Olivia Champion of St. Ignace Township receives her name tag as her mother, Kelly, looks on, at St. Ignace Area Schools' kindergarten orientation Wednesday, August 23. Many area schools are reporting higher numbers of kindergarten students this year, based on registrations conducted in the past several weeks. That is especially good news for those schools that receive per-pupil education funding from the state. Some schools are upgrading their curricula, some are extending to all-day classes, and at least one plans to provide more nutrition in its snacks.

St. Ignace Area Schools, Moran Township School, Engadine Consolidated Schools, Les Cheneaux Community Schools, Mackinaw City Public Schools, and Rudyard Area Schools all reported higher kindergarten registrations. Mackinac Island Public School, Pickford Schools, and DeTour Area Schools reported lower enrollment for kindergarten classes this year.

While the true student population won't be known until classes begin Tuesday, September 5, registrations are a good indicator of what

administrators can expect. All numbers reported in this article were current Wednesday, August 24.

St. Ignace Area Schools

"It changes all the time," said secretary Danette Andrews of the student enrollment, but for now, St. Ignace Area Schools reports a tentative count of 50 registered kindergarten students, compared to last year's final count of 49. Over the years, kindergarten registration numbers have remained relatively stable, said Bonnie Ledy, the elementary and middle school principal.

Marcia Bishop, Sherrie Gustafson, and Lil McDonald will teach kindergarten this year, and their youngsters will be the first in the school's history to experience all-day sessions, compared to traditional half-day programs. The longer session has allowed St. Ignace to extend art, physical education, and music classes from 20 to 35 minutes.

These special classes will be taught by certified expert teachers this year, owing to new federal regulations which demand higher qualifications for certain teachers. Each will be able to structure activities to closely match the developmental levels of the youngsters, Mrs. Ledy said.

Having experts teach art, music, and physical education allows classroom teachers more planning time. Kindergarten planning periods will be a collaborative effort, Mrs. Ledy said. In a group setting, teachers will draw from each other's experience and imaginations to create their lesson plans.

This year, the youngsters will take advantage of a new computer laboratory, she added, and they will also have regular library time under the direction of school librarian and aide Betsy Wheeler.

Moran Township School

At nearby Gros Cap School, where Mary Cullen teaches kindergarten, registrations rose, said secretary Julie Moore. The tentative count for the coming year is 13 kindergarten students, compared to last year's final count of eight. The increase has enabled Gros Cap to break with tradition and offer a kindergarten-only class. In years past, kindergarten and first grade students were combined in the same room, owing to the small size of the district.

For the first time, Gros Cap will also offer all-day kindergarten.

"The feeling is that kindergartners are ready for full days," Mrs. Moore said. The increased prevalence of pre-schooling means that many five-year-olds are prepared for longer sessions, she said, which allows them to be taught more during the year.

Unlike most schools in Michigan, Gros Cap is not funded by per-pupil allowances from the state, so the increased number of students will have no bearing on the district's revenue, Mrs. Moore said.

Engadine Consolidated Schools

To the west, at Engadine Consolidated Schools, elementary and high school secretary Lesa Baker reported 21 kindergarten students tentatively enrolled, compared to 18 in last year's final count. The numbers are slightly higher, she said, but there are not as many kindergarten students coming in as there were 12 years ago.

Kindergarten teacher Kelly Stack also conducts all-day classes, but hers are divided into two overlapping groups. One comes in from Monday through Thursday. The other comes in Tuesday through Friday. This arrangement means each group has one day off, and one session with fewer students, each week, Mrs. Baker said.

Engadine kindergarten students are part of an intensive literacy project funded by the federal government. A Title IIA grant, "Teacher/Principal Training and Recruiting," allows funding to be used to reduce class sizes, so teachers can give more attention to each student. Smaller classes have been shown to have a positive impact, especially on young students, said Angie McArthur, business administrator and elementary coordinator for the district.

"I think it's great," she said regarding the arrangement, "especially for kindergarten."

The students receive 90 minutes of literacy training every morning, using a textbook series paid for by the grant that includes consistent testing and intervention components.

For kindergarten students, the program focuses on sounds and letters, generating what Mrs. McArthur called "phonemic awareness." Rather than memorizing sounds and words, the program explains what sounds are and contributes to deeper literary understanding, she said.

The grant also pays for literacy coach Laura Flatt, who works with teachers and students.

Under the program, Mrs. Stack meets for literacy training sessions with her peers from other districts. Kindergarten and first and second grade teachers use these sessions to draw from each other's knowledge and experience.

The program is in its second year of a three-year grant. Using other funding this year, Engadine is extending the literacy project to grades four through six.

"It's very exciting to see the changes it makes," Mrs. McArthur said. "Once students learn to read, they can be engaged in class, and discipline is no longer an issue.

