Private educators are stepping in to fill some of the void left when Lawrence public schools eliminated all-day kindergarten.

Lisa Goans, who is opening the Lawrence Children’s Academy at 1533 Barker Ave., said she didn’t want to compete with Lawrence public schools but that people should have options for educating their children. Her academy will offer all-day kindergarten for 12 children.

“When children are young, it’s a critical time for learning,” Goans said. “Children can benefit greatly from having the experience.”

Her all-day kindergarten program will be one of the few offered in the area — all by private institutions.

Lawrence school board member Austin Turney said he wasn’t surprised a new academy was opening.

“I think, in the first place, there’s a demand for it among working parents,” Turney said. “But it’s also a desirable thing for many children to have.”

The school board eliminated all-day kindergarten in 2002 as part of $2.3 million in budget cuts. Cutting the all-day kindergarten programs and going back to half days saved the district about $212,760. Turney now calls the cut one of the most regrettable the board had to make.

Goans called the decision unfortunate.

“I saw it as a loss,” she said. “There are always children who can benefit from extra time. But I have no plans on becoming a kindergarten-through-sixth program and pulling students from the district.”

Lisa Goans, Lawrence, works with Michael Quackenbush, 7, in her new school. Goans' school is offering 12 spots in an all-day kindergarten program set to start in the fall.

Gains and cuts

Lack of state funding was one reason the board decided to cut the program. The state provides only half the funding for kindergartners that it does for students in first through 12th grades. That meant the district needed to find half the funding for all-day kindergarten in its general fund.

“I think not having the program is a negative for the district,” said Lawrence Supt. Randy Weseman. “We had to cut it and that hurts our ability to work with kindergartners.”

District officials project that about 615 kindergartners will begin school this fall.

Alexa Pochowski, assistant commissioner for the Kansas State Department of Education’s learning services division, said the state had seen an increase over the past few years in the number of public schools offering all-day kindergarten.

In the 2001-2002 school year, 258 elementary schools across Kansas offered full-day programs. In the 2003-2004 school year, a department report showed 315 schools had full-day kindergarten.

Full-day programs have been found to be beneficial for children, especially with gains in reading, Pochowski said.

“But it also has been one of the first things for school districts to cut when funding gets tight,” she said.

Department of Education spokeswoman Kathy Toelkes said the state board of education recommended the Kansas Legislature fund all-day kindergarten for the 2004 fiscal year. That didn’t happen.

Other programs

Hilltop Child Development Center, 1605 Irving Hill Road, a private organization for early-childhood education, also dropped its full-day kindergarten program.

Hilltop’s full-day kindergarten program had eight students enrolled when it was cut, said Pat Pisani, executive director of the center.

Raintree Montessori School, 4601 Clinton Parkway, and Montessori Children’s House of Lawrence, 1900 University Drive, have programs similar to all-day kindergarten. But in order to attend, officials at both schools said, students must start before turning 4 years old.

Raintree Montessori director Lleanna McReynolds said the school occasionally has made exceptions on the age requirements.

“But our methods are different,” she said. “We’ve never set out to be in competition with the public schools.”