Pennsylvania Department of Education – Alteration and/or Curtailment of Programs – the Kindergarten Discussion

January 7, 2011

 

The way I understand the situation from speaking directly to PDE (not anyone from the school district), is that since kindergarten is NOT a requirement in Pennsylvania, the PDE does not have authority to approve or deny an alteration or curtailment in the kindergarten program from full day to half day (or, quite honestly, from full day to no kindergarten – kindergarten does NOT have to be provided by any PA school districts). 

The choice to curtail or alter the kindergarten program lies with the school board, who I am sure will take advice and direction from the school solicitor, superintendent, school administrators, ect.

MONDAY, JANUARY 10TH - COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING AT 7:30PM AT THE MATTHEW BROOKE BUILDING IN BIRDSBORO.

Today’s article in The Reading Eagle -  

Originally Published: 1/7/2011  

Kindergarten change possible

  

“As a result of a projected $6.5 million budget deficit for next year, Daniel Boone School District officials will consider dropping the full-day kindergarten program and reducing it to a half-day.”

For complete article go to http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=277464

PA Dept of Ed Code:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/purdon’s_statutes/7503/alteration_and_or_curtailment_of_programs/507333

“Alteration and/or Curtailment of Programs
 
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24 P.S. §11-1124

DATE OF ISSUE: July 1, 2002

 DATE OF REVIEW: July 1, 2009

PURPOSE

Section 1124 of the School Code provides that: Any board of school directors may suspend the necessary number of professional employes, for any of the causes herein enumerated:

(1)   Substantial decrease in pupil enrollment in the school district;

(2)   curtailment or alteration of the educational program on recommendation of  the superintendent, concurred in by the board of school directors, approved  by the Department of Public Instruction, as a result of substantial decline in class or course enrollments or to conform with standards of organization or educational activities required by law or recommended by the Department  of Public Instruction

PROCEDURES

The Pennsylvania Department of Education will review requests for curtailment or alteration of the educational program of a school district using the following criteria:

  1. The Department will approve a school district’s request to curtail or alter an educational program if the district establishes that the curtailment or alteration is the result of a substantial decline in class or course enrollments. Generally, to establish that the curtailment or alteration is the result of a substantial decline in class or course enrollments, the school district must submit enrollment data, certified by the district Superintendent, which demonstrates the following:
    1. that enrollment in the class or course has decreased at least 20% from the school year five years prior; or
    2. that enrollment for the class or course is less than ten students.
  2. The Department will approve a school district’s request to curtail or alter an educational program if the district establishes that the curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with standards of organization. Generally, to establish that a curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with standards of organization, the school district, through information certified by the district Superintendent, must demonstrate that the requested curtailment or alteration will effect a change in the school or school district’s organization or curriculum that results in a more effective educational program.
  3. The Department will approve a school district’s request to curtail or alter an educational program if the district establishes that the curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with educational activities recommended by the Department. To establish that a  curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with educational activities recommended by the Department, the school district, through information certified by the district superintendent, must identify the specific department recommendation that serves as the basis for the curtailment or alteration. In determining whether to approve the curtailment or alteration, the department reserves the right to modify or withdraw any recommendation regarding educational activities that was previously issued.
  4. The Department will approve a school district’s request to curtail or alter an educational program if the district establishes that the curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with educational activities required by law. To establish that a curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with educational activities required by law, the school district, through information certified by the district superintendent, must identify the specific law that serves as the basis for the curtailment or alteration.

 

All requests must include a copy of the Board Action as recorded in the Board minutes as evidence of approval by the school district’s board of school directors.

For purposes of this section, certification that the district will remain in compliance with minimum curriculum requirements is not adequate proof that the curtailment or alteration is necessary to conform with educational activities required by law.

