They’re learning all the ins and outs of the capital letter M in Anne Knapp’s kindergarten class at the Bain School of Language.

“That’s M as in ... ”

“Puzzle!” one of her students shouts.

“Monica!” says another.

“Very good, Monica, how do you spell your name?” Knapp asks.

So it goes for 10 minutes as Knapp goes over how to print the letter as she colors in a puzzle image projected on a white board that turns into an even bigger capital M.

“It’s a big M!” someone yells. “That’s cool!”

It’s curriculum like this that makes it more important than ever for her students to be in class, Knapp said. But it’s not mandatory for any of them to actually be there, as Wisconsin is one of the few states that doesn’t make kindergarten mandatory.

That could change soon thanks largely to the efforts of Knapp, who helped push the issue for two years and is about to see mandatory kindergarten become a reality.

A bill passed the Assembly last week, and is expected to pass the Senate today. If all goes as planned, Knapp will be invited back for the bill signing by Gov. Jim Doyle.

It passed the Assembly, 53-44, largely along party lines, with one Independent and a couple of Republicans crossing the aisle to support the legislation.

Although the Home School Legal Defense Association didn’t support the plan and urged members to fight it, those students can get an exemption.

Knapp can’t figure out why Republicans were largely opposed to the effort.

“There’s nothing controversial, and there’s no financial impact,” she said. “We already have school, and this is just to make sure the students are prepared.

“Knock on wood, it’s been a good year, and all of my kids have been here,” she said. “But I’ve had some years where a student might miss 50 days of school. One student in another class missed 80 days last year. ... But we can’t force them (to attend) because it’s not mandatory.”

Under current law, school is only mandatory for ages 6-18, but a child who doesn’t go to kindergarten is going to have a hard time keeping up, Knapp said.

“There’s a lot of instruction, but you have to be here to take it in.”

Knapp, a Tremper High School and University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate, has been teaching kindergarten in the district for 15 years. She started taking on a bigger role when she joined a professional development committee for the Wisconsin Education Association Council.

“People think we sit around and talk about salaries and health care, and that’s not it,” she said. “There are a lot of people who really care. This is something I’m passionate about. I care about the children in my classroom.”

She first started talking about mandatory kindergarten in 2006, and others said it couldn’t be done.

A year later she started pushing harder before catching the ear of state Rep. Spencer Coggs of Milwaukee and Sen. Jeff Smith from Eau Claire. The two got others on board to start making it a reality.

Many times, she said, people were shocked to hear it wasn’t already mandatory.

If passed, the law will go into effect at the beginning of the 2011-12 school year so local boards can put together policies, including certain exemptions.

Bain Principal Scott Kennow said the change will only benefit the students.

“I just can’t tell you how proud we are of Anne for doing this,” he added. “You don’t always see people who want to go above and beyond, but to see a teacher not only put in 120 percent in her classroom, but to take the time to do this on her own is amazing.

“This is in the best interest of everybody. Teachers want their children to be as prepared as possible. Administrators want kids to learn as best as possible. It’s the right thing to do.”