Free Full Day Kindergarten Coming Soon?

More kindergarten students may be going to school for a full day soon.

Town officials are considering making kindergarten a free full-day program, rather than the half day currently in place in North Andover. Currently kindergarten is only offered full-time for a $4,000 fee. Under the proposed plan, it would be completely covered in the town's budget.

"Because of the changes in state standards, there is a fuller platter on every kindergarten teacher now to provide and assess standards across the board,” Superintendent Kevin Hutchinson said while presenting the issue to the School Committee Wednesday.

At Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, Town Manager Andrew Maylor said that the town is now financially able to transition the free kindergarten program from half-day to full-day.

Hutchinson said his department will gather input from parents and design a transition plan in the coming months. The tough part will be implementing a new universal free full-day kindergarten in a town that has never had one, he emphasized.

“We understand that this is a significant change for many people,” Hutchinson said. “For those people who have been sending their children to full-day kindergarten, the only significant change is, there’s no charge.”

Don't start packing the kids' backpacks for a full day yet. The proposal must go through the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectmen and then must be put on the warrant for Town Meeting.