REFERENCES:

Purdon’s Statutes

24 P.S. §9-963(e)

24 P.S. §11-1124

24 P.S. §18-1850.1(b)(9)

CONTACT BUREAU/OFFICE:

School Services Unit

Office of Elementary/Secondary Education

Pennsylvania Department of Education

333 Market Street, 5th Floor

Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333

Voice: 717.787.4860

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For additional information, please contact:

School Services Unit |
Pennsylvania Department of Education – Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
333 Market Street | Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333
Phone: 717.787.4860 | Fax: 717.214.4389
RA-PDE-SchoolService@state.pa.us | www.education.state.pa.us

Leave a Comment » | Daniel Boone School District, Kindergarteners | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers

July 29, 2010

My Comment:  A big thank- you to one of our blog readers, Brian, who was kind enough to bring my attention to this great article!  Thanks, Brian, for caring about our kids and school district!

To the Daniel Boone School Board:  I know none of you want to see the full-day kindergarten program get reduced to a half-day, and I realize that entertaining that idea is a last-resort option.  This article is definately worth the read and may give you some thought.  I appreciate you taking the time to read it.  The full-day kindergarten program is one of the strong points of the Daniel Boone School District and it would take away a lot from the district if it was reduced.

The Case for $320,000 Kindergarten Teachers

nytimes

On Wednesday July 28, 2010, 1:25 am EDT

How much do your kindergarten teacher and classmates affect the rest of your life?

Economists have generally thought that the answer was not much. Great teachers and early childhood programs can have a big short-term effect. But the impact tends to fade. By junior high and high school, children who had excellent early schooling do little better on tests than similar children who did not — which raises the demoralizing question of how much of a difference schools and teachers can make.

There has always been one major caveat, however, to the research on the fade-out effect. It was based mainly on test scores, not on a broader set of measures, like a child’s health or eventual earnings. As Raj Chetty, a Harvard economist, says: “We don’t really care about test scores. We care about adult outcomes.”

Early this year, Mr. Chetty and five other researchers set out to fill this void. They examined the life paths of almost 12,000 children who had been part of a well-known education experiment in Tennessee in the 1980s. The children are now about 30, well started on their adult lives.

On Tuesday, Mr. Chetty presented the findings — not yet peer-reviewed — at an academic conference in Cambridge, Mass. They’re fairly explosive.

Just as in other studies, the Tennessee experiment found that some teachers were able to help students learn vastly more than other teachers. And just as in other studies, the effect largely disappeared by junior high, based on test scores. Yet when Mr. Chetty and his colleagues took another look at the students in adulthood, they discovered that the legacy of kindergarten had re-emerged.

Students who had learned much more in kindergarten were more likely to go to college than students with otherwise similar backgrounds. Students who learned more were also less likely to become single parents. As adults, they were more likely to be saving for retirement. Perhaps most striking, they were earning more.

All else equal, they were making about an extra $100 a year at age 27 for every percentile they had moved up the test-score distribution over the course of kindergarten. A student who went from average to the 60th percentile — a typical jump for a 5-year-old with a good teacher — could expect to make about $1,000 more a year at age 27 than a student who remained at the average. Over time, the effect seems to grow, too.

The economists don’t pretend to know the exact causes. But it’s not hard to come up with plausible guesses. Good early education can impart skills that last a lifetime — patience, discipline, manners, perseverance. The tests that 5-year-olds take may pick up these skills, even if later multiple-choice tests do not.

Now happens to be a particularly good time for a study like this. With the economy still terribly weak, many people are understandably unsure about the value of education. They see that even college graduates have lost their jobs in the recession.

Barely a week seems to go by without a newspaper or television station running a report suggesting that education is overrated. These stories quote liberal groups, like the Economic Policy Institute, that argue that an education can’t protect workers in today’s global economy. Or they quote conservatives, like Charles Murray and Ramesh Ponnuru, who suggest that people who haven’t graduated from college aren’t smart enough to do so.

But the anti-education case usually relies on a combination of anecdotes and selective facts. In truth, the gap between the pay of college graduates and everyone else grew to a record last year, according to the Labor Department, and unemployment has risen far more for the less educated.

