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East Meadow has a lot of older folk on a fixed income who dont have kids in the school district. Who is going to pay for this?
Also stay at home Moms or kids a little behind may not even want this.
Add in attention span and doubling school does not double learning.
Also this is a stepping stone to Pre-K and Nursery schools in district so next thing you know you added three grades of teachers.
School district reputations and program offerings play a huge role in property values. Couples and buyers with young children are passing over districts without full day kindergarten, which is probably why there's only 5 districts on the entire island that offer half-day k. (There used to be 6, but Northport is instituting it in Sept 2015).
I don't know how one quantifies "double learning," but it does give more time for teachers to actually teach the curriculum. And it's not like doubling the school day means that kids are chained to the desks listening to lectures for eight hours. The day will incorporate all the "specials" that we enjoyed as kids. What kindergartener wouldn't love having music, art, library time, and phys ed in their day? Those things are why my kids want to go to school!
The SAHM/FTWM argument doesn't work here. There are many stay-at-home parents that are in favor of full-day k. Whether or not parents work is irrelevant; this is about providing an educational foundation. If 45% of kindergarten students are flagged as needing extra help, that should tell us that the system in EM isn't working. Remediation costs money too - and the cure is usually pricier than some preventative measures. But if a family was dead set against full day k, there's nothing stopping that family from sending their kid to a private school, homeschooling, or letting them stay in a totally academic-free zone at home.
And as for funding... it comes out of school taxes. If it means a 3% tax increase, and we assume a 10k annual tax bill, the costs will work out to a $300 rise. Most of us spend more money on lattes at Starbucks. And this is LI - taxes are going to rise no matter what we do. Might as well invest our money in our kids and our community, no?
Pre-k is sporadically offered across the island, and those areas are usually really hot real estate markets. (I'm looking at you, North Bellmore). Since the president mentioned the importance of pre-k, it's not completely impossible that it becomes increasingly common in public schools, but it's going to be a long time until it's universal nationwide.
My kids and many others were reading well above a level C reading level for Kindergarten. And it wasn't like they were struggling. Age 5-6 is school-ready age from what I've seen. No attention span issues unless special needs. Going into 1st grade from not having accomplished what they did in K would have them far behind as they already get a lot of work. To some that might be ok as long as you're not comparing kids to other kids, but at what point does that start to matter? It matters when they need to be tested for placement and I'm sure it matters for their self-esteem. If there's reason for part-time anything, that would be Pre-K. Attention span would be questionable enough then.
School district reputations and program offerings play a huge role in property values. Couples and buyers with young children are passing over districts without full day kindergarten, which is probably why there's only 5 districts on the entire island that offer half-day k. (There used to be 6, but Northport is instituting it in Sept 2015).
I don't know how one quantifies "double learning," but it does give more time for teachers to actually teach the curriculum. And it's not like doubling the school day means that kids are chained to the desks listening to lectures for eight hours. The day will incorporate all the "specials" that we enjoyed as kids. What kindergartener wouldn't love having music, art, library time, and phys ed in their day? Those things are why my kids want to go to school!
The SAHM/FTWM argument doesn't work here. There are many stay-at-home parents that are in favor of full-day k. Whether or not parents work is irrelevant; this is about providing an educational foundation. If 45% of kindergarten students are flagged as needing extra help, that should tell us that the system in EM isn't working. Remediation costs money too - and the cure is usually pricier than some preventative measures. But if a family was dead set against full day k, there's nothing stopping that family from sending their kid to a private school, homeschooling, or letting them stay in a totally academic-free zone at home.
And as for funding... it comes out of school taxes. If it means a 3% tax increase, and we assume a 10k annual tax bill, the costs will work out to a $300 rise. Most of us spend more money on lattes at Starbucks. And this is LI - taxes are going to rise no matter what we do. Might as well invest our money in our kids and our community, no?
Pre-k is sporadically offered across the island, and those areas are usually really hot real estate markets. (I'm looking at you, North Bellmore). Since the president mentioned the importance of pre-k, it's not completely impossible that it becomes increasingly common in public schools, but it's going to be a long time until it's universal nationwide.
Districts with good schools do cause property values to rise. However, not everyone cares about that.
I have seen Great Neck, Port Wash, Cold Spring Harbor, Manhasset, Garden City Rockville Centre Property Values soar partially due to Great Schools which in Turn attracts Families with young kids. Each family that buys a Widows, Estate Sale or Retiree's house shoves two to four more kids into school district.
Great Neck School District currently spend $33,271 per student. Great Neck last few years have been plagued by "boarder jumpers" The old widow cant afford taxes anymore of 15k sells out to the Parents from Queens with three kids just as older is about to hit Junior High School. They buy house and BOOM, it costs 100K a year to put kids through school. After last one is through school they sell house and jump back across boarder as they dont want to pay school taxes. Home values rise and rise quickly but at a huge burden on the childless and older folks who are forced out of their homes.
