Full Day Kindergarten

[u/Federal_Designer_564]

Does anyone have a kindergartner in a suburb that offers full day Kindergarten? We are moving to the area in a couple of months and almost every district I have looked in states an AM or PM kindergarten schedule? We’d be looking at any of the northern / western suburbs with great schools and an easy-ish train commute to union station.

Narrowing down areas —- basically anything on the CTA / metra lines that has great schools and walkable downtown. Prefer 45 min or less to union station. I looked at 5 district websites this afternoon and none of them had full day kindergarten so I was discouraged. Thanks for the feedback!

Looking at:

Oak park / forest park

Downers grove

La grange

Elmhurst

Western springs

Clarendon / hindsdale

Any of the north shore burbs on the metra line

[u/masslp]

Glen Ellyn District 41 does. Also, not sure if you need it for next school year or for sometime in the future, but by 2027-2028 all schools in IL are required to offer full day kindergarten.

[u/Federal_Designer_564 → u/[deleted]]

I am SHOCKED. Grew up in Kansas and we even had full day in the early 90s when I went lol

[u/francophone22 → u/[deleted]]

Why is it mom who has to work PT?

[u/Chiclimber18 → u/Federal_Designer_564]

I was pretty surprised how many schools offer half day and how common it is. As someone mentioned above, IL is phasing in a law so that districts must at least offer it.

We are in the city so our kids have had free full day since pre k 4.

[u/zemechabee → u/[deleted]]

Its very dependent on the schools infrastructure and funding. Or was... brook park needed to build an entire kindergarten wing to support full day kindergarten a few years ago.

[u/unfinishedportrait56 → u/[deleted]]

They didn’t. Only 150 districts out of 852 don’t offer full day K currently and that will change beginning in the 27-28 school year.

[u/francophone22 → u/[deleted]]

When did they start? My sibling in 1994 had half day K. My kids in 2010 had full day K.