This is not simply because smart people — people who would do well no matter what — tend to graduate from college. Education itself can make a difference. A long line of economic research, by Julie Berry Cullen, James Heckman, Philip Oreopoulos and many others, has found as much. The study by Mr. Chetty and his colleagues is the latest piece of evidence.

•

The crucial problem the study had to solve was the old causation-correlation problem. Are children who do well on kindergarten tests destined to do better in life, based on who they are? Or are their teacher and classmates changing them?

The Tennessee experiment, known as Project Star, offered a chance to answer these questions because it randomly assigned students to a kindergarten class. As a result, the classes had fairly similar socioeconomic mixes of students and could be expected to perform similarly on the tests given at the end of kindergarten.

Yet they didn’t. Some classes did far better than others. The differences were too big to be explained by randomness. (Similarly, when the researchers looked at entering and exiting test scores in first, second and third grades, they found that some classes made much more progress than others.)

Class size — which was the impetus of Project Star — evidently played some role. Classes with 13 to 17 students did better than classes with 22 to 25. Peers also seem to matter. In classes with a somewhat higher average socioeconomic status, all the students tended to do a little better.

But neither of these factors came close to explaining the variation in class performance. So another cause seemed to be the explanation: teachers.

Some are highly effective. Some are not. And the differences can affect students for years to come.

When I asked Douglas Staiger, a Dartmouth economist who studies education, what he thought of the new paper, he called it fascinating and potentially important. “The worry has been that education didn’t translate into earnings,” Mr. Staiger said. “But this is telling us that it does and that the fade-out effect is misleading in some sense.”

Mr. Chetty and his colleagues — one of whom, Emmanuel Saez, recently won the prize for the top research economist under the age of 40 — estimate that a standout kindergarten teacher is worth about $320,000 a year. That’s the present value of the additional money that a full class of students can expect to earn over their careers. This estimate doesn’t take into account social gains, like better health and less crime.

Obviously, great kindergarten teachers are not going to start making $320,000 anytime soon. Still, school administrators can do more than they’re doing.

They can pay their best teachers more, as Pittsburgh soon will, and give them the support they deserve. Administrators can fire more of their worst teachers, as Michelle Rhee, the Washington schools chancellor, did last week. Schools can also make sure standardized tests are measuring real student skills and teacher quality, as teachers’ unions have urged.

Given today’s budget pressures, finding the money for any new programs will be difficult. But that’s all the more reason to focus our scarce resources on investments whose benefits won’t simply fade away.

E-mail: leonhardt@nytimes.com

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Case-for-320000-nytimes-1374672440.html?x=0&mod=pf-college-education

2 Comments | Kindergarteners | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

Oley Valley summer session gets kids ready for kindergarten

July 12, 2010

Comment:  I love this idea!  We have a lot of really great quality preschools, but I think it really helps the kids get off to a great start to have a program like this.  I know Daniel Boone has a one week program in the summer for incoming kindergartners that is excellent.  Programs like these are especially important when the children are going into full-day kindergarten.

Originally Published: 7/12/2010    By Ron Devlin  Reading Eagle

In Michelle Goodhart’s class at Oley Valley Elementary, Mayven Small is learning to write her name.

With a big yellow crayon, the 5-year-old goes over an outline of “MAYVEN” on a piece of white paper. She repeats the exercise with red, yellow and orange crayons.

“Be sure to use all the colors,” Goodhart urged.

Mayven and about a dozen other children are doing something called “rainbow writing.”

They are using repetition to learn the dexterity needed to write their names – a skill that will be expected when they report for kindergarten in several weeks.

That’s just one of the lessons in Oley’s Summer Academy 1, a four-week orientation program that gives incoming students a taste of what kindergarten will be like.

“It gives the children a kind of jump-start,” Goodhart said. “When they report for kindergarten, they will find the classroom less intimidating.”
 

