Amy and Tad,
I appreciate your thoughtful comments. However, I respectfully disagree with your proposal that full-day K be implemented less than fully.
The Subcommittee on All-Day Kindergarten addressed the possibility of partially implementing all-day kindergarten. Once it was determined that under CCSS, students wouldn't be able to receive the required academic instruction, and spend any substantive amount of time on learning directed toward social and emotional development, an absolutely essential component of kindergarten, the subcommittee deemed partial implementation unacceptable. Additionally, the subcommittee noted that partial implementation based on "need" often has a stigmatizing effect on the students selected. Moreover, partial implementation which allows students to be selected by lottery was deemed to be patently inequitable. The subcommittee found that anything other than full implementation was simply not consistent with the school department's stated mission of "empowering all students to excel." It must be noted that the recommendation that full-day kindergarten be implemented is endorsed by all five members of the School Committee, the Superintendent, and Commissioner Gist.
At last week's school committee meeting, the Superintendent offered his professional opinion that social-emotional development is a key component to a proper kindergarten education. Ensuring that kindergarteners would have sufficient time for meaningful play and interaction that would benefit their social-emotional development was fundamental to the decision to recommend implementation of full-day kindergarten. Without it, it was feared that the few hours spent in school, in complying with the curriculum requirements of CCSS, would be stressed and harried, and that isn't the introduction to school that our kindergarteners deserve.
If a parent believes that his or her child would not be well served by the full-day kindergarten program, that parent may seek alternative educational opportunities for their child. There are a few excellent kindergarten programs within our town. At least one of these, Red Brick School, currently offers a kindergarten program that runs from 8:40 - 1:30 each day. A member of their Board advised me that the school would consider implementing a shorter-day kindergarten program if the families that they served requested one. It is with earnestness that I offer this alternative. I myself decided that the half-day program wouldn't best serve my children's needs and chose to send them to Red Brick School for kindergarten. I realize that not everyone has the ability to pay for private kindergarten, but urge those who are interested to investigate possible need-based scholarship opportunities at some of the private schools in the area.
With respect to the financial issues presented in your letter, I would like to offer the following: The superintendent has determined that the cost of implementing full-day kindergarten would be $633,000. As explicated at last week's School Committee meeting, this figure includes the cost of hiring 5 additional teachers, 11 aides, meeting the transportation needs of additional students and securing supplies for the new classrooms. Had this figure been included in the budget submitted to the Committee on Appropriations, it is unknown whether the CoA would have accepted it and included it in their proposed budget. It is not unlikely that our town would be facing a conundrum similar to the one we are currently facing.
The transformation of Barrington's current half-day kindergarten program to a full-day one provides additional, necessary services for our town, and such services come at a cost. I urge all voters to attend the Financial Town Meeting to support the motion to add $633,000 to the school budget this year. The actual cost to the average Barrington resident would be less than $80 per year. Should the Superintendent and the Finance Director be able to fully implement the program while saving tax dollars, I am confident that they will do so. Please vote in support of the motion to ensure that the implementation of full-day kindergarten, the school department's technology initiative, and other existing, necessary programs proceed without impediment.
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