Letter: Full-Day Kindergarten Decision Was Predetermined And Ignores Basic Facts

To the Editor:

The public debate — or lack thereof — on the pros and cons of full-day kindergarten in Wyckoff was an insult to those who were under the impression the outcome wasn't already a predetermined one that ignores basic facts and several studies.

I am one of 350 members of the Parents for Full Day Kindergarten Facebook group. In many conversations online and otherwise with our members, the myriad of pragmatic reasons for supporting for Full Day Kindergarten has own grown over the past few months.

Example: Logistically, the children who require aftercare are currently being bused to the Wyckoff Family Y on their two half-days and stay at the school for their three full-days. Parents have expressed valid concerns that on periodic days, there is no capacity at the Y. Working families are left with few options as a result.

The economic aspect is another factor that cannot be ignored.

The cost of just “Kinderkrew” at the Y is a staggering $2,650 annually just to cover those four hours per week, which doesn't even including the cost of aftercare from 4 to 6 p.m.

Many parents — nearly four in 10 (38 percent) according to a survey the Superintendent cited — saw children coming from five full days of pre-kindergarten. Understandably, these parents feel this would only be a step back for their children.

Also cited by many members of our group is the inconvenience of picking up at two different times with a short window between pick-ups. The numbers support this, with 45 percent of parents stating they would need aftercare next year — up significantly from prior years and growing each year.

Finally, the committee cited almost no additional cost to having full day kindergarten beyond the cost of photocopying materials: Teachers already work a full day, but with only half of the class present during four afternoons.

If this policy sounds like is a waste of the resource of having a teacher in the classroom, it's because it is.

The numbers supporting our position are overwhelming.

According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, "the percentage of kindergartners enrolled in full-day rather than half-day programs has easily more than doubled, increasing from 28 percent of all kindergartners in 1977 to 77 percent of all kindergartners in 2013."

"Children who spend time in full-day kindergarten programs are more likely than children who spend time in half-day kindergarten programs to devote time every day to reading, mathematics, and social studies," the study concludes.

Nationwide, 80 percent of kindergartners are enrolled in full-day programs, according to 2015 U.S. Census Current Population Survey data.

In Bergen County, 71 of 75 school districts have full-day kindergarten, or a whopping 95 percent.

Given all of that data, ask yourself this:

What does the Wyckoff Board of Education thinks its knows that these other 71 municipalities who have studied and/or voted on the issue do not?

Instead, the Board of Education, which clearly makes its decisions without respecting groups like Parents for Full Day Kindergarten by waiting for our input before drawing its short-sighted conclusions, seems content of being one of a tiny minority.

In the name of basic pragmatism and in the interest of what's truly best for moving our children forward while helping the families that support them, I implore the Wyckoff Board of Education to revisit its decision.

To keep the status quo is only a step back for Wyckoff.

Jean Readie
Wyckoff, NJ