Seattle Parents Paying for All-Day Kindergarten

By Catherine Gewertz

The chorus of parent voices is growing increasingly clear in Seattle, and it sounds like this: We want full-day kindergarten. And we want it badly enough that we are willing to pay $2,000 a year to get it.

Support for full-day kindergarten is on the rise around the country, not only among parents, but among educators and policymakers. Not all states provide the money to make it happen, however. So, in places like Seattle, some parents are footing the bill themselves.

For several years, two Seattle elementary schools have been charging parents $200 a month for 10 months to provide more full-day kindergarten slots than those financed with state and district money. Two more schools will adopt the "pay-for-K" model in the fall. The money covers the cost of hiring enough staff members to reduce class sizes from the typical 28 pupils to...