Full-day K to start in August
Initial program could accommodate some children, not all
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
To register
Early kindergarten registration for Soda Creek and Strawberry Park elementary schools is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Friday at each school. Children in the Steamboat Springs School District area who will be 5 years old as of Oct. 1 are eligible. Take immunization records, a birth certificate and proof of residence, such as a utility bill. Parents outside the school district can register, but will not be notified until the fall if accepted.
Tuition-based, full-day kindergarten will be offered in Steamboat Springs at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year, but logistics including how many students to accommodate and what space to use have yet to be decided.
The Steamboat Springs School Board on Monday ironed out a framework for implementing full-day kindergarten, firmly telling a room filled with concerned parents that the program will begin for at least some students in August and accommodate all students by the 2009-10 school year, if not sooner.
"We're going to have some full-day kindergarten in August," said Sandra Smyser, interim superintendent of the Steamboat Springs School District. "We're heading into tomorrow trying to figure out how to accommodate everybody - that's our goal."
Dale Mellor, finance director for the school district, estimated that implementing full-day kindergarten would cost about $360,000 annually, for needs including additional staffing and materials. The School Board voted unanimously in support of a tuition-based program, which would provide scholarships for needy families and possibly use a sliding scale of tuition rates. Mellor projected that 125 students could be enrolled in kindergarten in the 2008-09 school year. Mellor used a daily fee of about $16 in his cost estimate, but he and School Board members agreed that actual tuition costs would almost certainly be higher.
"It will for sure be more (than that)," School Board President Robin Crossan said.
School Board member Denise Connelly said tuition rates as high as $40 a day have previously been considered for kindergarten in Steamboat.
Smyser said space for full-day kindergarten programs will initially be limited by the ongoing construction of the new Soda Creek Elementary School and expansion of Strawberry Park Elementary School, projects that may not be completed by the end of August.
"I am not planning on being in the new school when school starts," said Judy Harris, Soda Creek's principal. "We're looking at one or two months (into the 2008-09 school year), at best."
The previous School Board appointed a committee in October 2007 to explore how to implement full-day kindergarten. On Monday night, Connelly and School Board member John DeVincentis continued to advocate for a program that would accommodate all students in the 2008-09 year.
DeVincentis said current classroom or building space could be shifted to allow full-day kindergarten, and it is "up to the administration to find the space to make it work."
"The space is there, we just need to be creative," he said.
Harris said she is prepared to explore such options. But Sam Rush, physical education teacher at Strawberry Park, said she is already "overwhelmed" by the amount of students in her classes and limited space.
"You add more children, (and) I don't know where to put them," she said.
- To reach Mike Lawrence, call 871-4233
or e-mail mlawrence@steamboatpilot.com
Comments
fartpark 5 years, 2 months ago
Have to pay for Kindergarten??? Whats next? Dumbest thing I have ever heard.
portagetheyampa 5 years, 2 months ago
The cutoff date for students entering Kindergarten should be JULY 1st. Many children with late burthdays are not physically, educationally or socially mature to enter kindergarden rendering them at a disadvantage throughout their school career. Having a cutoff date of OCT 1 is ridiculous! Fortunately, sensible parents will not enroll a child with a late birthday knowing what I have stated above. However, other parents will send their child anyway and that child will face challenges.
I certainly suport all day Kindergarten. Soroco has had it for years and it has been very successful. They have had two very wonderful, longtime Kindergarten teachers, as well. Unfortunately, for whatever reason the RE-2 schools have never looked at the positive programs, in either RE-1 (Soroco) or RE-3 (Hayden).
I would hope the all day program is educational and not just a child care solution for working parents.
useyourvoice 5 years, 2 months ago
Of course this is a child care solution for working parents, and one more step towards the government running our families. Children should be at home for the majority of the day at this age, and it's sad that people continue to use the excuse that they cannot afford to stay home. Let's take responsibility for our choices, like living here, where we have to work more to make it. The school system is slowly turning into an asylum for kids whose parents choose not to deal with their issues. Why don't parents want to be around their own children anymore?
corduroy 5 years, 2 months ago
another reason my kids will not be attending a public school in Steamboat.. I'm all for Kindergarten, I loved it when I was a kid, it was FAR from babysitting me, I was learning..
But to make parents pay for that when our taxes pay for older students in the public schools? That's just silly to me.. its like stunting education for those who cannot afford it. Unless they'd be like a college and let you get Federal funding haha.
I started Kindergarten when I was 4, my birthday's Oct 13th, and I did fine.. It shouldn't be based on age. They had us come in with parents and did some little tests to see if we were ready for Kindergarten. Some kids are ready at 4, some aren't ready til 6.. all children are different!!
jack legrice 5 years, 2 months ago
I support the all day, only if it is tuition based. And no free rides. If you can't afford it you shouldn't have had the child in the first place.
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