Pricey public education - paying extra for K???

[JulieJ]

but she has the energy for it and would perhaps enjoy it.

 

 

When I subbed in a K classroom there was atleast an hour nap time after lunch when the "morning kids" went home.

[MeanestMomInMidwest]

Thanks for all of your reports! It is amazing how many variances exist. FWIW we really don't think she needs a full day, but she has the energy for it and would perhaps enjoy it.

 

Just working the annual Chinese-number-puzzle of how to best meet every child's needs in the coming year. A high school junior and two high maintenance eighth graders have me concerned that my precocious kinder will get very impatient waiting her turn. I don't think ps is really the answer but I did need to at least get the info to consider it (or should I say, to rule it out).

 

Anyway, I was just startled to learn the costs involved.

 

The reason we send dd5 to 1/2 day PS K is that when she comes home in the afternoon, the boys are all done and I can concentrate on her. They are not so demanding, but she is and would really distract from my teaching them (as she did last year - but then she did learn a lot). I'm happy with the 1/2 day K because I have very low expectations. I expect them to keep her entertained and happy for four hours and then I'll educate her at home in the afternoon. So, even if this PS isn't the answer long-term, it is the answer to this particular situation for our family. A very wise woman once told me that no decision I make regarding schooling is un-doable (and she was right, we've changed our minds a few times).

[LibrarianMom]

It boggles my mind that half day kindergarten is still a viable option. When I went to school way back in the dark ages, my class was the first to have full day every other day kindergarten. By the time my sister started kindergarten five years later, everybody went all day every day. Granted, I think both decisions were due to transportation costs as it was a very rural district.

 

It also boggles my mind that a school would charge for full day kindergarten. I would be interested in what other surrounding districts do and most likely would cause a stink about it.

[TrixieB]

When my oldest was kindergarten age, the school district offered several options.

 

Title I schools offered only all-day kindergarten, free of charge.

 

All other schools offered half-day kindergarten in the morning, free of charge. PLUS they had all-day kindergarten (9 AM to 3 PM) for $200-ish per month.

 

The way that the half-day/all-day worked at the non-Title I schools was that the academic work was in the morning, and all the enrichment (art, music, PE, library, etc.) was in the afternoon. So the half-day kindergarten classes did only academics, and no enrichment.

 

At the time, we didn't like the structure of the program -- dh wanted half-day kindergarten for our kids, but he wanted it to include enrichment time, not just academics. Since that wasn't offered in our district, we homeschooled. And here we still are, many years later :).

[Tidbits of Learning]

but she has the energy for it and would perhaps enjoy it.

 

 

When I subbed in a K classroom there was atleast an hour nap time after lunch when the "morning kids" went home.

 

When my girls were in public school full day K, which is the only option here and free, they did have a an hour or two nap in the afternoon where they laid on nap mats and watched cartoons.

However 2 years later, my ds went to same school and had same teacher as my first dd and k had changed so much. It was k and 1st grade work rolled into one. It was harder than my girl's kindergarten year. They were stressing preparing them for tests and the teacher found that nap time got the short end of the deal. My ds although very energetic, often had horrible afternoons. The teacher said it was like he was just through after lunch.

I would sit in on the class before doing full day anywhere. It has changed b/c of the NCLB and state testing.

Edited April 8, 2010 by OpenMinded

[Mabelen]

When my girls were in public school full day K, which is the only option here and free, they did have a an hour or two nap in the afternoon where they laid on nap mats and watched cartoons.

However 2 years later, my ds went to same school and had same teacher as my first dd and k had changed so much. It was k and 1st grade rolled into one. They were stressing preparing them for tests and the teacher found that nap time got the short end of the deal. My ds although very energetic, often had horrible afternoons. The teacher said it was like he was just through after lunch.

I would sit in on the class before doing full day anywhere. It has changed b/c of the NCLB and state testing.

 

Our full day Kindergarten has no nap time. The teacher has flexibility around her class schedule and she tweaks it around as necessary. Usually she gets in the heavy academic activities earlier in the day. I agree some kids, especially those on the young side, might find full day Kindergarten tiring. That is not a problem with my daughter though; she would absolutely hate having to take a nap, she already hated having to lay down for quiet time last year in Pre-K!

[Impish]

We had textbook rentals here too. If I remember properly (and I may not) I think one year it was going to cost me almost $1000 in fees for 2 kids to walk through the door of ps. That was BEFORE any supply lists.

 

Completely ridiculous. I homeschool, supplies included, on about $1000 a year...less than, really, except I buy for the Littles as well as Diva.

 

Insanity.

[Melabella]

Our district has full day K for free and there is no napping. They also have 30 minutes to and hour of homework most nights. Pre-K is also full day and funded by the lottery in our state.

[Melinda in VT]

Free, full-day K here. No napping.

