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Committee reports momentum for full-day kindergarten; administration recommends feasibility study and phased funding
Summary
An exploratory committee reported strong internal support for full-day kindergarten and recommended a targeted feasibility study and enrollment study results before the board commits to implementation; administration proposed a phased funding plan that could build to full implementation by fall 2027.
Mr. Stout and Mrs. Landis reported to the Committee of the Whole on April 8 the work of an exploratory committee that met multiple times to examine full-day kindergarten (all day K). Committee members included central-office staff (CFO Denicola and HR chief Hahn), special education and pupil services leaders, principals, kindergarten teachers, reading specialists, transportation, food service and other stakeholders.
Stout said the committee's charge was to gather data rather than to deliver a final recommendation. "We tasked this committee with not coming up with a recommendation for all day K. We tasked this committee with coming up with the data to give the background information to consider all day K as a viable opportunity," he said. The committee conducted three smaller meetings and a larger session with kindergarten teachers, reading specialists and intervention teachers and used surveys and schedule comparisons to identify benefits and constraints.
Findings and concerns: participants cited instructional and social-emotional benefits from more daily instructional time and additional play and exploration. Key constraints were staffing and space. The committee estimated district-wide additional teacher needs at about 9.5 FTE to staff a full-day program and noted that two elementary buildings (Boyertown Elementary and Washington Elementary) present the greatest space challenges under current configurations. The administration also highlighted operational issues including schedule changes, potential bus-run adjustments and the need for additional special-area and support staffing.
Options and next steps: the committee proposed (1) seeking board approval to continue planning, (2) commissioning a targeted feasibility study (to be coordinated with an already-approved enrollment study), and (3) phasing budget changes over multiple years. Stout and Landis suggested building modest budget capacity now (the administration has inserted two kindergarten positions in the proposed 2025-26 budget as a planning placeholder) and targeting full implementation "in fall of 2027" if the feasibility and enrollment studies support the plan. Stout said a preliminary cost estimate for staffing and associated needs was roughly $1.5 million, to be phased in over multiple budget cycles.
The committee also offered an "outside-the-box" configuration idea: reconfiguring grade bands so elementary schools would be K'4, one middle campus would host grades 5'6, another grades 7'8, and the senior high remain 9'12. Stout called that an exploratory option that would require substantially more study; board members raised concerns about transportation time and community reactions.
Board direction requested: administration said it would ask for a motion at the April 22 legislative meeting to continue planning; the feasibility study and detailed enrollment analysis would follow and be presented in more detail for board decisions. No vote on implementation was taken on April 8.
