Trying a new schedule: All-day kindergarten gets good reviews

By Kristine Thomas

St. Mary’s Elementary School teacher Christi Seiler was concerned all-day kindergarten would be too much for her young students.

Going from 2.5 hours per day to 6 hours, learning the “rigorous Common Core Curriculum” and adjusting to learning, Seiler was nervous, especially since this was her students’  first introduction to school.

“All my fears were put to rest by October,” Seiler said. “And they turned into excitement because of the learning taking place.”

Sara Obrist is piloting the all-day kindergarten program at Scotts Mills Elementary for the Silver Falls School District. She also was slightly hesitant about all-day kindergarten because she could see both the “negatives and positives.”

“After teaching all-day this year, I believe the positives out way the negatives greatly and I am definitely for all-day kindergarten,” Obrist said. “I have seen huge growth in students’ academic achievement levels.”

Both Scotts Mills and St. Mary’s Elementary schools introduced all-day kindergarten in the fall and have been tracking the students’ progress and how students are handling the longer day. One reason both schools decided to offer all-day kindergarten is because the state of Oregon’s requirements.

Silver Falls Superintendent Andy Bellando said the law requires the state provide funding for full-day kindergarten beginning the 2015-16 fiscal year. A school district is required to implement full-day kindergarten if it accepts this funding.  If the district does not accept the funding, all-day kindergarten is not required to be implemented, he said.

“There are still many questions, including whether this is new funding or not – a very important distinction for most school districts,” Bellando said.

Scotts Mills Principal Marilyn Annen has been an advocate of all-day kindergarten for many years.

“I am so pleased that our state will be funding it for all schools in the 2015-16 school year. All students deserve the opportunity to get off a great start in kindergarten,” Annen said. “We feel that all-day kindergarten is benefiting students in many positive ways both socially and academically.”

St. Mary’s Principal Jennifer Christian said the Mount Angel School District believes all-day kindergarten is an investment in each student. The state only funds the school district for half-day students, meaning the district set aside funds to pay for the remaining portion, she said.

We are choosing to make an investment in our students’ education and we believe early intervention is the foundation to make a difference,” Christian said.

Both principals have plenty of data to support how all-day kindergarten has improved test scores and how students are further along academically than in previous years.

When taking a look at the increased academic expectations outlined by the Common Core Curriculum, Christian said students need to begin their education with a positive, solid foundation.

“All-day kindergarten was the natural place to add instructional time,” Christian said.

More than the data, what pleases both Christian and Annen is seeing how the students are enjoying school and learning – building a strong foundation for their educational career.

“There is an excitement here and the students want to be here. They are taking pride in their work and they adore their teachers,” Christian said. “The students rise to the expectations. It is amazing what the students are capable of if you give them the expectations.”

Having more time to teach has made a difference for St. Mary’s kindergarten teachers Molly Mannix, Chelsea Goin and Christi Seiler and Scotts Mills teacher Sara Obrist.

“The amount of learning that has happened is wonderful,” Mannix said. “We don’t feel like we are rushed to get through standards.”

When she was teaching half-day kindergarten, Seiler said she felt it was “rush, rush, rush.”

“Teaching half-day was more stressful because I had to cram so much material into the day and it was always rushing to the next lesson,” Seiler said. “Now, I am more relaxed because I know we have time to do things without rushing.”

During a visit to Seiler’s classroom, her students were divided into groups – some working on the computer, others with a classroom assistant, a few with her on a math lesson and some playing with blocks and wooden train.

Obrist said her students have more opportunities for learning – allowing her more time to teach the core subjects of reading, writing and math. She now has time to teach other subjects including health, art, social studies and science.

“They also have more opportunities for play which is very important in building social skills,” Obrist said. “When I taught half day, there wasn’t as much time for play….maybe one 15-minute recess and I was trying to squeeze in as much learning before they had to get back on the bus. Now, they have three recesses and more opportunities for free play….which is very important for building social skills, which all starts in kindergarten.

Obrist also enjoys having more time to work with her students.

“I am able to do activities and projects sooner than I would have thought possible and I believe it’s because of the extra time I get to work with my kiddos,” she said. “They learn rules and procedures much quicker and they have lots more time to learn important social skills.”

Building endurance

One concern Seiler and Obrist had was the school day would be too long or the students and they would need naps.

Obrist said she and the parents have noticed students are tired at the end of the day – this happening more at the beginning of the year.

“I had to build up their endurance as well as mine,” Obrist said. “I have also taught first grade in previous years here at Scotts Mills, so I would compare this to the adjustment that a first grader usually has when they first start first grade coming from half day kindergarten the previous school year.”

Obrist does not have a nap time. Instead, she has quiet time where she turns off the lights and gives her students the option to rest their heads on their desks, color quietly or listen to a story she reads aloud. She does this daily after the lunch recess.

Seiler said her students were more likely to rest during the first of the year. She also reads them a story so the students have some quiet time.

“I haven’t heard one complaint from students or parents about the day being too long,” Seiler said.

Mannix said the flexibility has been the key to managing the classroom – with the schedule changing as the students have.

“Both parents and teachers were concerned about the students’ endurance,” Mannix said. “Kids adapt.”

Test scores

Students at both St. Mary’s and Scotts Mills have made huge gains in their academic progress. Both school have students who come in knowing how to count and say the alphabet and some who don’t know how to hold a pencil. By having more time to work with students, it allows the teachers to help each student make strides in his or her learning.

“The teachers carefully considered their students’ schedule making sure there was a balance of creative play and learning through play,” Christian said. “We teach the students to their developmental readiness.”

Annen said she and Obrist have seen more student growth than they could have predicted. Student learning growth targets set for June in the fall by Obrist for her student have already been met, Annen said, adding Obrist adapted the reading and math growth targets upwards.

“Because the initial targets were higher than our end-of-year data in recent years, I recall asking Sara last fall when these targets were set whether she was setting them so high as to be unrealistic to obtain; what an incredibly pleasant surprise to learn that these high targets were met already at the end of the second trimester,” Annen said.

One concern was the sizable gap in academic growth in Hispanic students, Christian said, adding, “We believe all day kindergarten will close the gap.”

Kindergarten students were given the CBM or curriculum based measurement test developed by the University of Oregon in the fall and winter. They will take the test again this spring.

Christian said the mid-point data shows students have made a great deal of growth.

“Where we are really going to see the growth three years from now, where the students are going from learning to read to reading to learn,” she said.

A calmer environment

Seiler said the day is more relaxed with time for academics as well as play

“We have time to sing, dance and play,” Seiler said. “We have time to work. Our students are so much further along now than other kindergarten students have been in the past. I don’t see any negative effects of all-day kindergarten.”

Obrist said her parents have told her how they see their children are thriving academically.

Mannix said her students have reached the end of the year expectations.

“It’s wonderful the amount of learning that has happened in the classroom,” Mannix said.