Changes at the state level affect local kindergarten program
As the parent of any 5-year-old can attest, sending a child off to their first day of kindergarten can be stressful.
That stress level is magnified when the program changes because of changes coming out of Columbus.
As community members prepare for the opportunity to share their thoughts on the Wooster City School District’s kindergarten program during a Table Top Discussion August 15, from 5-7 p.m., at the Wayne County Public Library, district officials, parents and community members all agree that community feedback is needed to ensure the success of a program that has been heavily affected by a series of abrupt policy changes at the state level.
Changes to kindergarten requirements began when the Ohio General Assembly mandated all-day every-day kindergarten in 2009 as part of former Gov. Ted Strickland’s sweeping educational reform package.
While the legislation allowed districts to request a waiver from the all-day every-day mandate if they could prove financial hardship, many districts throughout Ohio, who were already looking at the possibility of moving to an all-day every-day experience, took the opportunity to transition to an all-day every-day kindergarten program, including Wooster.
While Strickland’s plan called for state funding for full-day programs to follow, the dollars never actually materialized, in part because of the growing state budget crisis caused by the economic downturn.
When Gov. John Kasich took office in January he moved swiftly to repeal unfunded mandates including mandatory all-day every-day kindergarten, forcing districts like Wooster to either return to a half-day format or run a full-day program with state funding based on a half-day program.
Wooster ultimately chose to take a hybrid approach.
This spring district officials announced that parents in the Wooster City School District would have the option of enrolling their kindergarten student in either a half or full-day program. While enrollment in the half-day program would be free of charge, those wishing to provide their child with a full-day experience would be required to pay tuition on a sliding scale basis.
Under the district’s plan, families eligible for free lunches under federal programs will pay no tuition while those families who are eligible for reduced cost lunches will pay $120 per month. All other families will pay $190 per month.
This summer incoming kindergarten families were asked to complete a survey and choose either the half or full-day option for their student. By mid-July roughly 75 percent of the parents had responded. Of the respondents, just over 80 percent selected the full-day option.
Based on this information, Mark Stefanik, director of elementary education, made an announcement July 14 that there would be 12 kindergarten classrooms throughout the district’s six elementary school buildings.
Kean will have one all-day and one half-day kindergarten classroom while Cornerstone, Melrose, Parkview and Wayne will each have two all-day kindergarten classrooms. Of the two kindergarten classrooms at Lincoln Way, one will be used for all-day kindergarten. Whether the other classroom will be designated as a full-day or half-day classroom will be determined once registration is complete.
More information on the Wooster City School District’s kindergarten program, including samples of the schedules for the half and full-day programs, frequently asked questions on the kindergarten program, a parent guide for kindergarten families produced by the Ohio Department of Education and questions and answers from the kindergarten parent meetings held this summer can be found by following the Kindergarten Information link on the district’s main web page at http://www.woostercityschools.org.
That stress level is magnified when the program changes because of changes coming out of Columbus.
As community members prepare for the opportunity to share their thoughts on the Wooster City School District’s kindergarten program during a Table Top Discussion August 15, from 5-7 p.m., at the Wayne County Public Library, district officials, parents and community members all agree that community feedback is needed to ensure the success of a program that has been heavily affected by a series of abrupt policy changes at the state level.
Changes to kindergarten requirements began when the Ohio General Assembly mandated all-day every-day kindergarten in 2009 as part of former Gov. Ted Strickland’s sweeping educational reform package.
While the legislation allowed districts to request a waiver from the all-day every-day mandate if they could prove financial hardship, many districts throughout Ohio, who were already looking at the possibility of moving to an all-day every-day experience, took the opportunity to transition to an all-day every-day kindergarten program, including Wooster.
While Strickland’s plan called for state funding for full-day programs to follow, the dollars never actually materialized, in part because of the growing state budget crisis caused by the economic downturn.
When Gov. John Kasich took office in January he moved swiftly to repeal unfunded mandates including mandatory all-day every-day kindergarten, forcing districts like Wooster to either return to a half-day format or run a full-day program with state funding based on a half-day program.
Wooster ultimately chose to take a hybrid approach.
This spring district officials announced that parents in the Wooster City School District would have the option of enrolling their kindergarten student in either a half or full-day program. While enrollment in the half-day program would be free of charge, those wishing to provide their child with a full-day experience would be required to pay tuition on a sliding scale basis.
Under the district’s plan, families eligible for free lunches under federal programs will pay no tuition while those families who are eligible for reduced cost lunches will pay $120 per month. All other families will pay $190 per month.
This summer incoming kindergarten families were asked to complete a survey and choose either the half or full-day option for their student. By mid-July roughly 75 percent of the parents had responded. Of the respondents, just over 80 percent selected the full-day option.
Based on this information, Mark Stefanik, director of elementary education, made an announcement July 14 that there would be 12 kindergarten classrooms throughout the district’s six elementary school buildings.
Kean will have one all-day and one half-day kindergarten classroom while Cornerstone, Melrose, Parkview and Wayne will each have two all-day kindergarten classrooms. Of the two kindergarten classrooms at Lincoln Way, one will be used for all-day kindergarten. Whether the other classroom will be designated as a full-day or half-day classroom will be determined once registration is complete.
More information on the Wooster City School District’s kindergarten program, including samples of the schedules for the half and full-day programs, frequently asked questions on the kindergarten program, a parent guide for kindergarten families produced by the Ohio Department of Education and questions and answers from the kindergarten parent meetings held this summer can be found by following the Kindergarten Information link on the district’s main web page at http://www.woostercityschools.org.
Published: August 3, 2011
