Fair 48° F

Home > Archive > Jul 26, 2007

Kindergartners Have Option of Extended Day
By Katrice Schimbeck
Staff Writer
As the back-to-school frenzy starts, kindergarteners get excited for their first days of school. This year, those days may be longer. Kindergarteners in Washington County will have the option of going to full-day, extended-day (45 minutes to an hour longer), or the traditional half-day of school.
Senate Bill 49 (SB49) was signed into law this last winter, providing the option to all parents in Utah to choose full-day or extended-day kindergarten. Governor Huntsman and the State Board of Education supported the measure, which appropriates $7.5 million to fund the program across the state.
“The concern is that some kids aren’t prepared,” WCSD Assistant Superintendent Rex Wilkey said. Some students come from an English as a Second Language home, low-income families, or other high-risk situations and are not properly prepared for school.
“Mother’s do an excellent job (of preparing children for school) if it’s a positive environment,” Wilkey went on to say. He went on to talk about the wide range of student abilities when they come to kindergarten. One student will almost know how to read, be able to write their name and do simple arithmetic. Another student entering kindergarten, will not be able to count to ten or recognize numbers or letters. Studies have found that more classroom time has been positive for these children. However, Wilkey maintains the more advanced learners don’t benefit as much.
“There’s no question, kids having more (school) time is helpful,” Wilkey said.
Some students are in situations where the only thing the school system can do is get them in school and give them more opportunity. Wilkey said other students have plenty of attention, things to do, read, touch and study. They are fine.
Early intervention is also helpful with behavior problems, according to Wilkey. If a student realizes success in school, likely behavior problems are less pronounced.
A study by the Northwest Regional Laboratory (www.nwrel.org/request/dec2002/kindergarten.pdf) determined that students from low-income homes, non-English-speaking homes, and those making day-care transitions should choose kindergarten with more classroom time.
Some parents and educators think kindergarteners are too young to be at school all day.
Washington Elementary parent Jennifer Libby’s son Carter will start kindergarten this fall. She is choosing the option of half-day for Carter because he is a young student, turning five in August, just as school is beginning. 
“All day is too long for a 5-year-old who’s never been away from home,” Libby said.
She does see the upside of the program, though.
Cathy Monnett, a mother of eight, also will enroll her son Lawson in half-day kindergarten.
“He’s my last, and I want to keep him as long as I can. But I felt that way about all of them. I like to keep them at home and spend as much time as possible with them,” Monnett said. 
She has worked with Lawson a lot at home, as she did with her other children. He knows his letters, numbers and colors. Her children typically are reading by Christmastime of their kindergarten year.
Shelly Griffin chose full-day kindergarten for her daughter Katie because she wanted the full-day teacher for Katie.
“We have Mrs. Shelley, and she is an awesome teacher, and we wanted her again,” Griffin said. “She (Katie) was ready to go to kindergarten last year. She’s totally prepared to be in full-day, but her little sister will miss her.”
Other mothers are excited at the opportunity for their children to excel.
The longer-day kindergarten programs are not uniformly available throughout the school district. Sandstone and Washington elementary schools will have full-day programs with an option for half-day. Enterprise has two half-day classes and one full-day class. Coral Cliffs Elementary will offer one full-day class. The remaining elementary schools will have extended-day programs. 
Last year, some schools in the district piloted the extended-day program. The district identified a percentage of children needing help and kept them an extra 45 minutes to an hour longer.
The charter school George Washington Academy had full-day kindergarten last year and is implementing the extended-day this school term, the third option provided for in SB49.  The school conducted summer school this summer for kindergarteners starting this fall. Wilkey said other schools will look at the need to extend their kindergarten day at the end of the year.
Dixie Downs held full-day kindergarten last year, implementing their dual-emergent language program. Wilkey said Dixie Downs did really well with the program, and the kids did well going until 3:30 p.m. WCSD did learn, however, that kindergarteners need to build up to spending that much time in school, and to not exhaust them the first couple of weeks.
“They do more, you need to pace it. It’s a challenge,” Wilkey said. Kindergarteners need quick transitions, and a large amount of preparation. Washington County kindergarten teachers, headed up by Ann Herder, are working on the curriculum. “They’re under a lot of pressures, but they’re prepared,” Wilkey said.
The challenge in WCSD is the classroom space and number of teachers required to implement the program. 
“It takes a tremendous amount of money and takes up more space,” Wilkey said.
WCSD is still hiring teachers to fill their need. Wilkey said the future will see the district keeping the option of full-day, extended-day or half-day kindergarten.

---