The days got a little bit longer this year for South Colonie Central School District kindergarteners as the district moved to a full-day kindergarten program.
Two months into the program, district officials said the transition into full-day kindergarten has been smooth and that both teachers and students seem to be adjusting well.
I’ve been in and out of the buildings and I think, so far, it’s going great, said Superintendent of Schools Jonathan Buhner.
The biggest adjustment is that for the students, Buhner said. As students were typically used to spending half-days in kindergarten, now they spend a longer time in the classroom.
`It’s a little bit of an adjustment for the kids,` Buhner said. `But they’ve adjusted and the teachers are pleased to have more time with the kids.`
Having more time in the classroom proves beneficial to both the teacher and the student, Buhner said. With more time, the student is able to absorb more knowledge and practice with studies they are having difficulties with.
`Even a skilled teacher struggles with how many minutes they have to work with the kids,` said Buhner.
Teachers are given the opportunity to spend more time getting to know the students and their individual needs, learning more about specific areas where individual students need more concentrated teaching.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Tim Backus said teachers lose a lot of time during the day when the students come in and have to take their coats (and boots if it is snowing or raining) off, mingle with their friends and get settled in their seats. More time is lost at the end of the day when the students have to repeat this process.
With less transitions, Backus said, the class is able to go on more smoothly without interruptions.
Backus said that one of the concerns of the teachers was having the kindergarteners go through a lunch period, but that the students seem to be adjusting to that easily as well.
`From all accounts, it’s been a resounding success,` he said. `Some of the growing pains we thought we were going to have, we really didn’t have.`
One area some might have expected full-day kindergarten to affect is after school care.
With students in school longer, the need for after school care could have altered.
But according to Mary Burke, director of the Town of Colonie Youth Bureau, after school programs have not changes drastically.
One of the changes to the programs include having to provide students snacks, Burke said.
`We have to provide snacks in the morning and snack in the afternoon,` she said. `We always had snack here, but the kids could bring their own. Now, we have to have a snack menu that is approved on a monthly basis.`
The type of snacks that are available to the children include cut up bagels, graham crackers, animal crackers, fruits and more.
Another of the small changes to the programs at the Colonie Youth Bureau are the ages it serves.
`We used to do k – . Now we’re doing pre-k through 6,` she said. `We added fifth and sixth grade.`
While adding the older grades did not have much to do with full-day kindergarten, Burke said this year, parents whose children were in the middle schools had wanted to continue sending their children to the Youth Bureau for after school programs.
The Youth Bureau does rely on the transportation provided by the district to transport the students to and from the facility to school.
Buhner said the transportation department has also adjusted well to the full-day kindergarten transition.
`We seem to have all those bugs worked out and it seems to be going great,` he said.
For more on this story, check back at www.spotlightnews.com, or read the Wednesday, Nov. 18, print edition of the Colonie Spotlight.“