For the full article, please go to:  http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=233829

Leave a Comment » | Education in Berks County, Kindergarteners | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

Handwriting skills for outgoing kindergartners

June 13, 2010

My Comment:  One of my favorite blogs I read daily from a kindergarten teacher.  Great for teachers and great for parents of kindergartners!  Keep up the great work! 

kindergartenteacherclaire | June 13, 2010 at 11:38 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pAo7s-9f

One request that Kindergarten teachers receive every year from first grade teachers has to do with handwriting.  Kindergarten teachers are so excited to take young children from scribbling, to writing using random letters, to beginning sounds, to both beginning and ending sounds, and finally to almost writing an entire word, that we although we try to focus on correct letter formation, it often doesn’t happen.  First grade teachers spend a lot of time on correct letter formation and correct sizing of each letter.  Kindergartners will write the word ‘the’ using the same size for all three letters and not really seeing that the t and h are tall, and that the e, is not. To help your child write the letters better in first grade, take a moment to read an excerpt from an article by a trained occupational therapist and you will be reminded of all of the skills needed by your child for correct letter formation. Your child should be writing every day, summer vacation or not.  Every day! This is the only way to improve the correct formation of the letters needed for handwriting.

Leonora T. Bradley, MS, OTR,  states that there are 8 skills that need to be developed for successful handwriting:

★ Visual memory- knowing what each letter looks like; the ability to name letters and numbers quickly from a random list, as well as being able to visualize a letter or number without actually seeing it.

★ Orientation- the ability to position letters and numbers in the correct direction; ability to print them without reversals or inversions.

★ Placement- the ability to place letters and numbers correctly on the baseline and between lines as needed.

★ Size- the ability to write in an age/grade appropriate size.

★ Start- the ability to start capital and lowercase letters (& numbers) in the correct spot; for capital letters, this should be the top. For lowercase letters, the starting point may vary based on the curriculum.

★ Sequence- the ability to “form” the letter with the parts in the correct order and direction with consistency.

★ Control- the ability to print the letter parts neatly and without gaps, overlaps, or extra tracings.

★ Spacing- the ability to keep letters in words close together while leaving appropriate space between words in sentences. 

If your child is having difficulty with handwriting at school, it is important to realize that handwriting issues can be improved greatly through the proper assessment, instruction, and carryover for practice at home. Most times, this practice only needs to be about 10-15 minutes per day.

Leave a Comment » | Handwriting, Kindergarteners | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

Clarification on a quote from a Daniel Boone School Board Member

May 25, 2010

My Comment:  Thanks so much to Walt Sheehan, for taking the time to clarify this statement on an article entitled  ”Daniel Boone dips into Reserves to Balance Budget” published on May 21st, 2010 in The Pottstown Mercury.  http://stephanieconlon.com/2010/05/21/daniel-boone-dips-into-reserves-to-balance-budget/

“I would like to set the record straight.  I, at no time, compared full-time kindergarden to day care.  What I said was that I would not vote to eliminate all day kindergarden because, besides the educational value, and the jury is still out on that as there are studies supporting both sides of the argument, parents in our communities that require two jobs to make ends meet would either have to
spend those dollars on day care or be reduced to one income, neither of which is a goood situation.  Its amazing when one sentence is taken out of context, the entire point of the statement is lost.” 
  
Walt Sheehan

Leave a Comment » | Daniel Boone School District, Kindergarteners, School Boards, School Budgets | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

Daniel Boone dips into reserves to balance budget

May 21, 2010

My Comment:  Thanks so much to Walt Sheehan, for taking the time to clarify this statement on an article entitled  ”Daniel Boone dips into Reserves to Balance Budget” published on May 21st, 2010 in The Pottstown Mercury.  http://stephanieconlon.com/2010/05/21/daniel-boone-dips-into-reserves-to-balance-budget/

“I would like to set the record straight.  I, at no time, compared full-time kindergarden to day care.  What I said was that I would not vote to eliminate all day kindergarden because, besides the educational value, and the jury is still out on that as there are studies supporting both sides of the argument, parents in our communities that require two jobs to make ends meet would either have to
spend those dollars on day care or be reduced to one income, neither of which is a goood situation.  Its amazing when one sentence is taken out of context, the entire point of the statement is lost.” 
  
