Schools

After Years of Talk, Full-Day Kindergarten Now in Hingham

The first students in the program had their first day on Thursday.

After 15 years of work, full-day kindergarten has come to Hingham.

On Thursday, superintendent Dorothy Galo told the Patriot Ledger that first day went well for the 302 kindergartners that make up the 15 full-day classes. Only five students are enrolled in the free, half-day program.

The full-day program has been discussed since 1999 with an original launch target of 2000. The financial limitations of the 2008 economic crisis stalled the plan before the most recent revival.

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Galo said a fee is being imposed on the program because, without it, free kindergarten would cost over $900,000 a year.

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