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Colorado families could save thousands on full-day kindergarten next year. Here's how.

Of the 63,409 kindergartners enrolled in Colorado public schools this year, nearly 80 percent — 50,076 — are enrolled in full-day classes.
Credit: Bryan Wendland
Before pitching lawmakers on his free full-day kindergarten payment proposal, Gov. Jared Polis (D-Colorado) took his plan straight to kindergartners.

When Kristina Peterson had heart surgery last year, the scholarship she received for her son to attend full-day kindergarten at Beattie Elementary School for free was a godsend. It saved her $2,835. It helped her pay for gas and school supplies.

Peterson, 24, of Fort Collins, said the application process was long and tedious, but she had no choice.

“Without the scholarship, my son probably wouldn’t have gone to school,” she said. “We would have had to wait until first grade.”

Now she's waiting to find out if she'll face the same dilemma for her youngest son, who is set to start kindergarten at Beattie this fall. In Denver, first-term Democratic Gov. Jared Polis is working to make good on his major campaign promise to fund full-day kindergarten in Colorado. Thousands of parents like Peterson may find themselves freed of their tuition burden — at least for the 2019-20 school year. 

Read more from our partners at the Fort Collins Coloradoan. 

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