Walt Sheehan
* * * * *

Published: Thursday, May 20, 2010

By Denise Larive, Special to The Mercury

BIRDSBORO — The Daniel Boone School District’s budget was balanced Tuesday night with the proposal of $750,000 from the district’s $3.6 million fund balance, a tax increase of .75 mills, and without eliminating any educational programs or extracurricular activities.

The School Board is expected to approve the proposed final budget on May 24 along with staff reduction resolutions proposed by the board on May 10.

Board President Kevin F. McCullough gave “kudos” to the board for reducing the $6.5 million deficit in February to the current $1.5 million and noted that the board will attempt to reduce the deficit even further by June 30.

A final budget must be approved by June 30.

Per the current budget proposal, taxes would increase from 27.65 mills to 28.4 mills, effective July 1, and taxpayers would pay an additional $75 for every $100,000 of assessed property value.

“There is nothing else to cut,” said McCullough. “We have not heard back from PDE (state Department of Education about reducing the $250,000 full day kindergarten to a half day program).”

The board said using a maximum of $750,000 from the general fund wouldn’t overburden the district in July and August when debt payments of $2.5 million are due and before local taxes are paid.

Board member Andrew Basile proposed the board eliminate $287,000 in computer software upgrades from the budget but still purchase the $600,000 in hardware equipment from the capital reserve fund.

“Maybe defer the $1.6 million three-year tech plan for one more year,” said Basile. “Instead of trying to get tech done in a three-year plan, stretch it out to a four- or five-year plan. When a business is in trouble, it doesn’t go out and buy new equipment; it waits until things improve.”

“We’ve squeezed the sponge dry,” said Superintendent Gary L. Otto. “We will certainly look at the administration again, and re-examine the tech since that is one of the larger ticket items, but I think we passed the logistical point for reducing the kindergarten program. If PDE says OK, it gives us a year to discuss it because we know it won’t be any better next year.

“I think the state is taking a long hard look at what is happening and some schools are eliminating kindergarten completely,” said Otto. “There is no mandate to offer it. Across the board there is consideration of this.”

Board member Margaret M. Fiset said approval by the state for Daniel Boone to reduce its kindergarten program would give the district a year to modify the program back to half-day. She said the board could also put the issue out to a vote next year.

“Full-day kindergarten allows our community to have two persons working full-time instead of needing to pay for day care,” said board member Walter Sheehan.

“I am a parent of a two-income family,” said resident Tammy Matthews. “Thank you for reaching into the fund balance.”

Shane Kochel questioned why the board would eliminate the $65,000 fifth-year foreign language program and leave the sports budget with $600,000, down from the original $800,000.

“A fifth-year foreign language program is important to a lot of colleges and universities,” said Kochel.

“I believe the extracurricular program is very important and who is to say one is ultimately more important than another?” said Otto. “Balancing the budget has involved a lot of different issues and it is a matter of balance. The administration has worked hard to balance the pain. A lot of people are feeling the pain across the state and across the country.”

“Which sport do you cut and how do you make the decision?” said Basile. “Do you cut a sport that has 12 people in it and costs $5,000 or a more popular sport with more kids and costs more money?”

McCullough said everyone has given up something during the budget process.

“If things start being added back in, the deficit could go back up to $2 million,” said McCullough. “If I can get $65,000 back, I might put it back into bringing back aides, or (remedial) math, and someone still won’t be happy. Or, we could choose not to raise taxes by $65,000.”

Comments

The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the views of pottsmerc.com or The Mercury.

hellodolly wrote on May 20, 2010 8:07 AM: ” It disappoints me that Dr. Otto quote:

“I believe the extracurricular program is very important and who is to say one is ultimately more important than another?”

This is about sports versus foreign language? He just admitted that sports are more important that foreign language.

Also, full day kindergarten should not be used as daycare. Knowing Walter Sheehan, it surprises me that he would actually say such a thing. He just proved the point to the state in that one sentence that it is okay to cut it to half day.

