Parents Call Kindergarten Lottery into Question

Parents raised the issue of the Attleboro School district’s full-day Kindergarten lottery process and questioned if, not only the process was fair, but if it was fair to have full-day classes for some and not all students.

Mary Ellen Hinton, who had two children graduate from and currently has two more attending , aired her concerns about the program during the open forum portion of the meeting.

Hinton questioned the randomness of the lottery which requires each full-day class to reflect the demographic numbers for the whole kindergarten. Essentially each class will be balanced by gender, low income and special education status.

School Committee Member Jim Stors defended the lottery process, saying in his experience in participating in the lottery selection that “It’s a very, very fair process.”

However, Hinton was chiefly concerned with the fact that students in half-day kindergarten are not receiving the same education as those in full-day kindergarten.

“It’s certainly not the same educational experience,” Hinton said. She cited her own child’s experience in half-day kindergarten who felt rushed through material and felt pressure to learn quickly. The full-day students would have more time to learn the material at their own pace as well as have additional time for teachers to reinforce the material.

“If you can’t do it for everybody, don’t do it for anybody,” she said.  

Kristen Semple also spoke on the subject, echoing Hinton’s concerns.

“I’ve definitely seen a difference in his education compared to his peers,” Semple said of her son.

Superintendent Pia Durkin said that she has not recommended expanding full-day Kindergarten to the committee due to budgetary constraints. “The only reason we have it as it exists now is through the state grants," Committee Member Robert Hill said.

However, both Semple and Hinton said they would be willing to pay for full-day kindergarten in the schools and expressed that they would have liked a for-pay option.

In response to parent concerns, School Committee Chairman Ray DiCiaccio asked Durkin to prepare a report looking into the kindergarten lottery process and the differences in full-day and half-day student's academic performance for the next school committee meeting, which is slated for May 9.

School Committee Notes:

• Approved the student funded field trip proposal from Attleboro High School for five, grades 10-12 students to attend the Skills USA State Conference in Marlborough from April 28 through April 30
• Approved the field trip proposal from for 40 grades 5-8 students to attend the music festival/competition at South Hadley High School on May 20
• Approved the contract renewal for the Recording Secretary, Judy Nelson
• Approved the 2011-2012 school year calendar, which will have school begin on September 7 for students
• Approved the acceptance of the Massachusetts Graduation Implementation Grant forfrom the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for the amount of $100,000 for each of the first three years of the grant. The grant could be extended for up to five years and aimed toward improving graduation rates and lowering dropout rates.