PORT ANGELES — Although kindergartners will be in school next year about half the hours as this year, the extended-day model is a proven method for helping the most needy students, Assistant Superintendent Mary Hebert said.
The Port Angeles School Board on Monday voted to forgo full-day kindergarten because of lack of funds to support it.
The action rescinded the board’s June 8 action, which implemented a full-day program that was tuition-based.
Plans for half-day
Hebert also said Tuesday that although in the past half-day kindergarten was 2 ½ hours long, she is working on a plan that could lengthen it to three hours.
“At that age, every minute counts,” Hebert said.
“At the kindergarten level, sometimes lining up can take 20 minutes, so it could be really beneficial.”
Full-day kindergarten was provided at all schools in the 2008-2009 school year. It was for six hours and included a break for lunch, Hebert said.
The extended-day kindergarten allows 12 students at each school to stay for the full day, Hebert said.
“The children who the teachers feel are most at need for extra help are invited to stay for an afternoon session,” she said.
“So the extended-day model addresses the teachers’ biggest worry — the students who need that extra help.”
The students are continuously evaluated and, once they are caught up, are allowed to return to regular half-day. Other students are then invited to the afternoon session.
Hebert said that initially some teachers worried they wouldn’t have the focused time with the most at-need students.
“To be honest, they were resistant to full-day at first,” she said.
“There was a fear that, now in the classroom we have 22 kids, and how do we meet those remedial needs?”
Addressing needs
She said that full-day kindergarten was successful at addressing those needs though, she said.
“We did find that in full day we were able to address every student’s needs, including those who were ready for more,” Hebert said.
“But if we can’t afford full day, I’m happy that extended day can be offered because it has a proven record of addressing those who need the most help.
“We are excited to see how they progress through the next several years — I think it will be an example of what the program could do.”
The extended-day model was developed several years ago when Hebert was principal at Dry Creek Elementary School, she said.
It was developed to close the gap between students who came to school ready to learn to read and write and those who haven’t had any formal learning experience.
“We found that to be very successful,” she said.
“And slowly the other schools started implementing it throughout the district.
“Even Sen. [James] Hargrove, who thought that full day was too expensive, was very impressed with the Dry Creek model,” she said.
Hargrove is one of three state lawmakers representing the 24th District, which covers Clallam, Jefferson and part of Grays Harbor counties.
“So if we can’t have full day for everyone, it is a great alternative,” Hebert said.
Hebert also said that she and the elementary school principals were not supportive of the tuition-based model because it would mean that a gap in learning would be created between students whose parents could afford to send them to full-day kindergarten and those whose parents couldn’t.
“I, and the elementary principals who tried to communicate before, have the worry that the gap that will be created in learning will be too hard to close,” Hebert said.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