 

My kids were in the first class to have full-day, so I sat in on some of the meetings concerning the switch. One argument in favor of the change was that with increasing state standards for academic work in K, if they wanted to keep some the enrichment (art, music, PE, working in the garden, boiling maple syrup, etc.), they needed to go to full-day K.

 

I was happy with it, and I'm looking forward to my youngest being in K in two years.

 

The K room is very age-appropriate, imo. No desks, although there are tables in a few areas of the classroom for writing work.

[Georgiana Daniels]

For a while full day K was funded, but now that is most likely going by the wayside for next year. They now estimate the cost to be $1800, and yes, aftercare will be extra.

[MeganW]

Technically kindergarten is not mandatory in South Carolina and we do have a half day program that is not advertised or acknowledged unless the parent brings it up. That's why there is a difference in the paperwork when one homeschools kindy verses homeschooling first. I even had to get our school district to fax the proper form to the school and explain it to the teachers and principal who never knew kindergarten was not a mandatory program but was completely optional. They knew they had to do different paperwork and different funding options for K but never knew why. See SC law here Title 59 section 35-10 and Title 59 section 65-10 It's kinda of stupid because they make your school have it, tell you must attend but out the other side of their mouth tell you can opt out if you want.

 

I am in York County / Fort Mill. The only kindergarten in our public schools is full-day. I specifically called the district hoping for half-day, because my kids are still in PT, OT, & play therapy. They told me that wasn't available - it was full-day or nothing. So are you saying that legally I have the option to only send them half-time??

[Tidbits of Learning]

Our full day Kindergarten has no nap time. The teacher has flexibility around her class schedule and she tweaks it around as necessary. Usually she gets in the heavy academic activities earlier in the day. I agree some kids, especially those on the young side, might find full day Kindergarten tiring. That is not a problem with my daughter though; she would absolutely hate having to take a nap, she already hated having to lay down for quiet time last year in Pre-K!

 

He wasn't on the younger side. It was just so much busy work. They even swapped classes. They had them doing 3 reading programs and 2 maths. They were taking graded tests in kindergarten. There was just as much academics in the afternoon as in the morning and those that didn't finish their worksheets had to work through recess and lunch breaks. I am just saying that a lot of kindergarten programs are really like 1st grade.

Not necessarily that they need a nap, but they may need some down time. They really don't have any down time at kindergarten now.

 

Here there is no cost, but they do ask for money a lot for different enrichment type things. We spent a lot of money during kindergarten year.

[Mabelen]

He wasn't on the younger side. It was just so much busy work. They even swapped classes. They had them doing 3 reading programs and 2 maths. They were taking graded tests in kindergarten. There was just as much academics in the afternoon as in the morning and those that didn't finish their worksheets had to work through recess and lunch breaks. I am just saying that a lot of kindergarten programs are really like 1st grade.

Not necessarily that they need a nap, but they may need some down time. They really don't have any down time at kindergarten now.

 

Here there is no cost, but they do ask for money a lot for different enrichment type things. We spent a lot of money during kindergarten year.

 

The thing is that everybody has a different experience in public school depending on district and school. Three reading and two math programs in Kindergarten, simultaneously? That is just so over the top!! Skip recess and lunch over work? I agree that is just too much! My daughter's Kindergarten is full day and they do academic work and the children overall test well, but they also have plenty of down time built in throughout the day.

[melissel]

It is so funny that I read this thread with interest yesterday, and then today, in a paper I NEVER normally read, I came across a front-page article about budget cuts in our town and how they're going from full-day K (which they just started two years ago, after a huge funding push) to half-day K, with full-day available at an extra cost. Very interesting, this new trend...

[Supertechmom]

I am in York County / Fort Mill. The only kindergarten in our public schools is full-day. I specifically called the district hoping for half-day, because my kids are still in PT, OT, & play therapy. They told me that wasn't available - it was full-day or nothing. So are you saying that legally I have the option to only send them half-time??

 

 

According to the law, you have that right. It states "Parents of children who are eligible to attend the extended-day five-year-old kindergarten may elect the half-day program for their children."

 

Now whether the district will abide by it is a different beast. Call the legal dept of SC dept of education. Here's their site http://ed.sc.gov/agency/General-Counsel/

 

 

I discovered that the school and sometimes the district have no clue as to what they have to do and what they don't. Lexington 1 was forcing all home schoolers to enroll in school and then withdraw. All that was needed was a signature on a waiver form. It involved three days, four attorney conferences between district, school, and me. And the district homeschool coordinator had to teach a "policy" class to get the receptionist to hand me the waiver form to sign. York may simply not have a clue that kindy is half day and may have to be informed of that by the powers that be. That's why it is so important to be aware of your rights. It's frightening how easy they can be striped away without anyone knowing.

[HappyCrazyMama]

In our district we have free full day kindergarten.

Here it's the only option.

[fenni]

That's crazy considering the districts here went to full day K so they would get more money from the state! If that is the case where you live, then the district is collecting twice!