Levittown Moms Council: Should Kindergarteners Be In School Full Time?

The Levittown Moms Council is a panel of local mothers you can chat with every Wednesday on Levittown Patch. Each week these four ladies tackle a new parenting question and ask you to join the conversation by leaving your own comments. 

At last week's Levittown Board of Education meeting, a petition in support of implementing full-day kindergarten in the district signed by 253 parents was presented to the Board. We asked our four local moms what they think.

This week's question is: Should kindergarten age children be attending school full time?

Jane Cappiello

Kindergarten age children vary greatly in their development. Most children are ready for a full day program. Some are not. This is an issue that forces me to debate with myself!

In a fast-paced world, we need to keep focused, move ahead, learn by any means and finish first. Our children are often caught up in a cycle. Social interaction is an important, if not the most important, component of learning at this age. A kindergarten setting can be the perfect environment for children to meet other children. A structured setting with a knowledgeable professional is appreciated, especially when it comes to dealing with 20 or more students at once. How does a teacher fill a child’s day for five hours or more? Academics come into play. Homework may have its place. Most parents need to work each day; school takes up a good part of the workday hours. Parents can feel confident going to work knowing their child is safe and learning. Many children can handle and do cope with a full day of care and learning outside the home.

My oldest child did not attend full-day kindergarten. The three children that followed did attend a full-day program. I do not feel that every child needs to be enrolled in a full-day kindergarten program. If a parent is home and enjoys time spent with their child, a half-day program is sufficient. Parents are always their child’s first teacher and should always be just that.

Cathy Fressle

I like the idea of full-day kindergarten. My kids went to half-day; they did not have the extended day then.

They went to Pre-K longer than kindergarten, so I think today most kids are ready for a full day and it works for the working parent, which I have always been. I always had to have someone help me out to pick the kids up from the half-day kindergarten. I think it is a good idea and support it highly.

Kathleen Vaughan Ware

 A growing body of research continues to examine the effects of full-day kindergarten (Clark & Kirk, 2000). These studies suggest that full-day kindergarten programs produce learning gains that are at least as great as, and usually greater than, the learning gains of half-day kindergarten programs. No studies to date show greater gains, academic or developmental, for students in half-day programs over those for students in full-day programs. Also, a number of studies focusing on disadvantaged students showed greater learning gains for students in full-day kindergarten programs. Of the limited number of studies of the long-term effects of full-day kindergarten, several suggest that some long-term learning gains exist.

As a regular Levittown Board of Education meeting attendee, I have listened to many community members express their desires for full-day kindergarten over the past few weeks. Recently, the Board received a petition signed by over 200 community members who are in favor of full-day kindergarten, and a recent poll conducted online by the Levittown School district indicated that over 70 percent of those who participated in the poll also want full-day kindergarten.

I personally would like to see full-day kindergarten implemented in our district, provided that funding is available. I think the value of early physical education may help in preventing the ever increasing child obesity issue. Early academic and developmental instruction may also help educators recognize and address learning disabilities at a younger age.