East Granby BOE Mulls All-Day Kindergarten

Add the East Granby Board of Education to the ever-growing list of school boards to discuss whether to add all-day kindergarten to the curriculum, which it did at its regular meeting on Monday evening at Allgrove School.

Each school board member received a detailed packet and heard a presentation from Director of Pupil Services Karen Gogel, who extolled the virtues of all-day kindergarten.

“It does make sense,” Gogel said. “We see a [positive] impact over a number of years” on students academically, socially, emotionally and physically.

For example, studies have shown, according to information from the packet, that “children who attend full-day kindergarten learn more in reading and math over the kindergarten year than those in half-day programs. … This is after adjusting for learning differences associated with race/ethnicity, poverty status, fall achievement level, sex, class size, relative amount of time for subject area instruction, and the presence of an instructional aide.”

This was particularly important to Superintendent of Schools Christine Mahoney, who said that the increased requirements handed down from the state of Connecticut regarding early childhood learning - including reading and numeracy demands - made half-day kindergarten inadequate.

“The issue is finding the time to teach the students what they need to learn,” Mahoney said. “Half-day kindergarten is not going to cut it any more. We can’t do the curriculum [handed down by the state] here in 2 ½ hours and do it well.”

Mahoney said that in addition to increased instructional time, technology could be implemented in kindergarten programs to help with learning in the early childhood phase.

Because of projected reduced enrollment in kindergarten, no new personnel would be needed for the program, Gogel said. What’s more, a cost analysis in the packet states that the school district would actually save $19,179 if all-day kindergarten were implemented into the curriculum for the 2012 - 13 school year through the elimination of mid-day bus runs.

There are currently two full-time teachers and two paraprofessionals for the three sections of half-day kindergarten offered in the school district. If implemented for next year, the sections would be reduced to two, but staffing would remain the same, Gogel said.

Still, Vice Chairman Kirby Huget said that, while he supports all-day kindergarten, selling the notion to the general public would not be easy.

“In this economy, this cost analysis does not pass muster,” he said. “I’m concerned about the numbers and how we justify doubling [the program] when there is declining enrollment. … It puts us in dangerous territory.”

Huget elaborated later.

“I’m not advising against this,” he said. “How we approach the town [in terms of] doubling kindergarten program, I don’t think it’s going to be an easy sell.”

Specifically, with enrollment declining, some residents may want to see saving around $100,000 by reducing staff rather than increasing the kindergarten program, Huget said.

“This proposition will be difficult for a lot of people to swallow through the acceptance of full-day kindergarten,” Huget said. “I understand the benefits. We just have to have more than the support of parents if we want to see kindergarten extended for a full day.”

What’s more, some parents may object to full-day kindergarten based on having children home to take naps or use that time for play.

All-day kindergarten is a hot-button issue in education in the state. The Granby Board of Education recently in concept, but declined to address how, or if, it would fund the change in its curriculum.

According to the packet, 65 school districts have full-day kindergarten, while nine charter schools and nine magnet schools offer full-day kindergarten for all children. Sixteen districts offer extended-day kindergarten, while 58 districts, including East Granby, offer half-day kindergarten.

While the school board did not take any action at Monday’s meeting, it plans on surveying parents on full-day kindergarten as well as holding informational meetings for the general public to get a feel for where people’s opinions are on the issue.

Mahoney said that she would like to have the new policy in place as early as next school year.