"We're looking forward to a great year," she added.

Les Cheneaux

Community Schools

At Les Cheneaux Community Schools in Cedarville, the number of registered kindergarten students has jumped. Thirty have enrolled so far, compared to last year's count of 21. This will contribute to smaller class sizes and more revenue for the school.

"This is wonderful," said secretary Susie Rutledge. The increase has enabled the school to offer two sections of kindergarten, to be taught by Julie Davis and Carrie Carr.

The flux of kindergarten students is unusual in a time of generally declining enrollment.

"We usually graduate more students than we take in," Mrs. Rutledge said. "Who can explain it?"

Part of the answer, she added, is that new families are moving into the area.

Les Cheneaux schools is working to maintain its program in a time of budgeting difficulties, but this year, textbooks have been updated and use an approach that combines reading with social studies and science.

The program also emphasizes writing, said Eric Cardwell, the elementary school principal.

"It's not like when you and I were in school," he told The St. Ignace News. Early academic training for kindergarten has been enhanced, and the young students are "producing some really fantastic writing samples," he said.

Mackinac Island Public School

Kindergarten registration numbers at Mackinac Island Public School are down this year, but like Gros Cap, the district does not receive per-pupil funding from the state, so the district's revenue will not be affected.

Three students signed up, and of that number, two are twins who will be out of the area for part of the year. Last year, there were six kindergarten students enrolled. Their teacher will be Vicki Urman.

Two of her students speak fluent Polish as well as English, bringing language awareness to their class, said secretary and bookkeeper Barbara Fisher.

Classes at Mackinac Island School, which has fewer than 100 students, are combined. The three kindergarten students will share a room with first grade students.

Mackinaw City Public Schools

Nineteen kindergarten students have enrolled so far this year at Mackinaw City Public Schools, compared to a final count of 18 last year.

Generally, enrollment in the area has remained stable for at least 12 years, said secretary Kathy Brey.

Replacing kindergarten teacher Lynn Balyo, who retired, is recent Central Michigan University graduate Emily Brey. She will teach kindergarten in the morning and the school's "readiness program" in the afternoon. The readiness program is a class for four-year-olds.

Mackinaw City also hosts a program called junior kindergarten. Taught by Becky Valot, the class focuses on helping students develop, preparing them for the regular kindergarten class, said superintendent Jeffrey Curth.

In the afternoons, Mrs. Valot teaches reading and assists teachers in other classrooms under the district's Title I program.

Mackinaw City runs a traditional half-day program for kindergartners, but at teachers' request, the kindergarten school day has been extended by one-half hour. The new hours are 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

"More contact time will obviously help them," Mr. Curth said.

Rudyard Area Schools

Kindergarten enrollment is up at Rudyard Area Schools, which also runs all-day classes. Forty-two students have registered at TurnerHowsen Elementary, compared to last year's count of 34. At R. J. Wallis Elementary, 51 students have registered, compared to last year's count of 47, said superintendent Gary Davis.

"We're hopeful this rise will be a trend," he said, commenting on the district's steadily declining enrollment over the past several years.

Student counts are unpredictable in the district.

"There is a lot of movement," Mr. Davis said. "There are always more students in the fall count than in the winter count."

Each school has two sections of kindergarten. At Turner-Howsen, Jamie Curtis and Jane Berkompas educate the youngsters. Teachers at R.J. Wallis are Sandy Holloway and Paula Pancheri.

Pickford Public Schools

Pickford Public Schools also runs all-day kindergarten classes, said Superintendent Keith Krahnke. Registration numbers have dropped this year, with 24 new kindergarten students registered, compared to last year's count of 38.

Owing to fluctuations in student numbers, which several administrators called "bubbles" in the system, elementary principal Dan Barry said that he is not concerned that the drop in numbers will hurt the district. The school will continue funding its programs, he said, and "all K-8 numbers are way up." The district is

solid," he added.

Susan Maloney educates the kindergarten students in Pickford, and there are no major changes in the curriculum this year, said Mr. Barry, but the school is stepping up its focus on student physical health.

"We're working on our wellness policy," Mr. Barry said. Governor Jennifer Granholm has pushed to improve Michigan students' health, and Pickford schools has responded by emphasizing consistent exercise. The district also will improve the nutritional content of afternoon snacks for kindergarten students.

DeTour Area Schools

Stacy Zuver and Amy Moser teach kindergarten at DeTour Area Schools, Ms. Zuver in DeTour Village and

Ms. Moser on Drummond. Both schools run all-day kindergarten programs.

This year, DeTour has registered six kindergarten students,

compared to last year's count of 10. Drummond Island has received five kindergarten students. Last year, the school had seven.