These pressures are even higher for the families – disproportionately those of color – who face personal or family illness, unemployment or smaller paychecks. An increasing number of families are choosing to home-school.īut for some children, economic insecurity, material hardship and increased stress at home can change family dynamics and lead to fewer opportunities for learning. Some children, especially those from high-income families, are attending private schools, which are more likely to offer in-person schooling. What widespread delays in kindergarten enrollment means for children’s learning depends on how they are spending their time when they are not in public school. Moreover, limited internet and device access also contributes to inequities in remote learning. One survey found that half of Latino, Black and single-parent families had fully remote schools compared to a third of white families. This compounds the inequitable access to in-person schooling. However, this year school enrollment is down disproportionately among Latino and Black children. In a typical year, boys, white children and children from high-income families are most likely to be held back. Al Seib/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images Impact on learning and equity When schools return to in-person learning full time, teachers will have to teach to a wider range of skills and needs among their students. And, of course, health concerns about catching the coronavirus have led more families to keep their children home this year. The problem is worse for parents who cannot work from home and are left with few child care options.įor families with in-person or hybrid schooling options, public health measures like masks and social distancing make kindergarten a less welcoming environment. Managing children’s Zoom schedules, organizing learning materials and overseeing at-home assignments adds to an already overflowing plate. Many parents are also incredibly stressed as they try to balance work and family demands – now 10 months into the pandemic. Parents have long heard from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association and other groups about the harms of too much screen time, and so some may have opted to avoid it for their children’s schooling.Īnd, virtual learning simply can’t offer the interactions with toys, physical games, peers and teachers that young children need to build foundational skills like compromise. Many families have no in-person school option and may be understandably wary of the effectiveness of online learning, especially for younger children. The reasons for kindergarten delay this past year, however, are unique to the pandemic. But the academic benefits of redshirting seem to decline as children age into middle and high school. Research suggests that this extra year before entering school may improve children’s attention and self-regulation. Parents might delay kindergarten until their children are more socially, emotionally and physically mature. The phrase originally referred to college athletes who were held back from competing on varsity teams. In a typical year, about 5% of kindergarten-age children are “redshirted” – their entry to school delayed. As a child and family policy researcher and a parent of two children under 7, I believe the new trend is concerning. And that has the potential to exacerbate already wide educational inequities. districts in 20 states, public kindergarten enrollment was down 16% on average.ĭelaying children’s kindergarten entry is not new, but the pandemic has broadened its scope. The trend is particularly acute among pre-K and kindergarten students. For example, enrollment is down by 15,000 in Chicago public schools and by more than 20,000 in the District of Columbia’s public schools. Public school enrollment is down across the country.
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