Speaking of school boards, and the relative competency thereof, the Seattle Public Schools is considering a 50 percent increase in the price of full-day kindergarten:
Seattle Public Schools is looking at increasing the cost of full-day kindergarten from $207 per month to $310 per month in order to help cover a predicted $35 million budget gap in the 2011-2012 school year.
The state only funds half-day kindergarten, and SPS currently charges families $207 per month to fund full-day kindergarten because of a large demand for the service.
Considering that nearly every study ever conducted on the subject concludes that full-day kindergarten is absolutely crucial to the future success of students (and let’s not get started on the well-documented efficacy of pre-school), a lot of folks might be surprised to learn that the state does not fund such as part of its “Basic Education” package. Yes, the fee is waived for students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, but that leaves a helluva lot of middle income families in the lurch. Exactly $3,100 a year in the lurch, should the SPS’s proposed kindergarten tuition hike go into effect.
The SPS is running an online survey on the proposal. Let ’em know how you feel.
Here’s an idea: For everybody who is supposedly outraged by this change (especially those without school-aged children) and you think this increase such a terrrrrrible idea and are willing to pay more in taxes but don’t voluntarily send the state more taxes than you’re obliged — set up a scholarship fund for families who can’t afford the increase.
$310 per month for half-day 5-day-a-week child care (plus education!) sounds like a bargain.
I have a full day kindergartner this year. What’s weird about this article is that it doesn’t say that children that are exempt is by district, apparently? I was sent a letter at the beginning of the year saying that I owed $207 per month, began paying it. Then after Xmas I received a letter refunding my money from Dec and January saying that my school district was exempt since it’s poorer, I guess? My point is I’d be willing to pay fees since I can afford to right now. It’s kind of a bummer that I am in this district and they don’t want my money.
My daughter went through full-day Kindergarten, and I can assure you, Punditwatch, it is a very valuable education tool. It’s not “child care (plus education!)” by any stretch of the imagination. It is structured, and there is learning throughout the day in various academic and social levels.
Providing quality education is valuable for everyone, regardless of whether or not they have children. I could get into the specifics, but I fear you wouldn’t understand.
Glad you voted down that proposed income tax for high earners?
Fucking idiots.
“…full-day kindergarten is absolutely crucial to the future success of students…”
Hyperbolize much? Valuable, helpful, important, useful — sure. But “absolutely crucial?” I don’t think so. Millions of kids have done, and continue to do, just fine with half-day kindergarten.
But for low-income (most often single-parent) families it’s a godsend. Thankfully they will continue to qualify.
The so-called ‘have-nots’ have NEVER paid this. Kids on free lunch don’t have to pay. The rest of us do, and yet we never get a thank you card from the supposed ‘have-nots’.
My cousin is a 1st grade teacher in Indiana (which also doesn’t have mandatory Kindergarten). This year, for most of the kids in her class, this is their first time in school. That totally blew my mind – 6 year olds that have no idea how to line up, or sit and pay attention to a teacher, or even what it’s like to have their time be structured. She must be some kind of Jedi master to be able to control those kids and teach them to read at the same time.
Keeping your tots home, if you can of course, does not hinder their efficacy. First grade is soon enough. Go ahead and point to studies if you want, but the rewards of spending those first precious years with your children at home build cherished memories of the wonder of their first life experiences that last a lifetime for both parent and child.
The upsetting thing is not charging for full day k, it is refusing to offer a free half day program, instead offering the socially awkward option of being the only kid pulled out at 11:30 when the free portion of the day ends.
I remember kindergarten well. I learned that black people were black because “Jesus left them out in the sun too long.” I learned that God made the planets out of papier-mache and balloons. I learned that playing doctor was wicked. I learned that my heart was black until Jesus made it white. I learned that if one is above the level of the rest of the class in reading, one must sit in the back, alone, reading books or putting one’s head on one’s desk. I learned that in public school, there’s no Jesus, but a whole lot more sitting alone in the back.
