Full-Day Kindergarten Gets Green Light From District 58

DOWNERS GROVE, IL — More children will have access to kindergarten classes at Downers Grove Grade School 58 now that board members have voted to end a former tuition-based program and offer the option of full-day kindergarten.

“Full-day kindergarten boosts young students’ achievement, it also strengthens their social and emotional skills and I’m thrilled that we can offer that full-day option to every child in District 58," Superintendent Dr. Kevin Russell said in a statement.

The move brings a close to the Optional Kindergarten Enrichment and Enhancement Program (OKEEP). This tuition-based program had offered a half-day of instruction in the afternoon that could supplement the half-day of kindergarten classes kids took in the morning.

The new, full-day kindergarten option, which will be made available starting in the 2023-24 school year, was made possible, in part, after voters favored a $179 million bond referendum for District 58 in the November 2022 election. The funds, which support improvements and repairs at several district schools, made money available to facilitate ending OKEEP and offering full-day kindergarten classes.

Russell added that other financial factors supporting the change include "the dissolution of the downtown TIF (Tax Increment Financing District)" and "additional funds available through the state’s Evidence-Based Funding model that counts kindergarten students as full-day rather than half-day students."