FALLOWFIELD TOWNSHIP - Full-day kindergarten is expected to be offered in the Charleroi Area School District in time for the start of the 2005-06 school year.
Members of a volunteer committee comprised of parents held their final meeting with district administrators, Superintendent Dr. Brad Ferko told the school board at its informational meeting Tuesday. Those sessions have been ongoing throughout the school year, he said.
Ferko commended the parents group for its work and ultimately its recommendations to administrators about making the transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten. The volunteer committee even visited one school in West Virginia and others in Pennsylvania that offer full-day kindergarten programs, Ferko noted.
Ferko told the board the administration will recommend the board approve the full-day program for the 2005-06 school year.
A full-day program would be enacted because of a change in the teaching philosophy for the youngest students and not because of an increase in the number of new students, Ferko said.
That philosophy includes more time for English language arts such as recognition of the alphabet, Ferko said.
Educators have debated whether the focus in kindergarten should be on academics or development, Ferko said.
"I think it has to be a developmental time," Ferko said. "We have kids with a wide variety of abilities. Some can write their names, but others may not recognize the alphabet yet."
Ferko said the switch to full-day kindergarten will come at no additional costs to the taxpayers. The district will tap into its Accountability Block Grant Program to pay for one or two additional teachers, roughly $40,000 each including salary and benefits.
Currently, three classroom teachers and two Title I educators serve the kindergarten program.
Meanwhile, the school board will consider two possible school calendars for 2005-06.
But Ferko said the administration will recommend a calendar that includes early dismissal four times - once each in September, October, January and March.
When students head home early, teachers would remain for about two hours for what Ferko called "professional development." Citing an example, Ferko said teachers in grade six through 12 could discuss curriculum in similar subjects. Teachers do not get many such opportunities to compare notes, he noted.