I think each school district should pay for full day kindergarten.
And take the money from any confiscated assets of any MJ prosecutions to pay for it.
Either that or legalize it and use the funds from WSLCB taxes to pay for kindergarten.
Compared to the cost of pre-kindergarten child care, $310/month is a bargain.
On the other hand, “It is the paramount duty of the state to make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders, without distinction or preference on account of race, color, caste, or sex.” It’s the state’s fault, not SPS’s.
Considering that nearly every study ever conducted on the subject concludes that full-day kindergarten is absolutely crucial to the future success of students…
This is beyond silly. There have been studies which show there may be advantages to full time kindergarten, but the words above are as objectively true as saying that full-day kindergarten is a complete waste of time. This is what happens when ideologues talk about very complex subjects. They suddenly become simple subjects.
A quick google search finds this recent study:
http://thedartmouth.com/2010/03/08/news/…
Note that the researcher, even when getting results which indicate that full-time kindergarten doesn’t provide substantial benefits, has the good sense to say, ““The truth will only be discovered in the years to come.” That’s a reasoned and realistic statement, and when it comes to education, we need more of that and less hyperbole.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a good deal for childcare… it’s not supposed to be childcare and many parents already have arrangements for younger siblings or find it cheaper or a valuable thing to stay home rather than pay for childcare. It’s not the school’s decision to make.
@5,
Yeah, a lot of kids get by without it. But they don’t get by nearly as well as they would’ve had they had full-day kindergarten.
There are a handful of factors that turn out to be reliable predictors of future educational success. Early learning is one of them. So invest now or pay later.
@1’s response is the very typical conservative/republican response of “somebody else should take care of it.” Who? Not me. Somebody else.
You know what the problem with that is? If it’s always “somebody else” who should take care of it, then it means no one takes care of it.
If we all worked cooperatively, we’d ALL be better off. Unfortunately, selfishness and greed means we’re all WORSE off. Classic Prisoner’s Dilemma problem.
Conservatives LOVE to say that “if you just stop taxing people and let them choose how to spend their money, you won’t need all these social programs because people will voluntarily help each other.” Unfortunately, that’s bullshit.
“Keeping your tots home, if you can of course, does not hinder their efficacy. First grade is soon enough. Go ahead and point to studies if you want, but the rewards of spending those first precious years with your children at home build cherished memories of the wonder of their first life experiences that last a lifetime for both parent and child.”
Uh, June Cleaver, that’s all good and well but not really the reality for most parents (and I did stay home with my kids but was glad when kindergarten came along).
If the district offered half-day kindergarten (meaning a half-day with a beginning, middle and end at noon), that would be fine. They don’t (just a few schools do and the district isn’t for it). What would happen is that if parents don’t want full day, their child would leave in the middle of the full-day program (thus not getting a coherent program) AND the district would have to pay for buses ($$$) to take those children home.
The district just found $3.3M they “overlooked” – maybe that money should go to this cause. All will be revealed at tomorrow Work Session.
Well, hell, let’s make the after-lunch section of all grades something folks have to pay for and non-mandatory.
What could go wrong?
Everybody saying it’s cheap “full-time” child care should be aware that full day kindergarten lasts for 6 hours (9AM to 3PM at our school), meaning that many working parents have to supplement it with before and/or after school care of some kind. Most full-time preschools are open 10-11 hours a day, so not really an apples-to-apples comparison. And I agree with @9, the options for the few kids that do half-days suck.
Why blame SPS for this? They have to pay teachers, buses, custodians, etc., for the full day – the money has to come from somewhere. The problem is the legislature opting not to fully fund full-day kindergarten programs. Choosing to cut funds from education instead of maybe eliminating a tax break for a megabusiness somewhere.
If this pisses you off, don’t harass the district alone. Harass your legislators.
That $3,100 a year figure kind of ignores the fact that a family only needs to pay it for one year per child.
Aaaand….the kids who would most benefit from full day kindergarten are the ones whose parents are least in the position to pay for it. Regressive.
