Last modified: Thursday, September 4, 2008 9:51 AM EDT Kindergarten teacher Ann Marie Bresnahan greets first-grade students Ethan Lingley, left, and Cameron Rowell, right, on the first day of school at the Studley Elementary School in Attleboro. She had them as students last year. (Staff photos by Mike George) School days return BY RICK FOSTER SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO Eager first-grader Mishayla Culhane faces a lot of expectations now that she's no longer a kindergartener. One that she won't stress over, however, is learning to read. She already does. Mishayla was accompanied on her first day at Willett School Wednesday by her parents, Charlie and Adriana Culhane. Charlie said Mishayla does a "lot of reading." She particularly enjoyed a story about a cow who admired the nursery rhyme cow that jumped over the moon, and refused to give milk unless the farmer allowed her a trip into space. Mishayla says she's looking forward to first grade to learn more. "Last year, my teachers gave me challenging stuff," beamed the 6-year-old. That doesn't surprise Superintendent Pia Durkin, who toured Willett along with the city's other schools during opening day Wednesday. While their parents' generation might not have been expected to read until first grade, greater and greater importance is being attached to youngsters gaining basic literacy skills at an earlier age. "We need to capture the enthusiasm that kids have at that age," Durkin said, adding that children are naturally excited about reading - particularly if their parents read to them at home. Where first-graders might previously have been expected to come to class with only basic letter, number and phonics skills, Durkin said the goal is for pupils to arrive already equipped with a "sight vocabulary" of 50 to 100 words, be able to write their name and read a sentence. Heightened emphasis on literacy in early grades has also provoked interest in pre-readers, said Andrea Grimaldi with the National Institute for Literacy, along with defining concepts that can be taught to 3- and 4-year olds to better prepare them for reading. A detailed study is currently in the works. With the city's full-time kindergarten program expanding to 200 pupils this year, school officials are hoping to capitalize on an opportunity to further cultivate reading skills. Early reading does not simply give youngsters a headstart in their schooling, Durkin said, but makes it less likely that they will require remedial work as they progress through the grades. Durkin cautions that readiness levels vary among individual pupils, but that parents can give their child a leg up by reading at home and encouraging interest in books. "The best thing a parent can do is to read to their child, because it makes them hungry for more," she said. As the city's approximately 6,000 public school students filed back to class under sunny skies Wednesday, pupils said they were looking forward to school for a variety of reasons - not just reading. "I really had fun last year," said Willett second-grader Marguerite Engrassa, 7, who was looking forward to rejoining her friends and renewing her passion for math. Mike Moulton, another second-grader, said he reads a lot and enjoys music in school. Lately he's been reading a book about Spongebob Squarepants with encouragement from his parents. But he had to put it down to come to class. "I read a chapter this morning," he said. Peter Churchill said he was jazzed about starting first grade at Willett, especially in his new running shoes and backpack. He said he also had a good summer of swimming and learning to do tricks on his bike. His mom, Colleen, said she was pleased to see her son enthusiastic about school. "It's a nice school," she said. "Very welcoming." The reports out of North Attleboro were great as well, with Superintendent Rick Smith saying the day was "smooth sailing." "We have veteran principals and the students came to school motivated," he said. "It was a good day." RICK FOSTER can be reached at 508-236-0360 or at rfoster@thesunchronicle.com.