School Committee Moving Forward with Full Day Kindergarten

Needham, MA — Full-day kindergarten is coming to Needham, but how it is implemented remains unknown.

Last week, the Needham School Committee voted to move forward with a compulsory and fully publicly funded full-day kindergarten program. The vote does not mean the program is coming to Needham right away, rather, the school committee will look at implementation plans in the fall.

“I think this is a great moment to say we have an intent, a commitment, a desire to move forward but there’s still a lot of work,” Chairperson Susan Neckes said.

Currently, Needham offers half-day kindergarten that is 2-1/2 hours long. Parents may pay a fee for their child to attend an enrichment program for the other half.

Challenges remain for the program before it can start. Committee member Andrea Carter said the schools will need to figure out space issues for the elementary schools.

Superintendent Daniel Gutekanst said there will be multiple options to choose from in the fall.
“It will require some time and attention to detail,” he said.