By Lisa Mitchell
Patriot Editor
A visit to Albany Elementary showed just how much fun and educational kindergarten can be, especially now that students have a full day.
Albany teacher Joyce Sturtevant’s enthusiasm is evidence that the change has been for the better. She has watched her students grow by leaps and bounds.
One of the favorite activities of her classroom is kid writing: drawing a picture and writing a sentence with assistance from a teacher.
At the beginning of the year, Sturtevant thought the goal of her students being able to write four sentences per assignment was a lofty idea. But now, she says her students are eager to write four sentences, and even eight sentences, for the chance to squeeze a noise maker and ask their teacher to do a dance, the more popular being the “Chicken Dance.”
Wanting to share their success and enthusiasm, the Kutztown Area School District kindergarten teachers provided a presentation about the newly implemented full-day kindergarten to the school board on Feb. 16.
“Our kindergarten staff has done an exemplary job implementing the full-day kindergarten program,” said Robert Gross, superintendent.
There are 47 students at Albany Elementary and 61 students at Kutztown Elementary.
The five kindergarten teachers presented data, parent survey results and their own observations since the start of the full-day program six months ago. They have more time to interact with individual students and the students have more time to interact with one another.
Kutztown teacher Judy Gaffney said the district’s kindergarten teachers have been collaborating to generate common assessments and modify teaching approaches. They have been sharing resources and ideas, she said.
“The collaboration benefits our children tremendously,” said Gaffney.
Full-day kindergarten practices focus on developing the whole child, academically, emotionally and socially.
“We’re not only teaching to their head but their heart also,” said Gaffney.
The teachers have also visited each other’s classrooms and established full-day kindergarten classrooms at other districts.
Some of the advantages to extending kindergarten from a half day to full day is more time.
“We have more time to interact with the children, with each and every child. And they now have time to interact with each other,” said Sturtevant.
Another advantage is the students are more aware of the classroom routine, which prepares them for the transition to first grade, said Sturtevant.
“They become more a part of the school environment,” she said. “They now have more of a sense of community. They have a sense of belonging to the Kutztown Area School District.”
Kutztown teacher Nikki Yergey said a lot goes on in the classroom each day. The schedule includes math, social studies, enrichment and remediation, art, reading, kid writing and centers. There are also two time slots set aside for recess.
Children learn through play. Yergey said the students learn social interaction, how to share, how to use manners and team work. They can choose an activity and play with other students.
“This is a time in the day to practice a life-long skill, making decisions,” said Yergey.
Kutztown teacher Sara Patton explained that centers are hands-on activities, during which time the class divides into small groups and work on projects independently.
“The whole day is very fun for them because it’s all hands on. There are no worksheets,” said Patton.
Albany teacher Amanda Harden explained that kid writing is an individualized approach to the writing process. The student first draws a picture of the topic of choice. Then they write a sentence with assistance from an instructor. Then, an instructor writes corrections.
“Kid writing is very motivating because they’re able to choose their own topics,” said Harden.
They love to make up their own stories. Also, they can work at their own pace, she said.
“Kid writing is a spring board for reading. If students can write it, they can also read it,” said Harden.
Other advantages of full-day kindergarten include more time for specialist collaboration for areas such as math and reading. There is also more time for music, fitness, art, computers, guidance, reading and visiting the library.
“This is very important for our goal of educating the whole child,” said Gaffney.
Teachers also now have common assessments and data.
A parent survey showed that parents have seen significant progress in all academic areas, especially writing. They have also seen a higher interest in learning from kindergartners.
Parents have seen their children’s social confidence grow and their peer relationships improve.
Some of the concerns expressed in the survey include large class size and some children show fatigue at the end of the day.
Some of the benefits, according to the survey, include more time for learning and social growth, easier transition into first grade, half-day transportation arrangements have been eliminated and child-care costs have decreased.
