Full-day K in the News

[Chris_Wendt]

Excerpt from Newsday:

"Of 697 school districts statewide, 634 offered full-day kindergarten in 2010 -- an increase of more than 50 percent since 1991, the state Department of Education reported. On Long Island, only 10 districts have half-day programs; the other 111 districts that serve elementary-school students offer full-day kindergarten, according to the department"

...making Wantagh among only 8% of LI school districts not offering full-day kindergarten.

I am not going to beat this to death, but the drum beat goes on out there. The State provides seed money to districts like Wantagh to start full-day kindergarten.

I have been asked where I am coming from on this subject, since none of my 8 grandchildren lives in Wantagh. My perspective and support of full-day kindergarten is based on three things:

• I am intimately aware of the exceptional programs offered in our preschools, and truly believe that half-day kindergarten is woefully insufficient for children coming out of 2-3 years of real preschool. The preschool programs in Wantagh are excellent, challenging, and fun, and Half-day K, to me, seems like such a disappointment for these bright and well-prepared kids.
  
• We already built the classrooms for Full-day K, and having Full-day K was part of our "pitch" to the community to approve the bond that funded the construction of the extra classrooms in all three elementary schools. To me, actually having Full-day K is a personal credibility issue between the Board of Education and the community whose money we spent on that bond.
  
• Not having Full-day K could certainly be a dis-incentive for prospective home buyers against their moving into Wantagh. One of our lingering and growing problems has been and remains declining enrollment. People electing not to move into Wantagh with their young children because they can get a more complete experience almost anyplace else...does not help alleviate declining enrollment.

We passed our budget with flying colors. We have hired a new professional educational leader, our Superintendent who will start working in Wantagh in a little over two weeks. Time is at hand for forward thinking—and action—on this subject.

Read the Newsday article, especially the research about the benefits of Full-day Kindergarten, here (hyperlink).

Regards,

Chris Wendt

[Chris_Wendt]

There is good news for Wantagh in the 2013-14 Budget Proposal from Governor Cuomo, with the $650K Transition Aid targeted for implementing Full-day Kindergarten, which I believe Wantagh is planning to do.

We should not leave that money on the table again this year, as we have done in the past, because at some point that money will dry up, and along with it, any hope of Wantagh joining the other 93% of NY school districts that offer Full-day Kindergarten. Let's do it, already!

See related article on Patch (hyperlink)


Regards,

Chris Wendt

[lilly]

Wantagh needs full day Kind, that goes without saying, especially with this year common core is now in practice.

I'm not concerned about 2013/14 funding given the aid for the first year.

I am concerned about 2014/15 and beyond funding as well as the district's inability for short & long term planning and in many cases lack of disclosing information.

Remember the sportsplex bond was put up to the community twice until it passed. Those were the days of Mike Cucci saying expect ~8% tax increases for the foreseeable future, which the community did not buy into as evidenced the year the budget went down. I also remember the first year payments on the sportsplex bond were due, the BOE arbitrarily and capriciously cut the high school arts program (LIHSA) - it was in/out/in/out up until the vote (parents were told 'just vote yes and we will try to fund it' - yeah, right). Since then, the BOE refuses to answer the question as to why we spend a high amount of $'s per kid on other HS programs but not on the arts kids. So, I would have to understand the BOE's specific plans for funding full day Kind 2014/15 and beyond beforehand. You know, 'fool me once....' and all that.

[Chris_Wendt]

Lilly posited:
"Wantagh needs full day Kind, that goes without saying, especially with this year common core is now in practice."

A friend of mine noted a critically important difference between teaching any full-day elementary class and teaching two half-day kindergarten classes: the full-day teacher has 25 kids with 25 names, and 25 different personalities, and 25 sets of strengths and weaknesses to work with, and the entire school day with which to teach them. The half-day kindergarten teacher has 50 kids with 50 names, and 50 different personalities and 50 sets of strengths and weaknesses to work with, but only half the school day with which to teach them.

The money is on the table to launch full-day kindergarten. But, if we do not implement full-day kindergarten, then we will never have to deal with funding it and sustaining it...will we? But you know what? Whether or not we ever do full-day kindergarten, those big salaries and those raises will go on and on and on...forever, as will that large cadre of non-teaching positions we pay for.

So parents and all taxpayers really need to examine the essential question: what are our priorities for the use our tax dollars? If we do not start full-day kindergarten, then full day kindergarten will never get to be any kind of a priority, but will instead remain both a dream and an embarrassment for Wantagh Schools.

Final analogy for today: you cannot bake something into a pie unless you mix it in with the rest of the ingredients before it goes into the oven.

Let's get cooking!

Chris Wendt

[lilly]

Chris, this is both a credibility and long/short term planning issue for the BOE.

In your mind, it seems that you have already targeted positions as a way to fund full day Kind after next year. But, what is the asst super for biz and BOE's pov on how they will fund it after the first year. They need to answer those questions first.

The $ will have to come from somewhere. What happens if we get hit with a big increase for the TRS? There is the 2% cap too. What are their priorities? Note that what they say the priorities are is different from how they spend $. So, show me the $ or at least a concrete plan for it!

[Chris_Wendt]

Lilly, I refer you to the unenviable predicament of Seaford, whose budget was recently twice defeated, resulting in the need for draconian cuts under a contingent (austerity) budget. They retained Full-day kindergarten, because it had already been baked-in to the pie, to use an analogy.

The Admins don't have to show you or me the money; they have to show the Board their plan, the scenarios, and the Board then will have to add the prioritization. There is a hierarchy, and the Admins are not at the top of the pyramid.

Chris Wendt