The Woodstock Elementary School Board approved a proposal Tuesday to start full-day kindergarten for the 2012-2013 school year. The plan passed by a 2-0 vote, with board member Alita Wilson absent.
The proposal, put forward by Principal Karen White, had been discussed a great deal in the previous two board meetings. The school also put out some surveys to parents and teachers, with most respondents supportive of the change, according to White. Those in favor of full-day kindergarten said the plan would help working parents (who otherwise have to shoulder the rising cost of daycare), and make the day less rushed academically. Some opponents who spoke out worried that the full-day schedule would be too much for some children to handle.
This process began after some parents in 2010 requested that the school review a possible full-day kindergarten program, according to school officials. On Tuesday, White said the support seen in the surveys has continued since announcing the plan to the community in late 2011.
“Since it has been publicized, the feedback I’ve heard has been positive from parents,” White told the board. The response from school staff has been supportive as well, noted WES Board Chair Paige Hiller.
Woodstock Early Bird asked the WES Board how much this change might cost or if it will affect taxpayers in any way? WES Principal Karen White provided this response:
“The new costs for moving to full day from our extended day is the personnel expenses of our teacher and our assistant. Currently the kindergarten teacher works providing remedial reading support AFTER kindergarten ends in the afternoon. Given our declining enrollment, we are eliminating this remedial portion of her position and assigning her to the full day kindergarten position. The increase in teacher time for kindergarten and is matched with a reduction in teacher time for remedial instruction. The assistant position increases from 80% to 100%. But again, we have reduced another assistant position in the school so there is no net increase in staff or cost. The end result is that we are able to improve the kindergarten program without a net increase in personnel costs in the regular instruction portion of the budget. This is a good time to make this change both financially and instructionally.”
The current Woodstock kindergarten day is from 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Starting this fall, kindergarteners will attend for the full school day – from 8 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Julia Carlisle
Woodstock Early Bird 
Posted by Steven Thomas on January 11, 2012 at 12:03
It does seem that the full-day kindergarten is fueled by the need of parents to have free daycare (and the possible detrimental effects of a full day at school on 5 year old kids is being minimized in favor of the economics involved). Karen White’s explanation that there is no economic effect on the taxpayers as a whole bears some scrutiny. If there is a plan to eliminate a remedial post, that would translate as a tax SAVINGS for Woodstock residents–one we could all use! To NOT pass on this potential tax break, as small as it might be, tells me that the full day kindergarten is, in fact, an added burden to the taxpayers.
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Posted by Pat Crocker on January 11, 2012 at 18:54
By the time most children reach kindergarten these days they’ve had 3 years of preschool and childcare. Often their days there have been longer than the normal school day. They are ready to learn earlier and need the full day kindergarten for a number of reasons, including making the transition to first grade easier and the first grade a more productive year from the beginning.
A good many of us felt that this should have been implemented 25 years ago and believe it is long overdue. Our children need the best education we can provide for them…and this seems like a good step at strengthening the primary school experience for a marginal additional expense. Poorly educated children are a bigger burden to society than this modest additional tax.
Working parents will still have the same issues of after school arrangements, but for the two extra school hours. I don’t believe that working parents favor this change because they need to save on a couple of hours of childcare but since we are on the subject, as a nation, we should do more to support working parents because of the productive contribution they all make to the economy!
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