At Arellanes Elementary School, the kindergartners have joined the big kids.
When the first bell of the school year rang Aug. 12, 46 kindergartners had packed for a full day at school—not just for one half-day session as in years past, but a whole day, beginning at 7:45 a.m. and ending at 2:10 p.m., just like everyone else.
“If we have kids who have more time in the classroom, we’re going to be able to have a greater impact on things like literacy skills,” Arellanes Principal Ron Smith said.
The full-day program at this school is a two-year pilot program to examine the effects of a full day at school on kindergarteners.
“We’re hoping that we have some great success and that this is a model that we can move out to other sites,” Smith said.
The teachers came up with the idea, he said, and quickly gained school, parent, and district support. Teachers had been kicking around a Duke University research paper called “Effects of Full-Day Kindergarten on Academic Achievement and Social Development.” Smith said conversations began last December and quickly materialized into the new program.
The research paper lists a host of possible benefits from full-day programs such as better reading skills, especially for non-English speaking students, and an easier transition to first grade. However, the list of possible cons is almost as long. The paper says these programs can increase teachers’ expectations of incoming first graders, prolong the adjustment period to school, and create fatigue-induced behavioral problems.
Those potential negative effects are why Smith, the teachers, and administrators plan to keep a close eye on the program and have added staff to increase support to each classroom.
Each 23-student kindergarten classroom will have two staff members throughout the day—a teacher and a non-credentialed aide. Added to the mix is a part-time educator the school calls a “teacher tutor,” who, like the teacher, can run targeted educational activities.
The program does come with added expense. Smith said the two aides, paid for by the school, cost $30,000. But the cost of the “teacher tutors,” Smith said, is borne by the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.
It’s a commitment, Smith said, made with broad support among parents, teachers, and district administrators. And if it’s still popular when the final bell strikes in two years, he said, programs like it could spread across the district.
This article appears in Aug 15-22, 2019.