Teachers, parents urge board to reconsider full‑day kindergarten pilot

During the public comment period at the Dec. 10 Carlsbad Unified School District board meeting, multiple kindergarten teachers told trustees they oppose the district’s full‑day kindergarten pilot and urged caution before expanding the program.

Kelley School teacher Lisa DeGore said she loves the district’s existing half‑day model because it enables intensive small‑group teaching and hands‑on play‑based learning. “If we are doing this pilot… I don’t feel that doubling the time and doubling the amount of children in a classroom is something that’s going to fix the program,” DeGore said, adding that teachers have personally paid for classroom materials and asked the board to commit funding if the pilot proceeds.

Dawn Ebbes, also a kindergarten teacher and task‑force participant, told trustees the pilot raised concerns about special day classes (SDC) and staffing: “We can’t afford this. If we’re putting 11 SDC kids in one room with eight adults, that’s crazy,” she said, urging the board to consider impacts on special‑education placements.

Janice Scott, a kindergarten teacher who is not in the pilot, described the existing early‑bird/lay‑out model as “absolutely joyful,” and warned that larger class sizes would reduce the frequency and quality of the four‑student rotations she runs for reading instruction.

Several speakers asked the board to visit classrooms and observe the current model before expanding the pilot. Board members acknowledged those concerns and directed staff to provide additional data, including grade‑level breakdowns of device and technology usage (a separate technology plan item on the agenda) and other follow‑up information. Trustees also noted that independent study, special‑education placements and classroom resources would need to be considered as part of any scale‑up.

The board did not take action on the kindergarten pilot during the Dec. 10 meeting; public comment was recorded and staff were asked to return with more information if changes are proposed.

Representative public comments - Lisa DeGore (Kelley School teacher): urged trustees to preserve the current half‑day model and asked the district to fund classroom materials if a full‑day change proceeds. - Dawn Ebbes (kindergarten teacher, task force member): said the district “can’t afford” full‑day kindergarten and raised SDC staffing concerns. - Janice Scott (kindergarten teacher): described the current program as highly effective and warned larger classes would reduce small‑group instruction time.

Next steps: Trustees requested additional information and site‑level data before considering any expansion of the pilot.