One hour and 45 minutes will be added to the school day, a change that district officials say is keeping with new standards for achievement for students at lower grades. Kindergarten starts at 8:25 a.m. and runs to 1:30 p.m.
“It’s logical that development of academic and social, cognitive skills will be more fully supported with a full-day experience,” principal Cheryl Stickler told the school board Tuesday. She said she’s been in touch with Juneau’s Glacier Valley School, which made a similar change this year that she described as successful.
“We’ve been talking about this for a while. We have a smaller (incoming) class and the supports available to make it work,” Stickler said.
Sandy June-Degen, who has taught kindergarten 29 years, said she’s okay with the switch because of the small incoming class (estimated at 13-15 students), but would like discussion of full-day hours revisited in 2015, when an estimated 20-24 students will arrive for kindergarten.
“We’ll see how it goes this year and reassess it again with open eyes when the large class comes in,” she said.
June-Degen is concerned with the fate of a “call-back” program the district started four years ago that keeps small groups of kindergarteners for more individualized instruction until 3 p.m. “There’s no fiddling around or lining up to go anywhere. You have an hour-plus just to focus on what that group needs and I do make them work hard… One (teacher) on five (students) is so powerful. I believe in it. It’s very, very successful. You can ask any mother who has had a kindergartener” in recent years, she said.
June-Degen said she’d likely be adding rest time and a second recess to her students’ schedule next year. The longer day won’t go into effect until a month or a quarter has passed to allow students to make the transition, she said. “They’re so young and they’re already going an hour longer than they did in preschool. We won’t hit them with it right away.”
Parent Mark Koverdan this week said he thought the change was a good idea. “It’s better. The more exposure students have to other kids and to the school environment, the easier the transition will be to first grade, especially if (students) haven’t been to preschool.”
June-Degen currently has 19 students and an aide for part of the day.
Principal Stickler said in the 44 states where kindergarten is required, there’s a movement toward a full-day schedule.