1. The View of Kindergarten in New Jersey The View of Kindergarten in New Jersey Vincent J. Costanza, Ed.D. Executive Director Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge & Director, Office of Primary Education New Jersey Department of Education

2. We shouldn’t wait until children are in high school to fuse academic and social development. 2

3. Benefits of Full Day Kindergarten Strong transitionsIncreased attendanceAcademic and social gains Villegas, Malia. 2005. Full-Day Kindergarten: Expanding Learning Opportunities. WestEd. Enhanced social, emotional and behavior development 3

4. Kindergarten Profile District Type11-1212-1313-1414-15 Districts with Full-Day K70.1%75.9%81.5%85.5% Districts with Full-Day and Half-Day K4.5%2.9%3.1%1.4% Districts with Half-Day K25.4%21.2%15.4%13.1% 4

5. New Jersey Kindergarten Entry Assessment (NJKEA) Voluntary & Funded Aligned with the NJ K-Seminar Social-Emotional, Literacy, & Math assessed in Year 1 Fully implemented portfolio-based (TS GOLD) NJ KEA system by 2019 200 teachers 94 administrators 29 districts Year 1 Participation 5

6. YearTeachersAdministratorsChildrenDistricts Y1200943,44229 Y2Y25201549,000 (approx.)51 TOTAL72024812,442 (approx.)80 6 Participant Comparison