ISO - anyone else against full day K in Texas

[tomsTXmom]

Does anyone know of resources I could find on groups established to abolish the full day Kindergarten in Texas?

These kids have F/T jobs of 40 hours a week at KINDERGARTEN with NO NAPS! 8am-3pm with a few minutes to rest their heads seems ridiculous.

I'd love to hear of any organized groups I could join in the hopes of changing state law.

Thanks in advance!

Tracy

[Emmeline II]

I'd love that too.

[alegna]

I think it would be a losing fight.

The district I'm in has had full day K for at LEAST 27 years. (they had full day K when I started...)

-Angela

[oliversmum2000]

how old are the children in kindergarten?

[library lady]

Originally Posted by oliversmum2000

how old are the children in kindergarten?

5-6 years old. They have to turn 5 before Sept. 1 of the year they are entering otherwise they have to wait until the following year.

[lisac77]

Originally Posted by tomsTXmom

Does anyone know of resources I could find on groups established to abolish the full day Kindergarten in Texas?

These kids have F/T jobs of 40 hours a week at KINDERGARTEN with NO NAPS! 8am-3pm with a few minutes to rest their heads seems ridiculous.

I'd love to hear of any organized groups I could join in the hopes of changing state law.

Thanks in advance!

Tracy

Actually, if they're in school 8-3 it's 35 hours a week.

Also, K is not required in TX, unless your child turns 6 before K starts.

Full day or half day Kindergarten is determined on school district basis rather than a statewide basis. In the Dallas-Ft. Worth area there are still school districts that do half day Kindergarten.

Finally, perhaps you should concentrate more on what is right for your family, rather than trying to affect the lives of millions of other people who like the full day Kindergarten option. For our family it works really well, as we both work full time. DS does fine in his NO NAP Kindergarten class, he hated naptime in pre-K so that was a big selling point for him!

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by lisac77

Finally, perhaps you should concentrate more on what is right for your family, rather than trying to affect the lives of millions of other people who like the full day Kindergarten option. For our family it works really well, as we both work full time. DS does fine in his NO NAP Kindergarten class, he hated naptime in pre-K so that was a big selling point for him!

So the only possible options are free daycare for you and exclusion for children who would be better off with half-day Kindergarten?

Don't think so.

[waiflywaif]

Or moving to a district that does half-day kindergarten.

Sounds harsh but with public school you pretty much get what you get, unless there is a magnet system. I don't see why the other way---the parents who want full-day kindergarten are denied it because of one family's crusade (assuming you were successful)---is any more fair. It's part of why people research schools and school districts so thoroughly before deciding to join the system.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by waiflywaif

Or moving to a district that does half-day kindergarten.

Sounds harsh but with public school you pretty much get what you get, unless there is a magnet system. I don't see why the other way---the parents who want full-day kindergarten are denied it because of one family's crusade (assuming you were successful)---is any more fair. It's part of why people research schools and school districts so thoroughly before deciding to join the system.

:

In many places in TX it's been the standard for as long as many parents remember. I can not fathom changing it here. If it's an issue that important to you then you should research districts and their policies or plan and save ahead for a private K. OR skip K or homeschool, then start public school at 1st grade.

-Angela

[amcal]

How about a private kindergarten option?

We aren't in TX but I'm in AZ and most of our Kindy's are full day as well. We didn't want to do full day Kindy either so, we did a private Kindy. It cost us $120/mo and we volunteered 8 days a year.

I understand you don't like it but for many parents who work, it's a wonderful option.

[maxmama]

Originally Posted by tomsTXmom

Does anyone know of resources I could find on groups established to abolish the full day Kindergarten in Texas?

These kids have F/T jobs of 40 hours a week at KINDERGARTEN with NO NAPS! 8am-3pm with a few minutes to rest their heads seems ridiculous.

I'd love to hear of any organized groups I could join in the hopes of changing state law.

Thanks in advance!

Tracy

Why do you want to abolish a system that works well for other families instead of working to add an option for your own? If it doesn't work for your family, it doesn't work and should be abolished? Really?

[Ruthla]

All of my kids were ready for full-day by kindergarten- and my son wasn't even 5 until November of that year. None of my kids were still napping at that age either. If you're so concerned about the 5yos who aren't yet ready for full day kindy- what about the 5yos who ARE ready and bored by half day programs?

Schools wouldn't be moving towards full-day kindergartens if parents weren't requesting it. This DOES work for many children. If your child isn't one of them, you can opt out.

[octobermom]

I'm in AZ as well but was raised in the DFW area. My DD is in Kindy this year I orginally choose the school shes attending because it was a 1/2 day program but this year they moved to full day 8am-2:30.. But DD is doing great in it. I was suprised how much down time and free play they actually get 3 diffrent recess/ playtime oppurnuties the also have both lunch and snack time and are allowed to have water bottles with them all day (just not at the work tables). Mine stopped taking naps when she was 3.5 and would probably resist a nap if forced now, so the spaced out playtime seems to work well. She also has school mon- Thursday and 1/3 day on fridays and starting I believe next week she will get all Fridays off as there foing to a 4 day program... Still yes it would be nice if there was more option for those wanting a 1/2 day program here only one place does 1/2 days and its a private one most can't afford it even if space was avaiable.

Deanna

[bobandjess99]

NEVER happen.
NEVER.
It's "free daycare". A HUGE segment of the population relies on it to get by.

[Evan&Anna's_Mom]

Funnily enough, in CA I choose private school in part BECAUSE of full-day K. The 1/2 day public schools are so crammed with the NCLB required academics the kids don't get to breathe, let alone play or do anything other than basic academics. I love the fact that my kids get recess, sports, science, music, and other "extras" because of the full day class. Yes, the schedule is also more convenient for our family, but more importantly the full day class experience is better for my children.

For public school, perhaps there should be a choice of options. And its never inappropriate to see if a great number of people in your area agree with your view and want to work towards it. But there are always other choices, depending on just how strongly you feel about this and what you are willing to sacrifice to get what you want for your child. But I would really like to see people work towards schools (and other systems) presenting options and choices rather than just this way or that way.

[eepster]

I live in NJ not TX. In our district (it varies town to town) it's a parents choice if they want 1/2 day or full day.

[library lady]

Check out the FAQ's for kindergarten programs for the state of Texas that is published by the Texas Education Agency.

http://www.tea.state.tx.us/curriculum/early/kfaq.pdf

The decision to offer full day programs is made on a district by district basis. It would be difficult to ban something that is not mandated in the first place. If you want the option of half-day kindergarten, you would need to start by seeing if there are enough parents in your district to support a half-day program. If you can get enough support, then maybe you can take it to the board of trustees for your district. If you feel that all day kindergarten is not appropriate for your child, then note that kindergarten is not required in the state of Texas.

[oliversmum2000]

wow - by the age of 5-6 years children in the uk are in year 1 having already completed their reception year of school, where although going full time is staggered by birth date they are all full time by the end of the year.

[loveandkindness]

We used a private school for kindergarten specifically because it was half-day. We had moved from a place where parents could choose half or full-day kindy, so I was surprised there was no choice in our new state. I always think choice is good, especially when tax dollars are paying for it! Perhaps you should work on getting the district to provide a choice instead of just one way or the other.