Westmont to offer full-day kindergarten

BY KELLY URBAN
The Tribune-Democrat

May 14, 2008 11:08 pm

— Thanks to state funding supplied to the school district, Westmont Hilltop will begin offering full-day kindergarten next school year.
The district recently learned it had received a 127 percent increase in its Title I funding, which periodically is re-evaluated and based on poverty levels within a district. That was coupled with an Accountability Block Grant that sets specific guidelines on how the money can be used.
“We are now able to offer full-day kindergarten to the kids without any impact to the budget or cost to the district, so this is a cause for celebration,” school Superintendent Susan Anderson said.
Anderson said the state Department of Education recommends full-day kindergarten because programs in reading, mathematics and science are written for full-day classrooms.
“This has been a goal of ours for years, but we just didn’t have the funding in place,” she said.
Ideally, Anderson said the district would have liked some time to prepare and notify parents of the changeover, but funding rules say the money can’t be saved.
“It was late-breaking news to us, but we are extremely grateful,” she said.
There will be five full-day kindergarten classrooms, with the current half-day programs being eliminated. Through Title I, two more teachers will be hired.
Another advantage to moving to full-day kindergarten is the district will save around $50,000 by not having to run extra buses in the afternoon.
“That money will be used for supplies to set up the classrooms,” Anderson said.
A school newsletter detailing the full-day kindergarten will be sent out to parents within the next few days, and Anderson said anyone who has questions should contact the elementary school office: 255-8707.