Personally, I feel that half day is very good. My kids had half day and were just as adjusted / educated / ready as the kids who had full day. The only difference is that many of the full day kids fall asleep on the bus on the way home. “

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dseel wrote on May 20, 2010 9:05 AM: ” Well, at least the racetrack it officially going in!!!!!! They won their Supreme Court battle against Union Twp. We will soon be adding their tax $$ to our Berks, Union and Daniel Boone coffers. Thinking about it last night, Berks has almost no attractions to bring in visitors (and revenue). Maple Grove Raceway is its biggest attraction, and they only pull big crowds a couple times a year. Look at Montco, with KOP and a lot of the Main Line. And look at Chester, no tax base problem there either. Look no further than our county seat, Reading, to know we have a tax base problem. “
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foleman wrote on May 20, 2010 9:43 AM: ” Another tax increase, what is it now? 12 out of 13 years and another one coming next year. School boards should be eliminated and let the taxpayer decide on what stays and goes. If you think a racetrack will lower taxes in the tax and spend DB SD, think again, they will only spend more. 3.5 mil for a football stadium, full day Kindergarten which is socialized day care at the taxpayer expense…thanks Walt, hopefully you wont run again. 100 assistant teachers in the SD, how many were downsized? Like many others, I can’t wait to get out of this lousy SD, unfortunately, know on is buying in Amity thanks to the taxes. “
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really!?! wrote on May 20, 2010 3:00 PM: ” I love how everyone sit here and reads these articles and types up comments on the decisions that are being made in the district. YET there are open board positions which you can run/apply for and if you think you have better solutions to these problems by all means take a stab at it.

If you don’t like the things that are happening around you in the community regardless if it is your neighbors, taxes what have you. MOVE OUT INTO THE WOODS, GROW YOUR OWN FOOD, and leave everything else to the people that at least are willing to make a difference.

By the way… try attending some of these classes that the children are going through and I can guarantee that it is not glorified day care. “
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thecasualposter wrote on May 20, 2010 3:01 PM: ” Sorry but I have to point out the irony of foilmans comment “I can’t wait to get out of this lousy SD (school district), unfortunately, know on is buying in Amity thanks to the taxes.”

Did you mean “no one” is buying? on the plus side, I guess he is a living example of the decline of public education, which sort of proves his point. “
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Fitzy444 wrote on May 20, 2010 3:51 PM: ” Reducing kindergarten to half day or completely may eliminate expenses at the school district but it will also increase my “after care or full day” cost and leave me less money to spend in Berks County.
I agree that Berks doesn’t have alot to offer to bring in the funds and as far as glorified day care – tell that to my 1st grade daughter who was so proud to read and start learning math in kindergarten. Quite proud of the kindergarten teachers in the DB school district for all the hard work they do for our 5-6 year olds. The kids are what matter in this world and the earlier they start learning the better. Leave kindergarten alone and find another solution. “

1 Comment | Daniel Boone School District, Foreign Language, Kindergarteners, School Boards, School Budgets | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

D.B. Kindergarten Program

May 19, 2010

In the Daniel Boone School Board Budget meeting last night, the board discussed their opinions on the full-day versus half-day kindergarten possibilities.  A “Poll” vote was taken, WHICH IS NON-BINDING, but the conclusion (unofficially) was to take the possibility of cutting the kindergarten program to half day “OFF OF TABLE FOR THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR.”

Dr. Otto will be speaking to the PTC and members on Thursday, May 20th at 6:30 pm at Monocacy Elementary Center.  PUBLIC AND NON-PTC MEMBERS WELCOME.  Babysitting provided.

If you support this decision to keep the full-day kindergarten for the 2010-2011 school year, please come out on Thursday night express your support to Dr. Otto.  Below is the description of the evening provided by PTC.

