All-Day Kindergarten In Ohio By Fall 2011
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All-Day Kindergarten?
Columbus City Schools has offered all-day kindergarten since 1994, but some districts may have to hire more teachers and find more classroom space.Columbus City Schools has offered all-day kindergarten since 1994, but some districts may have to hire more teachers and find more classroom space.
Starting in the fall of 2011, Ohio schools must offer all-day kindergarten as mandated in the new state budget.
The Grandview Heights City School District is a small one, but currently offers all-day kindergarten on a tuition basis. The district is allowed to continue charging tuition for the 2010-2011 school year, but not after that.
One-hundred-twenty Ohio school districts receive Poverty-Based Assistance that currently pays for all-day kindergarten. The Columbus City School District is one of them.
Many suburban school districts don’t receive that funding. Although the new evidence-based school funding model provides money for all-day kindergarten, some districts worry that they won’t receive any more funding than current levels.
Working parents who contacted NBC 4 say they prefer all-day kindergarten because it works better for their schedules.
Half-day kindergarten will still be an option for parents who request it.
Grandview Heights City Schools Superintendent Ed O’Reilly says he wants to know if the state will require him to provide one teacher for a half-day kindergarten class if only a handful of students request it. He says the way the budget language is written, it looks like the district is obligated to provide half-day classes upon request.
Ohio has 613 school districts.
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Reader Reactions
I work with a school district and in a way see the whole day kindergarten as a good idea but then again I dont. Reason being is yes I have seen too many times kids coming to school, dirty, hungry, and sick and do the parents who bring them care? I highly doubt it. I had a child come to school with marks around her neck from a dog chain, and the parent told me the dog and her tripped and it got wrapped around her neck. Now the only thing I can do is report it, you think that works? NO!!! So for a child to not have to be home all day with their lazy, good for nothing parents. I think all day school is great, at least that child gets the attention and food he/she needs. As for it being a bad idea, we as taxpayers have to look into our wallets weather bare or full to pay the price.
I think all-day Kindergarten is probably needed in “the hood” and the ignorant rural parts of Ohio where parents don’t read to their kids, don’t feed their kids, Dad was gone 5 minutes after the “donation” so he’s not around, etc. On the other hand, normal parents who care about their kids will teach them to read with or without the school’s help. By normal parents I mean the biological mom and dad live in the same house and care about the kids, not parying and tattoos and drunk and whatnot. School’s can’t make up for moron parents, and these days the morons are becoming the majority!
Lovin50…i know its a totally CRAZY idea, but did you ever consider, just MAYBE, helping your child learn??? i mean, i KNOW kindergarten level teaching is difficult, but maybe you could have gotten by! i swear, why do we allow people to have kids these days? they dont want to educate them, they dont want to instil manners, they dont want to teach them right from wrong, they dont want anything to do with their kids except have them “be there.“ just get a freekin photo of a kid!
People, this is the tip of the iceberg. They want to limit classroom ratios in K-3 to 15 per class, which would have to add about 10 teachers to the payroll plus they would need 10 more classrooms. They also want the school year to be 200 days long vs 180. Who do you think is going to pay for the new buildings and all the money it will cost to run school another month. YOU!!!! Taxpayers will feel the burden. This is the Deomcrats way of running things. Programs that they pay for with taxes!! Strickland needs to be VOTED OUT!!!!
I was thinking the exact same thing justaconcern. If some schools didnt get their levy how are they to pay for all day kindergarten? The schools will need to hire more teachers, need more supplies, as well as when it comes to breakfast and lunches, more food will need to be ordered which also means the cafeteria people will get more hours and so on and so on. Now dont get me wrong I do think it is a good idea but still there is too much to spend and not enough money to spend for it.
I believe the state needs to come up with the funding on this. I do know that all day kindergarten is better than half day. My oldest children went half day and did not learn 1/4 what my youngest learned in full day. My youngest is a better reader, and has caught on to math much quicker. He did not have as many interruptions during class, enabling him to learn more.
it “works better with their schedules”??? WTF??? ever hear the saying “cant feed em? dont breed em!!“ it applies to this too. i’m sick of people having kids then expecting THEIR kids to be everyone else’s problem.
Do the words “unfunded mandate” mean anything to you? That’s the term the state uses to complain about federal requirements that are not funded. Obviously the same words do not apply to things the state does to districts.
This is great that Ohio schools will have to offer all day Kindergarten, but how are they supposed to pay for it? Schools do not receive enough money as it is….and taxpayers do not give money to schools now (Southwestern Schools-case in point). I doubt Mr. Strickland is going to give enough money to the schools for them to run all day kindergarten. In my district it would mean an entirely new building and 8 more teachers.
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