Disclaimer: This post was made by a twenty-something atheist unschooled female from California. The content is intended to encourage skeptical analysis of the current school system, not as a personal attack on anyone related to or participating in that program.
*
From personal experience, I found part-time Kindergarten to be a traumatic and miserable time, and the prospect of full-time Kindergarten was unbearable. It was with immense relief and unmitigated joy when my wonderful mother pulled me out of that hell-hole of bullying and misguided attempts at “education” for (and I mean this in every possible sense of the word) good.
The education system in the country is archaic, out-dated, ineffectual, inefficient, and otherwise unnecessary: the ideal situation would be if schools were more like public libraries, with students free to come and go when they wish, and to learn what they wish when they want to. Truancy laws make prisoners of the nation’s youth, and in turn young adults must spend a good portion of their best years post-education teaching themselves how to be free.
I realize this post will probably irritate a good number of people. If you’ve read this far: I challenge you to take a good, skeptical look at your own experience in school, and ask yourself what you would change to make it better.
It may seem a radical idea, but then so did the idea of female voters, or a black president, or gay marriage… once upon a time.
Geni’s right.
Business is raking in the non-voter-approved business tax exemptions off the backs of little kids they’re kicking out into the streets, so that they can be raised as feral wild kids and gang members.
Just to add to Rondie’s very reasonable post, the phrase “educational success” is often used by devotees of the current system, as if it has a particular meaning that can be measured precisely. It doesn’t and it can’t.
Also, Rondie (I’m talking about you like you’re not here, Rondie, sorry) prefaced her statement perfectly. To attack the current education system is not to attack people devoted to that system. And in that spirit, I really shouldn’t have called Goldy an “ideologue.” Maybe you are, I don’t know, but it’s not helpful to assume things about people you don’t know, and that’s what I did, so sorry, Goldy.
For anyone really interested in education, I highly recommend watching this video.
Early drill, rote and “education” is probably the biggest contributor to ADD.
Kids need to be active all day long, playing with Matchbox cars and Hot Wheels.
Let them learn words and letters from their iPads.
By the way Goldy, very punny title… I only just now realized it wasn’t a typo (I’m slow).
@23,
I think you’re right, that it’s always a good idea to scrutinize things like public schooling to make sure they’re efficient and effective. That said, your “public library” option, while interesting, probably wouldn’t work for a multitude of reasons (e.g., transportation of kids for schools open 24-7, different levels of motivation for kids, letting kids choose what they want to learn means vastly different educations, etc.), but the principle reason is that one thing traditional schools teach is the very premise of how to learn in the first place. Effective learning doesn’t come naturally, it must be taught. Time management, critical thinking, debate and counter-debate…these are things that kids likely wouldn’t learn by themselves if they didn’t know they were important.
Rondie – I think the difficulty with the “library” model you describe is that all kids are different. That is, that model would work for some, but not all, kids.
A friend of mine went through a period of “unschooling” both of her kids (child-directed learning, etc.). It worked fine for one of them (well… that’s debatable, I suppose, but it worked in the sense that that’s what the kid preferred), but the other one very much preferred the structured environment of a traditional school (and is now back there).
I do wonder what would have been best for me as a kid… I had the opportunity to have an alternative high school experience, and in the end, I picked a traditional school (surprising everyone, since my middle school experience can only be described as horrible). It worked fine for me, but of course there’s always the question of whether the other experience would have been better.
Regardless of what the answer is, it’s always good to ask the question of what type of experience going to be best for your specific child…
I never knew full-day Kindergarten existed. Also, kids are expensive.
“kids are expensive.”
Which makes u wonder why so many poor have so many, so young, out of wedlock.
Go ahead and point to studies if you want, but…
…but don’t confuse me with the facts.
What’s the bet Rhondie will never make more than $30k a year.
@31: That’s right. See #13.
