ATTLEBORO - Parents who want their children in a full-time kindergarten program will still be playing the lottery next fall.

But they'll face better odds.

School officials say they'll propose adding five additional classrooms to the expanding program this year after receiving a state Department of Education grant for $75,000 designed to keep the initiative growing.

The school department introduced five full-time kindergarten classes - one classroom of 20 students in each school - last fall after receiving a similar grant.

Pupils are chosen to participate in the full-time kindergarten based on a lottery. The program expansion still isn't expected to satisfy demand for full-time kindergarten slots. Last year, 500 parents applied to place their children in the program, school officials said.

Superintendent Pia Durkin said the school department's goal is to gradually expand its full-time offering over the next few years with financial help from the state.

The superintendent said research has shown pupils benefit from full-time kindergarten in learning readiness for higher grades.

Schools currently have sufficient room to absorb additional kindergarten classes, Durkin said, although accommodations may have to be made in the future as additional classrooms are phased in.