Issue #7: There is lack of consideration for all the motivations that make this program appear desirable. The BOE and the Administration state that the primary reason for implementing an all-day Kindergarten program is to better prepare students for the increased academic standards they will face as compared to students of the past. They should be commended for “taking the high road,” but in truth, don’t we need to consider that some of the parents might have other motivations for wanting all-day Kindergarten?
Might those parents be saying “yes” because:
- They interpret the administration’s statements that “this program helps prepare students for increased academic standards” to mean that the benefits extend until the time period where the actual increased academic standards are tested via the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMTs), which is not the case. (See Issue #3 in this series, “Lack of recognition of telling, scientific findings.”)
- The household has two working parents who will otherwise have to pay for childcare or a private full-day Kindergarten program, and the all-day Kindergarten option will provide a personal cost savings of up to $7,000 per child. (Yes, some private schools in this area charge between $7,000 and $8,000 per year per child for their full-day Kindergarten program.)
- They feel all students should have equal services, and, knowing that some classrooms of all-day Kindergarten exist, they feel compelled to request that for their own child.
- Their desire for all-day Kindergarten is likely compounded by the administration’s claims that the state as a whole is moving towards full day Kindergarten, when in fact only 10.9% of Kindergarten students in DRG C attended a public all-day Kindergarten program in 2007. Perhaps more surprising: DRG A (a wealthier demographic) had only 10.0% of its Kindergarten students in all-day Kindergarten.
- They are not aware that in fact it is the poorer Connecticut communities that provide all-day Kindergarten to the greatest percentage of their population. This is widely understood to be because these children get better care at the school than their families can provide given their economic circumstances.
- They lack the parenting skills to supplement the half-day Kindergarten experience with the necessary reading, math and socialization that leads to future success in the classroom, and are counting on the teachers to make up for their shortcomings via the all-day Kindergarten program.
- They prefer to take advantage of a no-cost service to care for their children in order to have time to pursue their own interests.
If parents are saying yes for other reasons, which ones make all-day Kindergarten the responsibility of ALL Hebron taxpayers?