I am searching for a half day kindergarten for 2010 school year (McLean: low income, daycare) - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - City-Data Forum

danadiva28 · 10-12-2009, 07:03 PM

Hi! I am a stay at home/work at home mom. My daughter has not gone to preschool, because I have taught her as well as the other 2 children that I have taken care of for the last 2 1/2 years. I would love for her to go to a half day to transition into school, being that she has never been to any kind of preschool. First through 8th grade, she will be going to a Catholic school, but for kindergarten, I am open to public or private. I live near Fair Oaks in Fairfax, and the school in my neighborhood is full day. Is there a way that a child can go to another school for their half day program? I am not looking for people's opinions on whether full or half day programs are better, simply info on what schools offer half day, or how to go to a school that is not in my zone or district.

Thanks guys! (Internet does not pull up much when I search google for this info)

car54 · 10-12-2009, 07:18 PM

One of the proposals to close a huge budget shortfall is to end full-day K in Fairfax County next year...

claremarie · 10-12-2009, 07:22 PM

I don't know whether you could send your child to an out-of-boundary school for the half-day program. Most parents, as you probably know, would be making the opposite request. You might consider contacting one of the schools that still has a half-day program, such as Chesterbrook in McLean, to find out whether such an arrangement is possible.
My sons attended an Episcopal preschool in Falls Church that also had a kindergarten program that ran until about 1:30 pm. Classes (The Day School)
There may be other schools closer to your home that offer similar programs.

Yankeesfan · 10-12-2009, 07:57 PM

Here is a list of Fairfax County Schools that have full-day kindergarten. So you could start with the schools closest to you, and if they're NOT on the list, call them to see about a pupil placement. Not sure whether you would get it, but worth a try. If kindergarten is cut back to half-day across the board, you could go back to your base school instead.

Okay, had to edit, the link didn't work. But go to fcps.edu, click on "Schools and Centers," and then under the search for Special Programs you'll find the link for full-day kindergarten.

Nancy in Nokomis · 10-12-2009, 08:30 PM

A lot of them due to budget cuts are part-time and going to stay that way for a while. The richer the neighborhood the more likely K is still part time because they were making them full time by order of "need" ie - people that need full time K because childcare costs so mch.

Denton56 · 10-12-2009, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by car54

One of the proposals to close a huge budget shortfall is to end full-day K in Fairfax County next year...

Really? Cool! That's an awesome idea. Where did you see this?

Won't the teachers and their unions have a fit because it would mean so many K teachers would no longer be needed? Since teachers cannot be laid off, what will happen to all those kindergarten teachers? Won't it be even more expensive to give them administrative jobs?

Denton56 · 10-12-2009, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fairfax Mom

A lot of them due to budget cuts are part-time and going to stay that way for a while. The richer the neighborhood the more likely K is still part time because they were making them full time by order of "need" ie - people that need full time K because childcare costs so mch.

Oh my. I thought that ''need'' was based on the children's educational needs, not the financial needs/wants of the parents. I'm not happy to hear that taxpayers are paying for all day kindergarten so that parents don't have to pay for daycare.

Denton56 · 10-12-2009, 09:20 PM

Many pre schools have half day kindergarten programs for students who aren't quite ready for public school kindergarten. These are particularly good for children who have late birthdays and parents who want them to wait a year.

Yankeesfan · 10-12-2009, 09:33 PM

Full-day kindergarten did originally start for low-income children, especially those who didn't speak English at home. As it spread through schools with that demographic, the idea gained popularity with parents who saw it as a way to reduce the need for paid childcare. Then parents whose children still had half-day became concerned that their children were going to lose out academically in comparison to the full-day students. It's been one of those gradual snowball effects, so that full-day is becoming the norm. It will be interesting (understatement) to watch the debate over cutting back to half-day, if in fact that becomes a serious proposal.

Denton56 · 10-12-2009, 09:37 PM

I have never heard of this proposal. I can't imagine that our school board would do that in low income areas. Or, I would hope that they wouldn't do that in low income areas. How about they get rid of some of those thousands of administrators, rather than kindergarten teachers? Who cares if we have 1000 curriculum specialists? I'd rather have kindergarten teachers for low income kids who aren't getting much at home.