“All PTC members and non-PTC members are welcome to attend the May 20, PTC meeting to be held at Monocacy Elementary Center Cafeteria. The meeting will take place at 6:30pm. Free babysitting will be provided by the Daniel Boone Key Club in the Monocacy Elementary Center Gymnasium. Dr Gary Otto, Superintendent of the Daniel Boone School District, will be available to discuss the changes within the School District for the 2010-2011 school year. While we realize that many of our parents are passionate about the changes that are occurring, we are asking that attendees please respect that children may be present while discussions are being held. Child specific questions cannot be answered at this time. We encourage everyone to attend as your child could potentially be by the up-and-coming changes within this district. After the PTC meeting, Dr. Otto will be on hand to discuss APC. All parents of 2010-2011 APC students are invited to stay to discuss the opening of the new school. Dr. Otto will discuss and answer a variety of questions about the renovation, operation and opening of APC. Please don’t miss this informative evening. PTC is dedicated to providing quality programming to our Daniel Boone families. Mark your calendars for this important meeting.”

1 Comment | Daniel Boone School District, Kindergarteners, School Boards | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

Summer Playdates

May 16, 2010
My Comment:  Great PTC fundraiser idea!!!!
 
kindergartenteacherclaire | May 16, 2010 at 11:23 am | Categories: Uncategorized | URL: http://wp.me/pAo7s-8Z

Your child has made many new friends this year in Kindergarten.  It comes as quite a shock to many 5 and 6 year olds once school stops and they cannot see their friends on a regular basis.  Even more of a surprise is learning that many of these friends will be in different classrooms once first grade begins in the fall.  Our school PTO sells a parent directory which contains phone numbers and e-mail addresses of parents who wish to share that information with other parents.  If you do not have phone numbers and e-mail addresses for the parents of your child’s friends, you might want to look into doing that now.  Summer can be long for a child and having friends to have play dates with will help when you hear ‘there’s nothing to do!’ from your child. As a teacher, I cannot share phone numbers and email addresses but all you have to do is ask the parents yourself.  You could write a quick note asking for this information and address it to “Mary’s Mom/Dad” and ask your child’s teacher to give it to Mary to take home. In the note you should share your name, your child’s name, your phone number or e-mail address and ask for the same from them so that you could set up summer time play dates. Believe me, having this information now, will really be beneficial once school is out and you no longer have the ability to get the note to the other child.

Leave a Comment » | First Graders, Kindergarteners | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

DB School District Kindergarten Program

May 10, 2010

There was no answer from the PA Department of Education regarding whether the Daniel Boone Full day kindergarten was allowed to be cut to a half day.  Dr. Otto will pass the information on to the board as soon as he gets an answer.

Leave a Comment » | Daniel Boone School District, Kindergarteners, School Boards, School Budgets | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

Boone OKs request to cut full-day kindergarten (updated with details)

April 27, 2010

Published: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

By Denise Larive Special to The Mercury

BIRDSBORO — Daniel Boone School Board members said Monday night their “last resort” to balancing the 2010-11 budget was to reduce the district’s full-day kindergarten program to half day. That would save the district about $250,000 but still not close the gap of $606,309.

The board voted 8-1 to seek approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education for that program alteration.

“This is our most important vote,” said resigning Board Member Michael D. Shearer, adding, “If it were up to me I wouldn’t do this. This would be at the very bottom of the rung of tax cuts.”

Superintendent Dr. Gary L. Otto said he expects a response from PDE within one week but the board would not be legally bound to accept any program curtailment or alteration approved by PDE.

“It doesn’t hurt to find out from PDE if they would allow alteration of kindergarten,” said Board Member Frank J. Cerminaro.

“Full day kindergarten was grant funded the first two years, and the money has ended,” said Board Member Margaret M. Fiset, adding, “We may want to put it out to a voter referendum next year and see if residents want to continue paying for it.”

For the complete article, please see http://www.pottstownmercury.com/articles/2010/04/27/news/doc4bd6eab62993c017783730.txt

Leave a Comment » | Daniel Boone School District, Kindergarteners | Permalink
Posted by stephanieconlon

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