes, students worked on fine motor skills by cutting play dough and shaping it into cookies. At another table, students painted butterflies for a lesson focusing on the letter "I" and insects. The class included those who can count beyond 20 and work with scissors to those who didn't know their last names.
"In every single classroom, you have children across the age range," Mantela said. "We just have to look at what we have to do to help them to grow and achieve."
You can reach Jennifer Mrozowski at (313) 222-2269 or jmrozowski@detnews.com.
Drew Comer, left, and Nathaniel Schultz paint
butterflies in "Young 5s" developmental kindergarten at Kenwood Elementary in