@31: The point is that there are a LOT of studies out there that do not support Goldy’s over-the-top, “absolutely crucial” assertion. In fact, many other countries don’t even have formal, government-provided school until age 6.
As a public librarian, the idea of running a school like a library is beyond horrific, based on what I’ve seen of unsupervised children in libraries. Were you really thinking the librarians were going to supervise your children? Or were all of the parents going to unwork while the children were unschooling? All of these school-library children have wonderful manners and behavior and are completely self-directed? You, my dear, have not been exposed to enough of the real world.
That’s the rub with unschooling. Great idea if only all children were well-loved, self-directed little darlings who actually experienced diversity and were raised by intellectually curious adults.
As a mom, I would like to point out that my child’s daycare is tax-deductible. School? Not so much. Three thousand is a lot of money for our family. No way can we do this.
With inflation considered, that’s more than my parents paid to send me to a private, Catholic elementary school with full-day kindergarten and complimentary after-school care until 6 PM. It’s close to what they paid to send BOTH my brother and I to that school (the school had a discount for 2nd children and beyond, so $ for 1 > $/each for 2 and so on). Did I get a great education? Nope, but it was a hell of a lot cheaper than that there “public” school you’re talking about.
Sorry…edit…perfectionist gene…argh.
I actually ran the inflation numbers (I was just working from memory before) and came up with $2500, in today’s dollars, for my bro and I to attend a PRIVATE school back in the 80’s. ARGH to these loonies who don’t really understand what the purpose of government is!
@34, and they also have universal health care and generous benefits. Comparison Fail!
@38: Huh? What does universal health care (which is not universal, by the way) have to do with the fact that in many countries kids seem to do quite well despite not having the “absolutely crucial” all-day kindergarten.
Connection Fail!
Placate the welfare brats who are more likely to carry on the undesirable traits they inherit from their parents while letting the middle class suffer. Modern leftism in a nutshell.
It’s funny how many tangential issues get brought into the mix. Goldy’s central point is to gin-up outrage over the rate hike.
Let’s just stipulate that full-day kindergarten is, in fact, a good thing. SPS apparently agrees, since it’s providing the service despite the fact it’s unfunded.
What pisses me off is the outrage, in a period of dramatically reduced government revenues, over pricing optional government services in-line with what they actually cost to deliver.
The same applies for the whining about cities pricing their athletic fields to match their cost of maintenance.
I don’t know why this hasn’t been pursued more vigorously but I think it’s time to reverse the pyramid: fully fund kindergarten and charge half day tuition for seniors. Little publicized is the fact that state apportionment assigned to kids is diverted to community colleges if a student is taking a certain number of classes in the Running Start program. Most if not all Running Start students also keep a toe in the high school for electives or finishing a few credits for graduation. The school district bears the cost (mainly in staffing) for Running Start students. Many seniors could get by with a half day schedule, especially in second semester, to complete grad requirements and fill out the second half of the day with an internship or employment. Those who want or need the full day will be far fewer than the incoming kindergarten class; assisting those who need financial help will be more feasible as the number in need will be less.
@39 – you want health care? You gotta work. Staying home for six years is a luxury most parents can’t afford. Hell, i’m still broke-ass from working part-time K-2 so my precious darling could come home instead of going to afterschool care. And she’s heading into 6th grade.
Seriously, K is important for socialization, but it’s really important for parents who rely on work to pay the bills and get the healthcare. 1/2 day k is some weird anachronism from the days when mom didn’t work, far as I can tell. But please, correct me if I’m wrong as I’m sure you will!
