Please feel free to add what you know about the proposed Full Day Kindergarten Program and make any corrections. Here's what I have heard about the ORCSD plan thus far:
* Portable classroom structures will be used to house the Full Day Kindergarten.
* The Program will cost an estimated $337,000 (not sure if this includes the cost of portables).
* The portables would be rented.
* Blaine Cox (ORCSD Business Administrator) claims funding the Full Day Kindergarten Program will not require program cuts or increased class sizes.
* Superintendent Howard Colter requests the School Board make a decision by November (I assume this means School Board votes would occur in the upcoming month?)
* The Program could possibly be added to the School District's Budget without going to a warrant article.
Upcoming Events:
Next Full Day Kindergarten Forum will be at Moharimet, on Thursday, October 2nd at 7PM. Childcare is provided.
Next School Board Meeting is Wednesday, October 1st at 7PM at the Oyster River High School, Room C124. The meeting may be watched on our local TV station (DCAT).
Now for my opinion…this comes down to priorities. How is it that Full Day Kindergarten became such a high priority when there are many other areas that warrant the attention of our District? Why are we spending time and money considering this program and not other academic programs? Why is Full Day Kindergarten being fast-tracked? How is it our District is pursuing this in light of the current fiscal misfeasance and lack of policy compliance?
I encourage serious contemplation of the possible trade-offs and foregone /delayed opportunities that funding a full day kindergarten program could entail: higher taxes, larger class sizes, re-distribution of our children to different schools, foregoing school building / facility improvements, foregoing early foreign language instruction, not paying our excellent teachers better, not increasing /improving our course offerings in the high school, etc.
Yes, there could be some cost improvements from a bussing standpoint. But, couldn’t we achieve bussing cost improvements by having consolidated bus routes with bus stops? Couldn’t our District reduce costs in other ways as well? I could think of a few, but will hold that off for another post topic.
Finally, I would like to express my empathy towards working parents who want Full Day Kindergarten. I know first hand that you face a difficult situation. As I have said in previous posts, I am not against the concept of Full Day Kindergarten. However, I still feel the School District’s mandate should be to set an academic agenda above all else and to ensure that our children receive an education that will prepare them well for the future. This means funding programs and budget items that will give our children the biggest bang for the buck over the long run.
Upcoming Events:
Next Full Day Kindergarten Forum will be at Moharimet, on Thursday, October 2nd at 7PM. Childcare is provided.
Next School Board Meeting is Wednesday, October 1st at 7PM at the Oyster River High School, Room C124. The meeting may be watched on our local TV station (DCAT).
Now for my opinion…this comes down to priorities. How is it that Full Day Kindergarten became such a high priority when there are many other areas that warrant the attention of our District? Why are we spending time and money considering this program and not other academic programs? Why is Full Day Kindergarten being fast-tracked? How is it our District is pursuing this in light of the current fiscal misfeasance and lack of policy compliance?
I encourage serious contemplation of the possible trade-offs and foregone /delayed opportunities that funding a full day kindergarten program could entail: higher taxes, larger class sizes, re-distribution of our children to different schools, foregoing school building / facility improvements, foregoing early foreign language instruction, not paying our excellent teachers better, not increasing /improving our course offerings in the high school, etc.
Yes, there could be some cost improvements from a bussing standpoint. But, couldn’t we achieve bussing cost improvements by having consolidated bus routes with bus stops? Couldn’t our District reduce costs in other ways as well? I could think of a few, but will hold that off for another post topic.
Finally, I would like to express my empathy towards working parents who want Full Day Kindergarten. I know first hand that you face a difficult situation. As I have said in previous posts, I am not against the concept of Full Day Kindergarten. However, I still feel the School District’s mandate should be to set an academic agenda above all else and to ensure that our children receive an education that will prepare them well for the future. This means funding programs and budget items that will give our children the biggest bang for the buck over the long run.
Can someone clarify whether or not the $337,000 figure is for annual program costs? Start up costs?
ReplyDeleteThe $337,000 does NOT include the savings of $120,000 of eliminating the mid-day bus run.
ReplyDeleteI was at the forum at Mast Way last week. At the forum, Howard said specifically that the study committee was not asked to look into cost. Blaine was still working on the numbers and would be presenting them to the Board in October. In the notes I took, I wrote that Blaine said that this $337k was a net cost, so it did include the amount of savings from the mid-day bus run. However, I do think that this is not a final number, and I am not certain if he said that this number was an annual amount or a start-up amount (i.e., does it include the initial cost of obtaining portable classrooms).
ReplyDeleteAs Megan mentioned, this issue should be considered with working parents in mind. The half-day is extremely difficult for many families, and a full day kindergarden would undoubtably benefit them, and the kids as well. However, I would like to add my support to a point that many other people have voiced; if we as a district are prepared to spend $337k (or more?), would full-day kindergarden be the best application of those funds?
ReplyDeleteThe creation of new AP classes in the High School is an important priority. Though I can't present any imperical data to substantiate this, I have a general feeling that in the long run, students applying to college and working to become educated for a global economy would benefit more from a more diverse spread of challenging classes than they would from an extra few hours of kindergarden.
