10 NBC News - January 10, 2006 "The New York State Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to lower the age of compulsory schooling to five. If the state legislature approves the ruling it would make full-day kindergarten mandatory. Currently, kindergarten is voluntary in New York."

I know that kindergarten is voluntary; however being in the trenches everyday it is hard to remember that. My job previous to teaching Kindergarten was that of Reading Recovery teacher. The whole purpose of Reading Recovery is to target first graders on the first day of school who are already considered at-risk in reading and writing. Reading Recovery is intensive direct instruction given one-on-one daily for 12-20 weeks. One may ask, "How can a child already be considered at-risk if first grade is the first compulsory year of school?" Well, that is why I applaud the Board of Regents on their decision. Kindergarten shouldn't be optional. If children do not master the basic skills in Kindergarten, the strenuous academics of first grade are overwhelming.

 

National Academy Press 1998 and Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children 1998 Cited in Denton, p10 "By the spring of kindergarten children should be able to recognize the letters of the alphabet quickly and effortlessly, and understand the letter-sound relationship at the beginning and end of words. By the spring of first grade, most children should be recognizing words by sight and comprehending words in the context of simple sentences."