This process took decades. By the mid-1960s, still only about half of states offered funding for kindergarten programs. The final growth spurt took place over the next decade, according to a study by Dartmouth economist Elizabeth Cascio. Many states especially in the South and West saw kindergarten as a way to ultimately save money.
“[States thought] this is going to reduce grade repetition where we have to pay for a kid to go through this grade twice,” Cascio said.
By the latter half of the 20th century, the K-12 school system had been largely established.
This melding of kindergarten with the broader education system led to a kind of natural merger. By virtue of being in the same buildings and under the same administrative auspices, kindergartens naturally became more academic.
Gun violence survivors are begging for resources Would this bill help them? inquirer.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from inquirer.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
WHYY
By
Philadelphia’s school buildings are a tribute to its past.
That’s true of the structures themselves, some of which date back over a century.
But it’s also a nod to the people commemorated in the names of those school buildings. Those names in ways big and small help tell the city’s history.
The vast majority of public schools in the city are named after white men. (The school-namers of yore were partial to Union Civil War soldiers and former school board officials.)
Still, in a city that didn’t have a statue of a Black person on public land until 2017, school buildings are among the rare public spaces with any echo of Philadelphia’s Black history.
WHYY
By
Sharon James lost her son John Heggie III, 30, 2 years ago to the day to gun violence. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
For Sharon James, it feels like the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday carries more weight in Philadelphia this year, especially as homicides in the city reached a 30-year high claiming 499 victims and young people find themselves increasingly caught in the crossfire.
She remembers King’s birthday growing up in North Philly as a day of unity and service for whole communities. Kids who had the day off from school spent the day volunteering with the community, she recalled.
“Things have changed and even if you try to do anything, people are scared,” James said. “They’re scared people are going to start shooting. We got people going to the corner store … and they’re shooting the kids.”