Amy Neal, Minot

As summer is flying by and school plans are being made for fall, I would like to give another shout out to the Class of 2020.

I would venture to guess that most people do not realize these students are important to the history of education in North Dakota. Most of the students from the Class of 2020 attended kindergarten during the 2007-2008 academic year somewhere in ND. This historical year was when Full Day Everyday Kindergarten was implemented in most public schools across ND.

Prior to 2007-2008, most children that attended public kindergarten only attended school half time. During the spring of 2007, the ND State Legislature passed legislation that approved funding for Full Day Everyday Kindergarten. There were a handful of districts across the state that already offered full day programming, but it was very few. Most districts implemented full day programming for the 2007-2008 academic year because funding became available from the legislature. This allowed our kindergarten students to attend full days of school.

Congratulations Class of 2020! You started your kindergarten year making history in North Dakota and you ended your senior year making national history during a pandemic. You will do great things!

Neal is a kindergarten teacher and was 2016 ND Teacher of the Year.