Arizona Kindergarten Enrollment Down About 14%

By Jill Ryan
Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services
Published: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 - 9:17am
Updated: Tuesday, October 27, 2020 - 9:22am

As the pandemic continues, Arizona parents have had to make crucial decisions on what to do with their children, especially young ones, when it comes to school. 

In Arizona, it was always optional to enroll into kindergarten, but this year, the preliminary figure shows enrollment down about 14%.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Kathy Hoffman says that despite legitimate parental concerns, it may be worse in the long run for children to not attend kindergarten.

"Some of the most important skills that they're learning are the letter sounds, and the letters, the names of the letters and the alphabet. They're learning even, beginning to read some of their first words, those really simple words," Hoffman said.

An education advocacy group is also encouraging parents to consider in-person kindergarten so kids don’t fall behind in reading skills. A state law prohibits third graders from moving on if they don’t pass the state reading level assessment.

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