Gibraltar School Board Approves All Day Kindergarten
Gibraltar School Board Approves All Day Kindergarten
Following the recommendation of the Early Childhood Advisory Committee the Gibraltar School Board unanimously voted to institute all day programs in both the kindergarten and young five classes. This decision came after many hours of research, financial analysis, and discussion of the educational needs of our youngest students. Educational research shows that full day programs show significant student gains for all children but particularly the “at risk” population. All students who attended all day kindergarten performed at considerably higher levels and scored higher on standardized tests. All day programs had fewer grade retentions and fewer special education needs. Also, children showed a stronger development of social skills particularly conflict resolution as well as a greater sense of belonging to the school community. The curriculum in all day programs can be expanded so that topics of study can be explored with greater breadth and with opportunities for more individualization. Teachers of all day programs find that they are provided with the time to get to know the children better and then can better address the needs of individuals as well as the group.
The financial considerations for this change to all day kindergarten is prompted by the fact that the state will no longer provide full funding for half day programs. Moving to an all day program will assure that our district receives full funding for kindergarten from the state. The Board of Education as well as the Early Childhood Committee discussed the need for our district to be competitive with surrounding districts and charter schools that currently have all day programs. It was also noted that almost 70% of our country now provides full day programs for kindergarten children. 
Another huge benefit for students in an all day program is the fact that our young students will be with a professional educator for their entire school day. A full day program assists parents with finding quality full day placement for their kindergarten age children. Families in our community will be able to have their children attend school all day without additional out of pocket costs for day care. All kindergarten and young five teachers are continuing to meet and develop curriculum plans for the all day program. These teachers will be carefully looking at all state mandated kindergarten grade level expectations. Our teachers and our schools will be well prepared for our first all day kindergarten and young five programs for the 2009-2010 school year.
Click here to view the Board Presenation on 'All Day Kindergarten' in Gibraltar.
