'We Are Failing Our Children By Not Having Full-Day K'

Lisa Czaplinski is concerned that Shelton students are falling behind.

The Shelton resident is calling on city officials to fund full-day kindergarten, and she has started a petition to garner support.

Czaplinski began spreading the word about her petition in an Announcement she posted on Shelton Patch on Friday. As of Sunday afternoon, her post had 13 Facebook recommends and was the second most popular announcement on Shelton Patch.

"Currently," Czaplinksi writes, "Connecticut has 103 school districts that offer full day kindergarten including Derby, Seymour, Trumbull and Monroe, which is starting this coming fall. Our children are being left behind during this critical time for education."

Full-day kindergarten failed to make it through Monroe's 2012-13 budget process, but it is included in the town's 2013-14 proposed budget, which its residents will vote on this week. Nearby Newtown has a similar history, with full-day kindergarten among items that hit the chopping block in past years, dating back to at least 2010.

In her post, Czaplinski is critical of Shelton's decision to fund a $1.4 million animal shelter but not full-day kindergarten, which she estimates would cost about $800,000 per year.

"We are failing our children by not having full day kindergarten. The cost of having full day kindergarten can offset the cost of remediation that is needed to help students catch up," she writes.

"Our children are being left behind due to budget restraints," she goes on to write.

Czaplinski's petition is posted on the website, Change.Org.

What Do You Think?

Should Shelton fund full-day kindergarten?