The concept of 4-year-old kindergarten has won the enthusiastic support of a Tomah School Board committee that is studying the issue.

By an 11-0 vote Tuesday, the Four-Year-Old Ad-Hoc Kindergarten Committee backed a resolution to recommend “moving forward to develop and implement a plan for a comprehensive 4-year-old educational program.”

The committee, which had three members absent, met at the old Robert Kupper Learning Center on County Highway CA.

Committee member and Tomah School Board member Mary Ellen Justinger said the last five months have convinced her that 4-year-old kindergarten would enhance the curriculum.

“I really came into this committee really cautious, but I think I’ve become convinced that 4-year-old kindergarten is good for our community,” Justinger said. “I think we can comfortably make a preliminary recommendation to the board.”

Committee members crafted a 340-word resolution that said 4-year-old kindergarten is:

*Cost-effective. The resolution cited research that claimed every dollar invested in 4-year-old kindergarten saves $7 in future years.

*Educationally sound. The resolution said “eighty-five percent of intellectual development, social skills, and personality are formed by the age of 5.”

*Rooted in Wisconsin history. The resolution notes that public 4-year-old kindergartens date back to 1873 and that 279 school districts in Wisconsin already offer the program.

Committee members were impressed by 4-year-old kindergarten programs they visited in La Crosse, Holmen and Eau Claire. Justinger favors a “play-based curriculum with a literacy component.”

“It seems nobody wants a structure in which kids read three hours a day,” she said.

The committee will meet again June 9 and present its resolution to the full Tomah School Board June 19.

Justinger said approving the concept will be easier than hammering out the details. Committee members appear to favor a “community-based” approach that involves licensed day care centers. The state Department of Public Instruction offers grants for districts that follow that approach.

Committee members agreed that a final proposal would need to be ready by December if the program were to be implemented by the start of the 2009-10 school year.

“We’ve got some nitty-gritty questions that we’ll need to roll up our sleeves to solve,” Justinger said. “If the board approves, the work will really, really, really begin.”