Sioux Falls plans to expand junior kindergarten to 15 schools in 2027
The Sioux Falls School District plans to expand its junior kindergarten program to full school days at 15 elementary schools for the 2027-2028 school year. It’s part of a district initiative to help students become more kindergarten-ready, assistant superintendent Kirk Zeeck said, adding the data shows a need for the expansion. Zeeck said incoming kindergarteners’ phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition scores − which indicate readiness − have decreased for the last three years. But, he noted those scores have increased in first grade for the last three years. The district has had junior kindergarten academy sites at John F. Kennedy and Robert Frost Elementary Schools for the last decade, Zeeck said, but the district plans to expand to more students’ home attendance centers so more can attend junior kindergarten in their neighborhoods before they start kindergarten. More: Yankton School District hopes to set example for SD schools with early childhood education District staff tested out a full-day junior kindergarten program at Terry Redlin Elementary School this year as “kind of a sandbox to get started,” Zeeck said. Junior kindergarten will expand to full-day programs at these elementaries: Anne Sullivan Cleveland Eugene Field Garfield Hawthorne Hayward John F. Kennedy Laura
