SUPPORT FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN IN THE
SCHUYLKILL VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT
Proposed budget cuts in education have led school boards to begin discussions of cutting various programs. Schuylkill Valley School District is not immune to these discussions.
This petition is intended to convey to the superintendent and school board members of the Schuylkill Valley School District that we as parents and community members support the current full-day kindergarten program and want it to remain intact for the 2011-2012 school year.
Considering half-day kindergarten as a means for savings is shortsighted. Research shows that investment in quality early childhood education yields numerous benefits while children are in kindergarten and in subsequent years. Some of these findings include:
Children's knowledge of early literacy concepts increased during full-day kindergarten and this improved students' reading achievement for the next 4 school years. (Phillips & Mason, 1996; Puelo, 1988)
Children who attend full-day kindergarten learn more in reading and math over the kindergarten year than those in half-day programs. (Lee, Burkam, Honigman, Meisels, 2002)
Full-day kindergarteners are more than twice as likely as half-day kindergarteners to reach grade levels without repeating a grade. Researchers calculated a savings of $2 million for every 1000 kindergarteners in improved retention rates. (Viadero, 2002)
Full-day kindergarten students have more time and opportunity to play with language, explore subjects in depth, have a more flexible, individualized learning environment, and have more individual and small-group interactions with the teacher and less time in large group instruction than is possible in most half-day classrooms. (Martinez and Snider, 2001; Elicker and Mathur, 1997; Hough and Bryde, 1996)
In another study, teachers were asked to share their views on full-day kindergarten. Teachers also reported a number of benefits:
Participating in full-day kindergarten eased the transition to first grade, helping children adapt to the demands of a six-hour school day.
Having more time actually made the kindergarten program less stressful and frustrating for children because they had time to fully develop interests and activities.
Children with developmental delays or those at risk for school problems benefited from having more time to complete projects and more time for needed socialization with peers and teachers. (Elicker, J. and S. Mathur. 1997.)
The possibility of eliminating full-day kindergarten would be a giant step back and would have long-term consequences for the students of the Schuylkill Valley School District. A quality full-day kindergarten program is essential in providing a strong foundation for learning success. We owe it to the children of the Schuylkill Valley School District to continue providing them with this foundation.
This is a call to action to show your support for the current full-day kindergarten program and to preserve the quality of education in the Schuylkill Valley School District.
Thank you for taking the time to support this great program.
