Parent cites national studies, urges full-day kindergarten during public comment

A parent who identified herself as Vincent's mother told meeting attendees that national research shows children in full-day kindergarten outperform their half-day peers and urged adoption of full-day programs. "Research can just consistently shows that children in all day kindergarten outperform their half day peers academically and socially," the parent said.

The comment cited the National Education Association, saying "students in full day programs make significantly greater gains in reading and math and are more likely to be on grade level by third grade," and referenced another unnamed national study that the speaker summarized as showing "by the end of kindergarten, full day students averaged 40% higher reading scores and 30% higher math scores compared to half day students." The speaker also shared a personal anecdote about her child: "As Vincent's mom, I saw firsthand how rushed his kindergarten days felt," and added that there was "barely any time for reading, math."

Why it matters: early kindergarten scheduling affects classroom time and instructional access in the first school year, factors educators and parents often cite when discussing school readiness and later academic performance. The speaker framed the research claims as both national findings and personal experience, but did not identify a specific local proposal, ordinance or funding request during the comment.

The remarks were made during public comment; the transcript does not show any staff response, motion, or vote tied to the comment, nor does it identify any follow-up assignment from the meeting. The studies referenced were attributed by the speaker to the National Education Association and an unnamed national study; the transcript does not provide citations or local data to corroborate the national figures the speaker cited.

Public-comment testimony like this can inform future agenda items or staff reports, but the meeting record provided contains only the speaker's summary of national research and her personal account of Vincent's classroom experience.