Local Teachers Mostly Support Plan For
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BY LAURIE HAHN, Times-Union Staff Writer
Kindergarten teachers in Warsaw Community Schools appear to be cautiously supportive of Gov. Frank O'Bannon's proposal for full-day kindergarten.
"I have mixed reactions," said Cindy Snyder, kindergarten teacher at Madison Elementary. "I think, for a lot of children, it would be a great thing - they would have more structure, we would be able to do more thematic units."
Angel Meck, kindergarten teacher at Washington Elementary, said she thinks full-day kindergarten is a good idea.
"I feel I can't get enough taught in the 2-1/2 hours we're here," she said.
The amount of subject matter kindergarten teachers must cover in a short period of time each day is a concern to many teachers, and a full day would help the students absorb the material, most said.
"The expectations in kindergarten now are pretty much what they were when I was in first grade, and now we're doing it in a half day," said Carla Riewoldt, who teaches kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary. "With a full day, school would be more relaxed and we could take more time on some subjects."
"We already teach reading, adding, subtracting, money, telling time" in kindergarten, said Snyder, stressing that the required curriculum makes for a busy half day.
O'Bannon's proposal leaves the final decision on sending students to full- or half-day kindergarten up to parents, making the program totally voluntary.
The proposal was passed by the House Education Committee on Wednesday.
Most of the teachers, however, emphasize that kindergarten is not mandatory in Indiana now, and still most parents opt for sending their kids to school as soon as they can.
One concern with full-day kindergarten could be if the state lowers the eligibility age for students.
If the state moves the birthday deadline to September, Snyder said, making kindergarten students younger, that could create problems.
"Probably, overall, it would be beneficial," she said, "as long as we don't lose them if they're too immature."
Meck said she would prefer not to see them younger. "If they're too young, they're too immature to sit for long periods of time. They can't concentrate," she said.
Kindergarten students vary in maturity levels anyway, most teachers said, and Meck and Riewoldt said they would arrange for frequent breaks and an afternoon rest period for full-day kindergarten classes.
Because of the size of the kindergarten classes - Meck has 27 students in each of her morning and afternoon kindergarten classes - full-day kindergarten would require more teachers and probably more classroom space.
And the added staffing costs are a concern to Warsaw's school superintendent, Dr. Lee Harman.
"We have questions about how it's going to be financed," he said today, "whether it's going to be funded fully by the state or, down the road, local schools would be expected to pick up more and more of the cost."
Because all-day kindergarten would be voluntary, Harman said, it may be difficult to plan for.
"We hope if they do it they give us enough time to plan," he said. "I also hope each community would have enough influence" to run their own programs. [[In-content Ad]]
BY LAURIE HAHN, Times-Union Staff Writer
Kindergarten teachers in Warsaw Community Schools appear to be cautiously supportive of Gov. Frank O'Bannon's proposal for full-day kindergarten.
"I have mixed reactions," said Cindy Snyder, kindergarten teacher at Madison Elementary. "I think, for a lot of children, it would be a great thing - they would have more structure, we would be able to do more thematic units."
Angel Meck, kindergarten teacher at Washington Elementary, said she thinks full-day kindergarten is a good idea.
"I feel I can't get enough taught in the 2-1/2 hours we're here," she said.
The amount of subject matter kindergarten teachers must cover in a short period of time each day is a concern to many teachers, and a full day would help the students absorb the material, most said.
"The expectations in kindergarten now are pretty much what they were when I was in first grade, and now we're doing it in a half day," said Carla Riewoldt, who teaches kindergarten at Lincoln Elementary. "With a full day, school would be more relaxed and we could take more time on some subjects."
"We already teach reading, adding, subtracting, money, telling time" in kindergarten, said Snyder, stressing that the required curriculum makes for a busy half day.
O'Bannon's proposal leaves the final decision on sending students to full- or half-day kindergarten up to parents, making the program totally voluntary.
The proposal was passed by the House Education Committee on Wednesday.
Most of the teachers, however, emphasize that kindergarten is not mandatory in Indiana now, and still most parents opt for sending their kids to school as soon as they can.
One concern with full-day kindergarten could be if the state lowers the eligibility age for students.
If the state moves the birthday deadline to September, Snyder said, making kindergarten students younger, that could create problems.
"Probably, overall, it would be beneficial," she said, "as long as we don't lose them if they're too immature."
Meck said she would prefer not to see them younger. "If they're too young, they're too immature to sit for long periods of time. They can't concentrate," she said.
Kindergarten students vary in maturity levels anyway, most teachers said, and Meck and Riewoldt said they would arrange for frequent breaks and an afternoon rest period for full-day kindergarten classes.
Because of the size of the kindergarten classes - Meck has 27 students in each of her morning and afternoon kindergarten classes - full-day kindergarten would require more teachers and probably more classroom space.
And the added staffing costs are a concern to Warsaw's school superintendent, Dr. Lee Harman.
"We have questions about how it's going to be financed," he said today, "whether it's going to be funded fully by the state or, down the road, local schools would be expected to pick up more and more of the cost."
Because all-day kindergarten would be voluntary, Harman said, it may be difficult to plan for.
"We hope if they do it they give us enough time to plan," he said. "I also hope each community would have enough influence" to run their own programs. [[In-content Ad]]