And not all towns suffer due to poor schools. Lawrence NY, the school district budget has been cut to shreds the last 20 years. The Orthodox and Catholics who dont use public schools pay good dollar to live there. Why Taxes school taxes are low. Atlantic Beach in the Lawrence schools homes sell for much more than Long Beach why the School taxes are lower. Summer houses, Rentals, Retired folks dont want the huge school taxes.
I grew up in a town with an amazing school district that spent a lot per kids on Long Island, but back then my Parents bought house, sent four kids through school and my Parents like every other Parent on Block went out feet first after dying of old age. My neighbor bought house as a Newlywed at 23 and lived to 93. 70 years of school taxes. And she never had kids. Today houses like that are "hot sheet" houses. Folks move in when oldest is hitting first grade and house in on the market when youngest enters 12 grade.
RVC now has homes for sale from Desperate couples who want out as kids are done with School and taxes are now 36k a year. One open house in RVC was a FSBO I talked to Dad who was selling as last one was out of school where is he going. His answer I want to buy the Closest house in Oceanside To RVC, maybe even first house in Oceanside. I can still hang out with all my friends and only pay 9k in taxes. The Great RVC school district is killing folks. Also I noticed towns like Island Park, Glen Head, East Rockaway the low tax towns tons of old folks stay in home in retirement but RVC and GC and Cold Spring Harbor they are forced out in Retirement due to school taxes.
It certainly would benefit most kids to some degree to attend full day kindergarten but the cost must be weighed - as is so often the case with public-financed programs. The same goes with offering high school electives or maintaining an 8 or 9 period day. Local communities, IMHO, are best equipped to make that cost/benefit call.
It certainly would benefit most kids to some degree to attend full day kindergarten but the cost must be weighed - as is so often the case with public-financed programs. The same goes with offering high school electives or maintaining an 8 or 9 period day. Local communities, IMHO, are best equipped to make that cost/benefit call.
One would think, but not always. Port Washington last school tax hike had vote on a school day when all parking spots were filled up. Parents were notified via letter (tax payer paid, xerox copy handout in kids homework package, via automated phone call message) and while dropping kids off and picking them up being reminded to vote.
Older folks or folks working full time were barely notified and for most of day since a school day and parking tight no where to park. Port Wash even did a school bond offering vote recently during a school day and did not wait till election day. Made it a one time vote you had to make a special trip for and it barely passed.
One would think, but not always. Port Washington last school tax hike had vote on a school day when all parking spots were filled up. Parents were notified via letter (tax payer paid, xerox copy handout in kids homework package, via automated phone call message) and while dropping kids off and picking them up being reminded to vote.
Older folks or folks working full time were barely notified and for most of day since a school day and parking tight no where to park. Port Wash even did a school bond offering vote recently during a school day and did not wait till election day. Made it a one time vote you had to make a special trip for and it barely passed.
Districts with good schools do cause property values to rise. However, not everyone cares about that.
I have seen Great Neck, Port Wash, Cold Spring Harbor, Manhasset, Garden City Rockville Centre Property Values soar partially due to Great Schools which in Turn attracts Families with young kids. Each family that buys a Widows, Estate Sale or Retiree's house shoves two to four more kids into school district.
To add to this - Full day K does not necessarily equate to higher property values. Any run of mill SD is not going to become Great Neck/Roslyn just because it offers full day K.
Obviously, NYS would have to mandate Kindergarten first, I have no idea why that hasn't been done.
Second, NYS would probably have to offer some kind of building aid for example, if it mandated full day K, for districts who don't have it yet and don't have the space - in other words, they'd have to add on to existing schools to offer full day K. Like they offer aid for start up Universal PreK programs.
Third, there is the constant downward pressure of increased curriculum, increased teaching time needed on the lower grades. So what was done in 1st grade is now done in Kindergarten, has been for awhile, thus the push for a full day K. Add to that the Common Core pressures and districts are feeling the necessity for more classroom time. Half day K just doesn't do the trick anymore, it hasn't in a long time. My preK kids, 4 yr olds, were doing what was considered K curriculum for many years now.
Developmentally appropriate? Of course! Teachers know how to present material in many ways so that kids will be able to absorb the lesson. 4-5 year olds have a lot more ability than many realize. The readiness skills that they pick up in preK are essential to success in K the next year.
Cost - yes, you are doubling your current Kindergarten staff, but sometimes that can be absorbed by existing teachers who aren't needed for a higher grade that may not need as many teachers as before. This could be due to loss of population, increased class size guidelines that would excess a teacher and make her available for a different grade. Space is needed. Cafeteria times, gym times, library times - all things that principals work out every year anyway. Buses are already in place from AM and PM sessions of half day K, in fact the extra bus runs between morning and afternoon K won't be needed anymore, possibly resulting in a transportation savings.
My district lost their long-running full day K several years ago due to budget restraints (thanks to NYS) but managed to get it back. It's that important. Yes, Northport just decided to go full day and now I hear Harborfields is going to look into it. Not sure if Cold Spring Harbor has full-day K or if they still have that extended day K where the kids overlapped at lunch time.
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