![]() Here are items to consider as you search for the right program to fit your needs: The key to choosing the right program is determining what works best for your child and your family. ![]() The district has in recent years added a new middle school, a new elementary school and a high school addition large enough to be a school of its own, DeFeciani said: "It is simply a matter of not having the space at this point.The City of Chicago, Chicago Public Schools, and their partners offer families a choice of high-quality preschool and childcare programs for children from birth to five years old at over 600 sites. "We would need, it is estimated, 17 to 19 classrooms." "We just don't have the room," said Shenendehowa spokeswoman Kelly DeFeciani. "We're working hard to have a balanced day, to have active activities and some more quiet time."įour of the 41 Capital Region public schools have resisted the move to full-day kindergarten: Voorheesville, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake, Niskayuna and Shenendehowa. "It will provide me more opportunities, more time to work with the kids, to get to know them, to work with them in small groups," she said. Michele Gehres, starting her ninth year teaching kindergarten at Guilderland Elementary School, said she is happy about the longer day. State aid is based on attendance two years prior, he noted, so it takes time for regular state aid to catch up. "The second year is when you run into an aid challenge." "It is a one-year boost," Singleton said. That will help defray the initial cost of the 9.5 additional teaching positions the district had to add. For Guilderland, that will mean an extra $883,000 in aid this school year. ![]() The state Education Department provides incentives for districts to make the move. There have been a few who have worried that a move to full day is too much." Parent response has been for the most part positive. They don't have to transition into an afterschool program. "There are fewer transitions for children. "We're well aware of the worries on the part of some: Is it too much too soon? Will it increase stress?" he said. In Guilderland, the district began planning for the switch three years ago, said Demian Singleton, assistant superintendent for instruction. The students in the full-day program will be able to get art, music, library and playground time not possible under a half-day system, she said. Last year, the district shifted kindergarten classes from one central site back to their home schools. "We had a building project in each of our buildings, and we added new classrooms," she said. The powers that be in Bethlehem have understood we have enough to teach."Īssistant Superintendent Jody Monroe said the district began working on the move to several years ago. "We've been cramming a full-day program into a half-day program," said Pat Clement, a kindergarten teacher at Slingerlands Elementary. The others are Guilderland, South Colonie, Scotia-Glenville, Waterford-Halfmoon, Schalmont and Rotterdam-Mohanasen. "I do think the full-day kindergarten pace will be easier so the teachers don't have to rush things along," she said.īethlehem is among the districts making the switch this year. I did enjoy having my older daughter in half day because it gave us a little more time to spend with each other and eased us both into school," she said.Īs a classroom volunteer, however, Burns said she saw how much teachers packed into the shorter day. Her daughter Ryann starts kindergarten at Slingerlands Elementary School next week. It is a trend that has accelerated in recent years, with working parents and increased academic demands combining to make half-day kindergarten a program of the past.įor Dana Burns, a parent in the Bethlehem school district, the move comes with some trepidation.
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