Respectfully,
The Pickle Boy
theoneandonlypickleboy@gmail.com
The cost of the ORCSD Full Day Kindergarten program is still uncertain. Per Julie's comments, the savings from bussing seems to be baked into the $337K number. I hope that the ORCSD Administrators clarify the Program’s costs at the upcoming meeting (Thursday, Oct. 2nd @ 7PM at Moharimet).
ReplyDeleteRegarding expenditures, everything is about trade-offs. If we pursue the Full Day Kindergarten program, the District is foregoing expenditures in other areas. By the way, Pickle Boy, there have been fairly recent news articles / studies stating that student who take AP and / or AP-level courses fare much better in college:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/28/AR2007012801238.html
I’ve yet to see a study showing the long-term, academic benefits of Full Day Kindergarten.
What else is more important than a Full Day Kindergarten program? Consider this. Chinese children start learning English at 5 years old. On the other hand, the United States has always struggled with foreign language adoption. I hope that the new generation will be more global minded and our children will have the necessary assets, including foreign language skills, to succeed. Wouldn’t early foreign language instruction be a better long-term investment than Full Day Kindergarten?
P.S. I won’t get into how Chinese children have better English grammar than American children ;-)
I am new to the area and am just trying to gather information. I am interested in what started this debate in the first place. Was there a problem All Day K was supposed to remedy? Who initiated the process? Parents or the board?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
To my knowledge, there was a small group asking for full day K. The board then decided to start up a study committee and a report was published. The talks going on now are in response to that report.
ReplyDeleteWhat I am concerned with is that we are choosing this over something else or nothing at all. Where is the best use of funds in this particular example.
1. No increase in spending
2. Full Day K
3. Ap classes
4. Languages
While all 3 "spending" options have been brought to the attention of this board, they have chosen to focus and apparently fast track full day K while not discussing the other spending programs I listed above.
Thanks for answering that question. (I just read in the study that a small group of parents asked that it be considered.) I just don't understand what the need was in the first place. The report doesn't seem to answer the question: Is there really a need in this district for full day? Has anyone done a count to see how many students would actually opt for half day vs full day? It seems like this study is very broad and doesn't actually study the "needs" of its constituents. If anyone has information in this regard I'd be very interested.
ReplyDeleteAnother missing piece in the Kindergarten Study Report is longitudinal data regarding the academic/social/emotional standing of ORCSD students entering first grade. Has there been concerns voiced by kindergarten and first grade teachers, that students are not prepared to enter first grade due to the current half day program.
ReplyDeleteThe big question this blogs seems to focus on is, "What financial impact will the implementation of full day kindergarten have on the tax payers wallets?"
This is an important question, but there are still many other questions that need to be answered before the district considers moving forward with this proposal.
Other questions that need to be addressed:
1. Will there be a discussion regarding the development of a full day curriculum that meets the academic, social and emotional needs of all five year olds? Moving from a 2.5 hour day to a 6 hour day is a big jump. What are all the factors that need to be considered so this is a more enriching day for our children and not just a longer and more tiring one?
2. How will the day be structured? What reading, writing, and mathematics programs will be used to provide a developmentally appropriate and enriching introduction for five year olds?
3. If the proposal for full day kindergarten reaches the ballot in March, is it possible for the kindergarten teachers to prepare a well designed, high quality, enriching program during the last three months of the school year, in time for the proposed 09/10 school year?
4. Will all kindergarten teachers be asked to develop full day curriculum, units, activites, learning centers, etc. during the summer in order to be ready in the fall? Is there a guarentee that this huge undertaking will occur considering that the teacher's contract does not bind them to any work days during the summer?
5. If teachers volunteer to do this work over the summer will they be compensated? How will their work be effectively communicated to all teachers in both elementary schools before the September start date??
6. Will the full day programs look the same at both elementary schools?
7. Do the current kindergarten teachers at both elementary schools have experience teaching a full day kindergarten program?
8. Will all kindergarten teachers at both schools be required to attend staff development to ensure a developmentally appropriate delivery of curriculum in a six hour day?
9. What other ways can we as parents provide enriching opportunities for our children without lengthening the school day at a cost to all tax payers?
10. Is the desire for a full day kindergarten partly fueled by the knowledge that "other districts are doing it", and is that a good enough reason?
11. Is providing easier transitions for the children of working families a valid argument for full day kindergarten? Should all families with kindergarteners and all tax payers, with and without children, be effected by financial and parenting choices made by working families?
12. Is the proposal for full day kindergarten a reflection of the increased demands of a fast paced society?
These are all wonderful questions and very pertinent points. Thank you for joining the discussion! I fear that the School Board can put forward Full Day Kindergarten WITHOUT a warrant article; they can simply slip it into the 2009/2010 budget. As taxpayers and parents, we need to demand more justification and debate.
ReplyDeleteThere is a full day K meeting tomorrow at Moharimet at 7pm...please voice these concerns there. Members of the administration and school board will be there.
ReplyDeleteAlso, write letters to orcsdsb@orcsd.org
Anyone attending the first meeting at Mast Way: Could you elaborate on the discussion that was held about parents voluntarily paying for some of the additional cost?
ReplyDeleteThere was no discussion about parents voluntarily paying for some of the additional costs other than to suggest that there may be many options in how to implement such a program. Clearly, this program is not well-conceived, substantially lacking in planning, and is being fast-tracked without clear demonstration of need and benefit.
ReplyDelete