Because we are still in the midst of Kindergarten practicum I thought this was relevant! I know that when I was in Kindergarten it was only a half day and I was lucky because my mom was home in the afternoons to take my brother and I back home, but as mentioned in this article that’s not always the case. Many families have 2 working parents and they have a hard time accommodating for only half day Kindergarten. Not to mention, as many of us are learning, there are a lot of standards and information that needs to get covered in Kindergarten and only giving them half days is not benefiting the students or the teachers.
I wonder why they are still only half day? 4% of New York schools still only offer half day Kindergarten, however most of those student’s parents paid for them to go to private preschools for full days? Does that make sense? That’s just crazy to me! I am anxious to see if they come to an agreement on whether or not to extend kindergarten days!
I wonder if the reasoning for the half day kindergarten is that the full day preschool covered some of the same standards and they feel like they don’t need to address them again? That would be interesting to look into. I don’t think we are getting the full background in the article. Interesting thought though- I definitely agree that Kindergarten is more beneficial as a full day program than a half day. It helps prepare students for expectations in school, while also (ideally) allowing them to explore their questions.