Parents with little ones heading into kindergarten next year, rejoice!!! According to KTVB, Governor Brad Little and the State Legislature doubled the funding to early literacy programs in Idaho. With those extra funds, school districts around the Valley will be expanding and introducing tuition-free full-day kindergarten. Caldwell, Nampa, and Vallivue districts announced that every elementary school district will be providing the service starting next school year.

According to KTVB, Boise will be expanding their full-day kindergarten programs “to include 15 elementary schools and nearly double the enrollment.” However, in the Boise school district, parents will have to pay a fee for the full-day option. The cost is based on the family’s income level.

Beth Oppenheimer, member of the Boise School District school board and executive director of the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children, says that having more kids in the full-day program is key.

It’ll give them more time in the classroom to be able to focus more of their attention on their early literacy skills, their early math skills, and also most importantly, their social emotional skills,” she said. "When you have a half-day kindergarten, it seems like you only have about two-and-a-half hours and that's just not enough time for these kiddos.

So, for parents that struggled finding out options for their kiddos before and after school, this is going to be an amazing change!

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