Expect a wide disparity as public elementary schools roll out junior kindergarten programs statewide next year, affecting thousands of students.

For some, the changes will be minimal, with junior kindergarten students even remaining in the same classroom side by side with kindergartners and likely going on to first grade with them the following year. But for others, the program will mark the start of two years in kindergarten.

The concept is universal: Whether children start kindergarten at age 4 or age 5, they should be able to move into first grade at the end of the year.

However, if late-born children need extra help, or even an extra year, to master kindergarten skills, they should get it with no stigma.

That is the case at Kalihi Waena Elementary, which launched a junior kindergarten pilot program this year. The junior kindergarten class at this school is set up to prepare the children born after Aug. 1 to make a successful transition into kindergarten next year.

Other pilot schools, like Liholiho Elementary, have tailored their curriculums to catch late-born children up to their older counterparts so they can all enter first grade together possessing the same skills.

ONE GOAL, MANY WAYS

The good news for parents is that that no matter how individual schools choose to target instruction at children born between August and December, all kindergartners — about 14,000 a year — will reap the benefits, according to Liz Chun, executive director of the Good Beginnings Alliance.

"All kindergarten teachers are kind of taking a step back and examining the strategies they use for all children," she said. "Kids who need a little more time ... have an opportunity to have it in a smaller group with more individualized instruction."

But the difference in the program from school to school can be striking.

Several of the 37 schools piloting the two-tiered kindergarten program have decided to keep early-born and late-born children in the same classrooms, such as at Ka'ala and Kalaniana'ole elementary schools.

At 'Ewa Elementary, where the date of birth has not proved to be a factor in low achievement, the school is staying with the age- and developmentally-appropriate strategies it already employed for all students.

"Our curriculum had already been set up to address student needs, so that didn't really change," said principal Stanley Tamashiro. "We haven't had a (kindergarten) retention for a couple years."

He's among those who aren't sure the junior kindergarten program is necessary.

"Why do we want to create something when there's not a problem?" Tamashiro asked.

Keeping children in kindergarten an extra year is a rare occurrence throughout the state, where schools tend to hold back only a child or two at most each year. However, advocates who pushed for the program argued that studies show children born later in the year tend to have more behavioral problems and need more remedial services because they enter school already behind their peers.

When legislators in 2004 decided to address this issue by moving the cut-off for kindergarten to those who turned 5 before Aug. 1, they created a junior kindergarten program for those born in the last five months of the year to accommodate students who otherwise would have had to sit out an extra year.

In the No Child Left Behind era, where students are expected to be proficient in reading by third grade, junior kindergarten also gives an extra year to those who enter kindergarten without preschool or rich home experiences that prepare them to learn from day one.

NEED FOR A JUMP START

The option is a boon at Kalihi Waena Elementary, where a 13-student junior kindergarten class was created almost by accident when teachers at the beginning identified the kindergartners they thought could benefit from the extra help. Birth date was not a factor, but it turned out that all but one child was born in the last third of the year.

"I think it's helpful because many of the children are not ready for school," said teacher Sharon Masuyama, who observed that some of these students entered school still suffering from separation anxiety and many had never learned to hold a pencil, count or recognize letters.

In this small class, with the help of part-time teachers, the students can be brought up to speed working in small groups of four and without the pressure of the frequent assessments given to traditional kindergartners.

All the students in this class will likely advance to kindergarten next year, familiar with the routines and ready to master the kindergarten standards.

"I think it will build confidence," Masuyama said.

Christina Ancheta likes the program because it will give her son a jump-start on learning. "It's never too early to start the educational process," she said. "I was kind of glad I was able to put him in earlier, rather than have to wait another year.

Liholiho Elementary School in Kaimuki decided to make one of its three kindergarten classes a junior kindergarten class.

"We love it," said principal Christina Small.

While students are learning the same kindergarten standards, younger students get more enrichment activities at the beginning of the year, and more play incorporated into their learning.

"There's just tremendous growth in one or two months," Small said. By the end of the year, all the students are expected to be ready for first grade.

The junior kindergarten teacher, Babette Arakaki, specializes in early-childhood education and most of her 20 years of experience has been in kindergarten classrooms.

While she follows the same curriculum as Liholiho's two regular kindergarten teachers, she has more parent involvement and has developed activities such as using a fun-fair or pumpkin carving to help her students master math concepts.

'TONED-DOWN' TEACHING

Starting out the year with 20 4-year-olds was a challenge, but "after they got into the routines and stuff, it's been fun," she said.

Parents of Arakaki's students are happy with the class.

This is the second child Nat Pada has had in one of Arakaki's classes — his older son went through her traditional kindergarten class last year, while his daughter is in junior kindergarten this year — so he can see the difference in the delivery of instruction.

"You can tell it's toned down a little bit," he said. "You can tell that the structure of the class is different."

So far, it's been good for his daughter, who picked up lots of academic skills from her parents and older brother, but, with no preschool, missed out on socializing with her peers.

"I do worry if she gets bored, if it's too far behind for her ... but she's doing fine," Pada said.

Yvette Imanaka is also pleased with the program. "It creates a safe environment for younger students," she said.

Her son Kade, who was born in November, stands to benefit more from junior kindergarten than he would have from another year in preschool. "He was really ready for the next step," she said.

He's not being held back academically by the younger grouping and in fact, his advanced reading ability has been nurtured, Imanaka said.

At other schools, the younger children learn alongside the older ones, with the same expectations on both.

Theodore Fisher, principal at Ka'ala Elementary, said the school's goal is to have all kindergartners ready for first grade. "We're in the process of identifying students who need additional support or additional programs to bring them up to speed by the end of the year," he said.

The teachers differentiate instructions based on skill level, rather than age.

In this heterogenous grouping, students can learn from peer role models. "If we group the students with more limited abilities, then they can't learn from each other, and learning is a social activity," Fisher said.

At Kalaniana'ole Elementary, early-born and late-born students are also mixed together.

Teacher Ryan Ideta said he will provide additional help for any of his students in danger of falling behind, but he does not differentiate unless necessary.

"If they're junior kindergarten and they can manage what everyone else is doing, I just try to keep them there rather than have a different curriculum for them," he said.

Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com.