East Penn parents prepare for a lonely world of half-day kindergarten

Morning Call - 10/25/2017

Oct. 25--Scheduling and cost pushed the meter toward sending their children to a private elementary school for Craig Hochbein and his wife.

At private school, their children could enroll in a full-day kindergarten program that doesn't require shuttling from school to day care halfway through the day. The program costs money, but the expense was close to that of a few hours of day care.

Had the children attended East Penn School District'sWescosville Elementary, the Hochbein family would have been on the hook for those day care payments and the mid-day transport from the elementary school's half-day kindergarten program.

It was a "no-brainer."

"His half day was either going to be in some day care center, or with a licensed, talented academic instructor, and for essentially the same cost," said Hochbein, a Lower Macungie Township resident and assistant professor of educational leadership at Lehigh University.

Decisions about child care, half-day public school kindergarten or full-day private options will continue to confront East Penn School District parents. School board directors on Monday voted 5-4 against implementing a full-day program next year.

That means East Penn will remain one of only four districts in the Lehigh Valley not to offer full-day kindergarten to all of its students. Some districts reported seeing educational improvements after switching to full-day programs: more Parkland School District students showed better understanding of vocabulary and sentence comprehension, while Bethlehem Area School District reported closing achievement gaps between wealthy and poor schools.

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That's something Nicole DiIenno has seen firsthand, as a Saucon Valley Elementary School kindergarten teacher of full-day students and as the mother of an East Penn first grader, who attended half-day classes last year.

"From a teacher's perspective, you go from having over 40 students (per day) to having anywhere from 18 and maybe at the highest 24 students," she said. "We have more time to get to know our students, to really delve into their needs and find out what we can do for them."

DiIenno is unconcerned about her daughter's education -- she goes home to a kindergarten teacher, after all -- but said many students don't have the support at home to make up the gap.

East Penn students will someday compete with those from the districts that embraced full-day kindergarten, said Jessica Felegy, whose daughter is a Jefferson Elementary first grader. A half-day program was OK for Felegy's daughter, who is young for her grade, but Felegy said she still supported full-day kindergarten.

"I would have voted for having all-day," she said. "I don't want my kids to have any disadvantage when they are being compared to kids in other districts."

Elizabeth Lischner had a similar take -- half-day was fine with her, since it means she will spend more time for the grandsons she babysits during the day.

But in general? She said it's "ridiculous" not to offer a full-day program.

"From the perspective of a once-working mother, I think full-day kindergarten is a necessity," she said.

East Penn school board votes against full-day kindergarten.

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Some school board directors on Monday balked at the cost of implementing such a program, which administrators estimated would be around $1 million in the first year, then shrink to about $690,000 in the following years. Director Carol Allen suggested implementing the program but capping costs to about $800,000. Hers was the lone supportive vote for the altered plan. Directors then opposed implementing the program at all.

Hochbein contended full-day kindergarten is not costly, considering the district operates this year with a $148 million budget. He pointed to a $780,182 purchase of Chromebook computers and iPads as a similar expense.

"Research wise, I can make a very good case that kindergarten would be a better investment than that," he said.

Hochbein said he worries his decision to send his children to full-day private kindergarten, while a "no-brainer," also could exacerbate the achievement gaps between his children and their future classmates who have fewer financial, academic or familial resources.

"Whenever we look at equity issues, providing an education as early as possible and leveling the playing field I think is one of the best things that we could do."

But school director Waldemar Vinovskis, in a posting explaining his vote on the Facebook page of Friends for the Protection of Lower Macungie, said full-day kindergarten "is not a silver bullet which will automatically rescue all kids who are struggling in school." Instead, he felt, struggling students would be better prepared by programs such as Head Start and pre-school.

cthompson@mcall.com

610-778-2259

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