The Board of Education will sponsor a parent forum on Wednesday, Jan. 7, regarding converting the current transitional kindergarten program into a full-day program beginning in September 2009.

The forum will be held at 7 p.m. at the Sacandaga Elementary School.

Jan. 5, 2009 update: If school is cancelled or after-school activities are cancelled on Wednesday, the meeting will be rescheduled to 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 15, at Sacandaga.

The article below was published in the summer Tartan Report.

Full day kindergarten is on the way

S-G likely to begin program in Sept. 2009

It’s been nearly 10 years since the Transitional Kindergarten program began at Scotia-Glenville schools.

That program – in which students attend for half days in September, October, November and December and then full days beginning in January – has been popular.

However, with students now taking state standardized tests beginning in grade 3, children need more intensive instruction at the earliest levels. Most children who attend a pre-school program already come to school ready to tackle more instruction.

“This is a direction that makes a lot of sense for children and will help us build a stronger foundation for them,” said Superintendent Susan Swartz.

While most area urban districts have full-day kindergarten, suburban schools have been slow to follow. That’s mostly because those schools don’t have the space or staff. However, schools north and south of here have had full-day kindergarten for years.

It will be a smooth transition for S-G. Classrooms were added in the 1999 project and staffing was increased when Transitional Kindergarten began.
Moving to full day kindergarten would also save about $50,000 by cutting the mid-day bus runs and there may be an aid incentive from the state.

Swartz said she plans to meet in the fall with the kindergarten teachers to discuss the best way to make the transition effective in September 2009.