All Day Kindergarten

In Upper Arlington Schools, our mission is to challenge and support every student, every step of the way. This aligns with our long-running philosophy of educating and supporting the whole child, which is at the heart of our 2019-2024 Strategic Plan. 

Under the visionary leadership of the Board of Education, Upper Arlington Schools launched all-day kindergarten beginning in the fall of 2021. Our all-day kindergarten program builds on the high-quality academic program offered in the Upper Arlington Schools.

All-day kindergarten better meets the needs of our developing learners so that they are able to learn and grow academically, socially and emotionally. The full-day program provides more time to develop students’ skills in the core academic areas while also maintaining our focus on developing the whole child through social and emotional learning and growth.

What are the advantages of all-day kindergarten?

All-day kindergarten provides an essential bridge between preschool and the primary grades. A comprehensive and more rigorous kindergarten program balances the demands of the academic standards with how we know young children develop and learn best. Our all-day kindergarten program supports students at a developmentally appropriate pace, with a balance of academic, social and emotional programming as desired by the Upper Arlington community.

A longer kindergarten day provides, quite simply, more time — for teacher-guided instruction in the core academic areas, greater student choice and exploration of integrated themes of study such as science and social studies. Students have more opportunities for personalized instruction to support their learning.  Measured growth in physical, social, emotional and cognitive domains increase. This extended day also allows for many more hands-on investigations, integrated technology experiences and solid literacy and writing workshop blocks.

What does an all-day kindergarten day look like?

The school day is structured to support our younger learners as they adjust to a full-day learning program. The school day is built around the learning blocks for the core content areas - math, reading, writing, science/social studies - with time for play and “brain breaks” woven in throughout the day. Students have time to work with teachers individually or in small groups to support their learning and reinforce or extend where needed.  Each week, students also have a related arts block that rotates between music, art and PE.

What is the registration process?

Children who will be 5 years of age on or before September 30 are eligible for kindergarten during the following school year.  

Please visit our kindergarten registration website for information about registering.