Full-Day Kindergarten Getting Positive Feedback

Brookfield Board of Education (BOE) Chairman Ray DiStephan said that over the recent weeks “a majority of the feedback has been in favor” of the proposed full-day kindergarten schedule that is under consideration, “however, there is a smaller group that is passionate about [the current] extended-day” program.

The BOE first received information on the plan last spring and after Assistant Superintendent Genie Slone and Center Elementary School (CES) Principal Carrie Kilian made a presentation about the plan, which they said would increase annual instructional time from 814.2 hours to 948.5 hours.

DiStephan and Jane Miller, the chairman of the BOE’s Curriculum Academic and Program Evaluation (CAPE) Subcommittee, said much of the feedback at the two and from other communications have been supportive of the plan, which administrators have said would be vitally important in addressing increased state kindergarten standards.

However, DiStephan said there are a number of people who also support the current extended-day model and that he had received a message from the kindergarten teachers at CES stating that they support the current program.

However, he added that the teachers’ statements “were not defiant” toward the full-day program.

Under the plan presented by Slone and Kilian at the September 21 BOE meeting, all students would have half a day of instruction on Monday and then a full day from Tuesday through Friday, which would run from 8:40 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.

Slone has said in the current system all kindergarten students attend CES for half a day on Monday and then half of the students assigned to each of the nine classroom teachers goes for a full day on Tuesday and Thursday and half a day on Wednesday and Friday and the other students have a full day on Wednesday and Friday and half days on Tuesday and Thursday.

“We need to figure how to address the increase in standards, which are pretty rigorous,” Kilian said at one of the focus group sessions earlier this month

Slone has said, for example, that under the revised Core State Standards, at least 50 percent of the reading is to be non-fiction and the math requirements in kindergarten include “operations and algebraic thinking.”

Some BOE members, including DiStephan, have expressed concern about having five-year-olds attend school so often for a full day.

“I think they probably can make it through the day, but the question has been how tired they will be when they get home,” DiStephan said regarding the strain of attending school more hours per week.

“However, meeting the state standards under the current schedule is a huge challenge,” he said in a phone interview. “There is little or no time” for other activities.

DiStephan said several other school districts have a full-day kindergarten program or are considering one.

“If we don’t go to full-day kindergarten now, I think it probably will come up again in the next few years,” he said.

DiStephan said the proposal is on the agenda for discussion at this Wednesday night’s BOE meeting and that there could be a vote, although it is more likely that final consideration will occur November 2.

He said that, among other things, the BOE is awaiting further information on potential savings, since many of the mid-day bus runs would be eliminated under the full-day kindergarten program.

“There is potential for savings, but I’m not sure that it’s monumental,” he said.

DiStephan praised the work of Superintendent Anthony Bivona, Slone and Kilian over the recent weeks, saying that they have provided enough information for the BOE to do “its due diligence” to consider the proposal. He said they also have been receptive to all points of view that have been expressed during the recent discussions.

“Our administrators have done a wonderful job,” Miller said.