Full day kindergarten (appointed, rental homes, daycare)

[sskkc]

I was looking at rental homes online today and doing my research on the local schools for the neighborhoods I'm interested in.

I was very excited to see that full-day kindergarten is being implemented at no cost in almost all D11 schools beginning in the 07-08 school year. I am a stay at home mom now and plan to be once we move there, but you just never know. We planned my husband getting out of the military once my youngest was in kindergarten (just in case I had to go back to work), and the half day thing was really worrying me.

Nothing else really to say today. I was just so excited about this, and had to share!

BTW... an interesting statistic that caught my eye today... only 25% of elementary students here ride a bus. My daughter will be so disappointed that she won't get to do this!

[froggin4colorado]

Yes, it really is nice that the full day program is slowly becoming a free program! Now if they would start offering more preschool programs...

[shadow42]

speaking of preschools....can you recommend any? I would be looking for a home in the Briargate area, or Cordera or Flying Horse....most likely. Will definately need a preschool as I have two boys ages 2yrs and 4yrs.

[rebagirl]

Our local newspaper had an article about full-day kindergarten, which prompted me to send in this response:

As a teacher for over 15 years, the article regarding full-day Kindergarten nearly made me ill. I realize I may be in the minority, but let me point out a few factors--1) The article states that full-day kindergarten is a necessity, given the number of requirements. The requirements, based on the State Standards are daunting and they understandably create frustration among teachers who feel they "can't fit it all in. " However, how much information can be successfully ingrained in a 5-year-old's mind? In my experience, children of that age have limited attention spans and are physically and mentally tired after 3 hours of rigorous instruction. The article itself mentions the fact that "the half-day kids would be tired by the afternoon and they were ready to go out the door. Now, with the implementation of full-day kindergarten, the kids are used to the longer day". Well, isn't that something to be proud of?! They have to get used to it, because they have no other choice! I'd be willing to bet, though, that if these kids were able to take a nap, the majority of them would conk out. 2) The article also states that some teachers "only worked part of the day and did prep work the other half. Those teachers are now teaching full-day kindergarten." So originally, these teachers were being paid to teach 3 1/2 hours as well as prepare their lessons. Now they're being paid the same amount to teach 5-6 hours or so, plus do the many hours of prep. And believe me, prep in Kindergarten is not just a matter of xeroxing a few worksheets! 3) A local superintendent was quoted in the article, saying "the district began offering full-day Kindergarten because officials believed that the students were ready to be in school all day." Did they personally evaluate each student's readiness prior to making this decision? I suspect it's more about money than anything else. The districts that only provide half-day kindergarten are losing enrollment (because parents want free babysitting), which translates into a loss of money for the district. The solution then becomes offering full-day to gain enrollment and money. It's obvious that most working parents prefer full-day kindergarten because it best suits their needs, not their children's needs. When will government officials, administrators and parents make kids their priority? I'm sick of the emphasis being placed on tests scores, money and convenience.

Sorry this is so long, but thought you might be interested in another viewpoint.

[movingoutofCA]

rebagirl, you make some very valid points. I'm in CA so my opinions of your schools are a non issue. But I have mixed feelings about all day Kinder. It may be harder on them at the time, but better for them in the long run.

All teachers, not just kinder spend a lot of time preparing lessons. All teachers work harder than what they get paid. All the dedicated ones I should say.

[sskkc]

I used to feel the same way about full day kindergarten. When my son began kindergarten (now he's in 1st), they had just implemented mandatory full days here.

For the first week, he was indeed tired at the end of the day. After that though, he was fine. He had to bring in a blanket for nap time, but after a couple of weeks, the teachers sent the blankets home explaining that they could not get any of the students to rest. There was a snack schedule, and each child was assigned a day to bring it in.

Although I agree that it's simply state sponsored daycare, honestly if we do end up needing it, I'm grateful for it.

Most kids today (statistics have it at about 70%) begin attending daycare at the age of 6 weeks. Now, if someone could explain the "educational benefit" of that... !!

[rebagirl]

My kids (boy/girl twins) are in first grade now as well. They probably would have eventually survived full-day kindergarten, but they were exhausted the first 5 months. One district which is about 11 miles from where I live (in California) does a gradual full-day kindergarten. They start the year half-day, then progress to an extra hour, then by the end of the year, they are going full-day. I like this concept, but again, it may not be convenient for parents--and that unfortunately seems to be the main concern just about everywhere. (I do sympathize with working parents--I just think it's a shame that we have to keep our children away from the comforts of home for so long each day) We're hoping to move to Colorado, so schools will be a huge issue. Good luck to you and your family!

[froggin4colorado]

If a child is not ready to do full day, then he/she shouldn't. That is why there are half day options. Teachers are only paid for either full or half time work. If they have a half time position, then of course they get paid for only half time work. Being in education myself, I know that more times than not, planning and preparation is always done on personal time. Teachers are normally required to be at school about 20 minutes before it starts and to remain after for another 20-30 minutes. Wouldn't it be nice if all planning/preparing/copying/meetings/ etc could happen in that small time frame?
Keep in mind, full-day programs are averaging about $215.00 a month. So it is not currently full time daycare for these parents. In our area, the full-day programs fill rapidly and then a waitlist starts. Full-day kinder our area is a relatively new program. Not knowing how well it goes to fly, the district did not allocate funds for full day kinder teachers, only half day. So the district pays the teachers for half a day and then tuition pays for the other half. Since the program has been so well recieved, the district is redistributing monies (as far as I understand) so that way the district can pay the teachers and not the parents.
Teachers are really enjoying the full day program themselves. It now gives them the time to incorporate more fun hands on activities, to include more social time for the kids. Whereas, in half day, they are so pushed for reading, writing, and math and little time for fine motor activities, social activities, etc. Since there is such a huge push now for our kinders to be reading by the time kinder is over, it takes away from a lot of the fun stuff that kinder is supposed to be about. The teachers are able to put that portion back in.
D20 tried to do a 3/4 day program in the beginning of the school year but found out that they weren't supposed to. So it quickly came to a hault and it is now full or half day. I used to be in a D20 school and really disliked what I saw so I quit in January and am in a different school district. (I refuse to name the school so do not ask.)
Anyhow, a parent should know if their child is ready for full day or not. There is nothing wrong with waiting for a year to start your child.

[rebagirl]

Interesting. . .Where I live, all teachers are considered full-time employees whether or not their teaching day is full or part-time. The remainder of the day is spent with planning, prepping, in-services, grade-level meetings, etc. I have taught K, 1st, and 2nd. Kindergarten, in my opinion is the most time-consuming of all. Even with teaching half-day and prepping the 2nd half, I found it impossible to get everything done. I spent countless weekends in my classroom, as well as carting a box-load of work home to do every night. (I still do this more often than I'd like, teaching 2nd grade now). Bottom line--teachers will never be paid enough for what they do. But--it is still one of the most rewarding jobs, which is why so many of us still have the passion.

[froggin4colorado]

AMEN Reba!! I can't imagine doing anything else- despite the little pay. And yes, the "unpaid" hours...