Full Day Kindergarten
I have mixed feeling about the article in the Globe [May 25, 2008] about the state's initiative to promote full-day kindergarten. On the one hand it seems a bit lame that you only get a short program that everyone extends an hour anyway...but I can't imagine wanting to keep 5-year olds in a day long teaching class. It would be a little more convenient for us to have a longer session for our daughter next year, but I'm not expecting kindergarten to be "teaching" much anyway. It should be fun and an opportunity for the kids to develop social skills, not a drill to teach them "material" they "need" to prepare for school. I think the thing they need the most is the ability to sit through class without being bored out of their brains and acting up. I never completely mastered that skill myself. Hopefully school has changed in a good way since I was a kid.
Comments
Kindergarten program
I also read that article yesterday and do believe that full day is a lot to expect from our little ones. We put soo much pressure on children and it starts at such a young age. That being said my twins are about to finish their first year of school - kindergarten here in Westwood. They are in school 5 days a week from 8:45- 1:35. I paid for the extra part of the day because the participation in the program is around 100% and I did not want my children to be the only ones taken out before school ended. Around twice a month (on long Wednesdays) they are in school until 3:10. They arrive home completely exhausted but they love it. Kindergarten has definitely changed since I was in school. It is very structured - however- there is still free choice time. The children are reading, doing science etc. And the report cards. WOW. I had to tell my children that I didn't get a report card in Kindergarten b/c all we had to do was color and play. Anyway, I do think the full day program is a lot to ask of children and I agree with the mom in the article that it is precious time we lose with our babies. However, I have nothing but positive comments to report from the Westwood program. The teachers here do an amazing job with the children and are wonderful at building a sense of community. I think the 80% of a school day is plenty to ask of our children and our school department.
Kindergarten and Longer Days
Joanie and Dave have good points. Having experienced the Westwood school system myself, I know what it's like to be away from my parents for an extended period of time as a younger child. I quickly became used to the fact that I would be gone for a portion of the day, but I can't fathom being gone for an entire regular school day at such a young age. A good education is based around the principle of gradual learning and progression, not forceful time constraints and extra activities that are not meant for children in their kindergarten years. Parents, especially in modern times, tend to spend less time with their children compared to my generation of children who had a majority of stay-at-home mothers waiting at the bus stop after school. I think it's better to be learning on a gradual scale, and having the extra time with your mom, dad, or both parents, before you start realizing that the entire educational journey is longer than you think-and requires an increased workload each step of the way. This is not to say that more education is bad, this is to say that children can only absorb so much information at a younger age. Teaching them increased amounts of information that they may not be ready for increases the chance that some students may not be able to handle a full day at school. Our 80% school day is PLEANTY to ask, as Joanie has said.
Gregory J. Agnew
greg@gregagnew.com
Office: 781-326-8944
Mobile: 781-801-0779
Kindergarten Changes for 2009
Have many people heard about the three proposed schedule options for Westwood kindergarten next year? The proposed changes are significant and very different. The superintendent will be making a recommendation to the school committee in early January. I just heard about it recently and didn't know if others were aware of it. Thoughts?
Kindergarten schedule options
Guest- I havent heard about the 3 options for kindergarten schedule in 2009. Could you please post more about it here. Thanks!
Kindergarten Changes for 2009
The superintendent and staff made a presentation 12/18 at the school committee meeting regarding three proposed options for the kindergarten schedule beginning in September 2009.
The three options are very different from each other. All would lengthen the time in school for kindergartners. Perhaps the presentation is on the schools' website as I'm sure I won't do them justice. Roughly, Option A would have three short days and two long days (T/Th - similar to Dover-Sherborn). Option B would divide each class into group A and B, with each group staying long on two different days (M/T and Th/F - I think Newton has some variation of this option). Option C would have the kindergartners stay for four long days (M/T/Th/F - I don't know any district with this option, but I'm sure they exist). The references to other districts given here are mine; none were given during the presentation.
What to do on Wednesdays was still up in the air for all models. There would be no additional charge beyond the existing charge for any of the options. There was no guarantee that the instructional assistants would be there for the entire day given the added cost of paying them to work longer. This would not stop the district from going forward with the longer days.
The superintendent will make his recommendation to the school committee in early January. I think the assumption is that the school committee will vote on the proposal at the January 15th meeting.
There was parent representation on the committee that worked on designing and selecting the final three options, although none of the parents sitting near me at the meeting had heard about the proposal to change the kindergarten schedule prior to this week.
If anyone knows more than I do on the subject, please share the information as it will impact many of us shortly.
I'll email school Monday
I will see what info I can gather and start a full blog post on this topic but I don't expect anyone from school will be around now as the blizzard descends upon us. I checked the town and school websites and found no new information.
kindergarten
Have we found out anymore information on the full day kindergarten?
Full Day Kindergarten info on School Website
Here is a link directly to the powerpoint presentation from December 18:
Full Day Kindergarten: School Committee Presentation
my quick thoughts in Kindergarten
It seems like a lot of thought is being put into this and that is great, but I hope a simple program will be devised for next year. I don't really understand why there is so much half-day/full-day/early release/stay late/whatever. I guess there are budget and logistical limitiations to be worked around, but as a parent, I'd like a simple, predictible program so I can understand what we will need to do as a family to pick up and drop off the kids. It's not that I don't care about the content of the program...but we have great schools and great people working on that, so I'm confident the kids will be OK. But the most helpful thing, as a parent, would be to have a simple, regular schedule.
Full day Kindergarten - observations & resources
I attend most School Committee meetings, and I have heard this topic mentioned/discussed several times in the past couple of years, particularly in reference to a state grant that Westwood has received to study and plan for a transition to full day Kindergarten. A few notes and observations I took away from the presentation the other night:
1. The vast majority of children in Westwood attend some kind of preschool prior to Kindergarten, and a significant number attend preschool programs that are more hours than our current Kindergarten program.
2. Although the first impression may be that a longer day puts more pressure on kids, there is a credible argument to the contrary. Like it or not, the state has laid out expectations for what Kindergarteners should learn in the course of the year. In the current program, Westwood Kindergarten teachers have to squeeze that into 4.75 hours per day (plus 18 "stay days"). With a full day program, the pace could be slower, allowing the kids more "choice" time, play time, etc.
3. There is a growing trend toward full day Kindergarten, and Westwood's current program is shorter than the average in Massachusetts. 70% of Massachusetts kindergarteners are now in a full day program of some sort (and the average day is 6+ hours). The state is actively encouraging full day Kindergarten.
4. A comment made by one of the parents who was on the committee indicated that whichever plan were adopted, the schedule would still be eased in at the start of the school year, as is done now.
Now - Just because the trend is toward a full day, that doesn't necessarily make it right, but from what I have heard from educators and read on the topic, the results seem to be generally positive, and at the very least it does not seem to have a negative impact on students. The State's Office of Elementary School Services has some info on the topic available here:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/ess/links.html
I happen to support full day Kindergarten - my own kids came from a full day preschool/daycare experience and went to Westwood Extended Day after school - but I also understand how many parents feel that we may be asking too much of children so young. No matter what program is adopted, parents need to learn all they can and try to make informed decisions about what is right for their own children (and even now some parents hold their children out for a year).
Mary Masi-Phelps