All-day kindergarten is still a pipe dream for many in Whatcom County, but three local schools probably will see the state-funded program next year.

Central Elementary School in Ferndale and Lummi Tribal School on the Lummi Reservation will join Kendall Elementary as schools eligible for state funding to provide full-day kindergarten programs.

In May 2007, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill into law that provides funding for full-day kindergarten programs, with the highest poverty schools receiving priority funding. For the 2007-08 school year, 10 percent of state schools with the highest poverty levels received funding for the program. Kendall Elementary was the only school in Whatcom County to make the cut.

For the 2008-09 year, the state allocation was increased to cover 20 percent of the state’s schools with the highest poverty levels. That added the Ferndale and Lummi schools. The poverty level of a school is determined by the percentage of students who qualify for the free and reduced price lunch program.

Central Elementary has been running full-day programs this year even though it didn’t make the legislative cut. For the 2008- 09 school year, district officials will be applying for about $90,000 in state funding, according to Mark Deebach, executive director of business and support services.

The all-day kindergarten program is voluntary for parents to sign their kids up, but Kendall Elementary Principal Charles Burleigh said no one turned it down this school year.

Kendall has four kindergarten classes, with about 15 students in each. The extended school hours give students more time for music and physical education, as well as academics.

“All the things we hadn’t had time for before, we have time for now and we can do a much more thorough job of those things that relate to having kids learn letters and letter sounds,” Burleigh said. “One of the really notable things for us is that the number of (new) readers has gone way up. It’s startling the impact it’s had on kids’ reading ability.”

The Bellingham School District had hoped to have all-day kindergarten programs at a few schools next school year, but without state funding, can’t afford it.

The school district formed a task force earlier this year to figure out the logistics of starting an all-day kindergarten program. Superintendent Ken Vedra wants task force members to pick a program that “deals with the social, emotional and academic needs of children” and figure out the best way to implement it. Vedra expects plans to be completed in 2009, and district officials will keep applying for state kindergarten funding while it’s available.

It is unknown whether any other local schools will make the next funding list because it is unknown how the criteria will change each year.

“This is becoming a priority because … the more we invest in children on the front end the stronger their skill sets are — reading, writing, math — down the road,” Vedra said.