Ok, let’s all just cool our proverbial jets for a moment. When I started school there was no such thing as Kindergarten. Kids went through 12 years of school and came out with top honors and great jobs. Kindergarten is NOT crucial. So, what has changed since “those days”? First of all, moms went to work in droves and kindergarten offered a nice learning experience, a day of socialization for the little ones, not to mention a daycare option. Now everyone thinks that if the little ones don’t go to kindergarten they are going to be failures. Why is that? They must be reading by first grade! Oh my! I really, really don’t get it. Perhaps it’s because there is so much more in a day of school now that wasn’t always there. Sure we had art class and music but we didn’t have something “extra” every single day of the week. Or maybe we’ve just been convinced that our children need to be in school when they are so small by politicians who had rather their government run schools teach your child what is morally acceptable and what is not. Your children are in school or daycare more hours than they are with you with other people training them up in the way they should go. I’m not knocking working moms. I’m just asking that you give this question serious thought because there is more involved than just education. Children should be allowed to be children first. There is more suicide among our young today than ever before in history. Maybe some of that stems from the fact that they are simply required to grow up too fast. The fact that they are capable of doing something doesn’t mean they should be doing it. A car has the capability of going fast but that doesn’t mean you should drive it fast. Slow down just a little bit and allow these kids to be children. Pretty soon the government will push for year round school. It’s headed that way now. Take a look at Russian children and then ask yourself, seriously, is this what I really want? Sure it’s convenient if you have to work but that doesn’t make it right. Maybe this seems a little out there for many of you but this is your children we are talking about. Take a little time to really think about it. I had a great job. I quit when my oldest was 13 months old. We struggled to get by but we made it and my daughter and then my younger two children all had mom at home when they came in from school. The two youngest went on to be Salutatorians of their high school class and the two oldest both graduated summa cum laude. The youngest is still in college. I’m not saying that everyone can do this but please, get it out of your head that kindergarten is crucial. Quit being duped that your child is going to be a long way from smart if they miss out. They won’t. Unless you take absolutely no time out with your child they will grow up to be productive and smart. It just take a little of your time and granted, a lot of energy but you’ll build a bond that no one can tear apart while giving your child something that no school can.
@39 & @43 There’s a very real connection to health care access and all-day-K being crucial to success in this country. In the cited countries without all-day-K, as with the privileged commenters whose parents clearly had time and interest to devote to their upbringing, young children are swaddled in a safety cocoon of caring, compassionate adults who make sure not only that their physical needs are met but their emotional and developmental needs as well.
This is what all-day-K does for everyone else in this country. The uninsured, the struggling families without any safety net because Gregoire cut it from the budget, the exhausted parents who don’t have the time to be June Cleaver- these are the families who need all-day-K to be a right and not a privilege.
@44
First, the experience of the American family was very different back when there was no kindergarten. Strong unions and well-paying technical jobs made it possible for one parent to stay home and provide care and education for small children. Strong communities and social safety nets ensured that many children didn’t fall through the cracks (of course, if you weren’t white or middle class it was a different story, as it is now). Today, any Kindergarten teacher who teaches non-affluent populations will tell you that a significant portion of their job is simply spent parenting. You would be shocked to learn the percentage of kindergarteners who aren’t even potty trained.
Kindergarten now is NOT simply childcare. I teach adolescents and the general public is quick to laud me for having the patience to work with kids that age. Kindergarten teachers get a condescending general reaction, as seen on this comment thread, that they’re just highly trained day care providers. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have no idea how they pull off both parenting and teaching 25 six-year-olds. I understand your concerns about rushing small children into academics that they may not be developmentally ready for. In that case, take your arguments to Obama and the GOP with their “Race to the Top” and “No Child Left Behind” rhetoric that places unrealistic demands on very small children. Standardized testing in kindegarten?! Most teachers will tell you that this misguided school reform is not in the best interest of children. Until our country (and that includes you and me) decides to truly value early childhood education- both in and out of the classroom- our kindergarten teachers will be expected to clean up our society’s failures.
this topic sure brings out the regressives.
we, as a society, generate more than enough economic activity to easily fund full-day day care, let alone full-day kindergarten. we just choose, out of “conservative principles”, to apportion a large part of this money to the wealthiest, rather than education. we can’t “punish success”, after all.
punishing other people’s children is all worth it, though, if the ultra-rich can put their money in a vault and jump in piles of it a couple times a year. that has incalculable vicarious value for conservatives.