FAQ: Shifting to a Full-Day Kindergarten Program in Ridgewood
● Why is the District considering a full-day program after years of a successful half-day program?
○ The definition of success has shifted with the times, and although Ridgewood has a high-quality Kindergarten program, it is rushed and lacks adequate time for structured socialization and free play. Students who encounter more structured play around learning will better internalize that learning because at this age, play is how children learn. Additionally, social skills such as executive functioning and self-regulation of behavior are learned through play, often which is unstructured. A half-day program does not allow time for these essential learning opportunities for our students.
● How will the curriculum of a full-day program differ from that of the half-day program?
○ A full-time program will include more time for learning centers, which are essentially structured play experiences designed to reinforce conceptual learning. Additionally, more time will be dedicated to free-play centers, in which students make up rules to self-created games and make-believe. This free-play socialization will be supervised by, not structured by, adults. Another change to the day is that students will remain in school for lunch and will have snack and extended time for key content such as shared reading and writing.
● What would be the daily schedule and hours of a full-day program?
○ Kindergarten will run on the same schedule as the other grades in the school (8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.). A daily schedule for the full-day program was shared with the Board of Education and the public at the June 28, 2016 Board meeting. That presentation can be found in the Board of Education Presentations folder on the Curriculum page of the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
● How many other districts still have half-day Kindergarten programs?
○ Ridgewood is the only half-day program left in Bergen County. There are very few districts left in the state with a half-day program. The most common Kindergarten programs offer five full-days of school. Those districts which were half-day have mostly moved to full-day programs in the last five years. In 2014, 73% of programs statewide were full-day. The percentage was even higher in Bergen County, where 65 out of 72 districts (about 90%) offered full day programs. Since 2014, Glen Rock, Fairlawn, Rutherford, Mahwah, Waldwick and Midland Park have moved to fullday Kindergarten. The Ramsey Kindergarten program consists of an optional, fee-based enrichment extended-day program, which the vast majority of children attend. Allendale, Franklin Lakes and Wyckoff have programs consisting of two halfdays / three full days, a model that is not very popular and the implementation cost is equal to that of a traditional full-day program.
● Would parents be required to enroll their children for the entire day if Ridgewood moved to full-day Kindergarten?
○ Yes, if the Ridgewood Public School district shifts to a full-day Kindergarten program, all enrolled students will be registered for five full days each week.
● Where will Kindergarten children eat lunch?
○ This will be a building-by-building decision, based on space and what the principal deems best for the program in their building.
● Will Kindergarten students have recess with all other students and how will their recess be supervised? ○ Kindergarten students would have more than one “recess” play time in their schedule. The schedule, location, and supervision of that recess would depend on individual building schedules. However, in all buildings the recess/lunch period of 45 minutes would be extended to one hour for Kindergarten students. Classroom teachers would supervise the additional 15 minutes at the end of recess to settle students down and prepare them for afternoon learning sessions.
● What are the anticipated class sizes for a full-day program? ○ Kindergarten class sizes would follow the Ridgewood Board of Education guidelines of 18 to 22 children per classroom.
● Can the district facilities / physical spaces accommodate full-day Kindergarten?
○ In November 2015 demographic consultant Ross Haber presented to the Board of Education the results of an enrollment and facility utilization study in which all of the Ridgewood elementary principals participated by discussing their buildings and classroom space. The report shows that over the last three years the district has seen a decrease in enrollment and indicates that our elementary schools can accommodate full-day Kindergarten. The demographer’s report is available for reading in the Fullday Kindergarten Exploratory Committee folder on the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment page of the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
● How will the decision be made to move to full-day Kindergarten in Ridgewood?
○ On General Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, Ridgewood voters will be asked to approve full-day Kindergarten in the District. This vote will be done in the form of a “second question” on the ballot. All residents who are registered voters may participate. Voter registration forms may be found at on the Bergen County website at https://www.co.bergen.nj.us/DocumentCenter/View/1224.
● What is the purpose of a second question on a ballot?
○ A second question can only be placed on the ballot when a school district is asking for something new, such as full-day Kindergarten or a new program. Since the costs of these additional services and associated personnel can exceed the state-imposed two percent cap on budget increases, the public must vote on them.
● What would be the tax impact on a “yes” vote for the second question on full-day Kindergarten?
○ If full-day Kindergarten is passed by the voters, the average Village assessed home of $693,904 would have taxes increased by approximately $111.
● Is there any possibility that the State will require districts to provide full-day Kindergarten?
○ This is not known at this time.
● Where can I go for more information on full-day Kindergarten in Ridgewood?
○ The Full-day Kindergarten Exploratory folder may be found on the Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment page of the district website at www.ridgewood.k12.nj.us.
Revised August 23, 2016
How about free play and socialization in the afternoon, after morning pre-k
They talk about structured play, recess and make-believe. Snack and lunch time.
my three kids did half day k. Afternoons were spent with friends, dance/karate/soccer. And down time. They were able to play with toys by themselves.
The district is trying to include childhood in full day K. They do not need to organize structured play, make believe and lunch. Parents without teacher certification have been doing this for years. The school system should stick to age appropriate education, and that means half day K for 5 year olds.
Wow! Before you know it the annual school budget will be $100,000,000
Great lets hire more Teachers for basic day care, free organized play time and pay for their retirements forever and ever..meantime dads and moms at the,I’d day to afternoon gym , yoga and Starbucks fulfilling their dreams of more Idle time away from their kids.We are not EUROPE yet Ridgewood..they Tax the hell out of their citizens for their Nannie States?
The letter from the BOE describes childhood – except that the village ants to structure childhood.
Ridgewood had a full day kindergarten at Hawes school 25 years ago. Were records kept as to how successfully that worked out? They had to quit when class sizes became too big. All our elementary schools have an extra classroom to be used for kindergarten? And extra teachers and aides must be hired (and provided with benefits for life.) This is a very costly endeavor.
Ridgewood students have very little free time to participate in all the activities this town offers. We did not have all these options years ago, but my child was still cranky and tired when he came home from a full day of kindergarten.
Is make-believe part of Common Core?
My vote is “NO” until the BOE settles the teacher contract. I have a feeling I am not alone in my thinking. My kids are in High School now. I am in NEED of teacher recommendations, etc……. I’ll be darned if I will support a tax increase for 5/6 year olds to socialize.
I will vote no with or without the teachers’ contract. N-O.
Full-day K is and would be more age-appropriate as the current 2.5 hour program is all work, non-stop, and paced in a way that is actually more stressful to five year olds. The kids need to work at a more relaxed pace than they currently are to fully benefit and more time in their school day would give them the opportunity to do this.
Sure, I have no problem with full-day K. Heck, have 8:00 am – 6:00 pm K. Just do it within the CURRENT budget. No way does the BOE need another $1 million to provide another 2 or 3 hours of education (if that’s what it is…) for K students. Perhaps the BOE could forgo a small portion of the administrators, assistants and bureaucrats to fund it.