KINDERGARTENERS WILL GET YOUNGER

Already the youngest students in school, Missouri's kindergarteners will be even younger by 1997.

A bill passed recently by the Missouri General Assembly changes the cutoff date for enrollment from July 1 to Aug. 1. It takes effect for the 1997-98 school year.

Although the change is only a 30-day difference, it will mean some 4-year-olds, who turn 5 within weeks of the beginning of school, can be put in a classroom with others who turn 6 in that same time period.

Now, only children who are 5 by July 1 are eligible to attend kindergarten in the fall. Kindergarten is optional in Missouri.

The legislative changes probably won't make much difference in the classroom, said Dr. Richard Bollwerk, superintendent of Cape Girardeau public schools. "It's close enough to the start of the school year that it won't make too much difference," he said.

The bill also eliminates early testing requirements for children who were born in July, August and September. Previously, children who were born during those months could be tested for readiness at their parents' request.

"You can still have some that are over-ready and under-ready," said Barb Egbert, a kindergarten teacher at Franklin Elementary School. "It might not matter; there won't be a huge difference because of one month."

With any sort of cutoff date, there will always be students in a classroom at both ends of the age spectrum: Some will be the youngest, others are always the oldest.

"It really depends on the maturity," Egbert said. "We can catch them up if they are mature and have family support. It has more to do with how they attack the process of learning."

If a child notices patterns and puts things together, they are probably ready for school, she said.

Cape Girardeau will begin an all-day program this fall for its kindergarten students. Each elementary school in the district will offer the all-day program.