MADISON, Wis. — Next school year, there will be more opportunities for kids to be in full-day 4K. 

4K teacher Colleen Gingher is on her feet all day. It’s her 23rd year at Mendota Elementary School, on Madison’s north side.

“It’s my favorite grade, and I’ve done kindergarten, first, and third,” she said. “I wouldn’t change being with all these little friends for anything.”

Previously, 4K was a half-day program in the Madison Metropolitan School District. It’s still that way in many of them. However, there are 16 classrooms across the district in a pilot program that has full-day 4K. 

Gingher has taught 4K for nine years. She already sees a difference between half-day and full-day. 

“I was looking at where they started and where they are now. I mean, academically, socially, emotionally, they’ve just developed like into these amazing little, almost kindergarten humans,” she said. “I hope it stays [full-day] forever. Because I really have seen the benefit.” 

At this age, pretty much all their learning is based on play. Kids are learning how to share, communicate and develop social skills.

A study from the National Institute for Early Education Research showed a “dramatic” difference in how much that children learned in a full day vs. a half-day. Still, there’s lots more research to do. 

This is such a formative age that those improvements can have a lasting impact. 

“Brain development research tells us that at the beginning of life, the brain develops and grows faster than any other time in our life,” said Culleen Witthuhn, MMSD early learning director. “It’s really important that we are focusing in on this age, because this is where their brains can build all the connections that they need for later on in life.”

MMSD officials hope this added time in the classroom can help close achievement gaps for students of color and from low-income families. It’s an initial investment, but the goal is to get everyone on the same page from the start, potentially preventing needing more help later on. 

“It levels the playing field for all students, so that students don’t have those large gaps,” she said. “We see those gaps when our students come to us at the four-year-old level. We already can see the achievement gaps.”

There will be 11 more full-day 4K classrooms in the district for the 2022-23 school year, bringing the total to 27.

Enrollment has already begun for the next school year. To learn more, click here.