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Here's the whole thing
From: Sean Noble
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 20:50:17 -0500
Subject: All-day K - a different angle :
(Sean Noble is
Congressman Shadegg's Chief of Staff)
Thank you for your service to our state. I understand your busy
schedule and apologize for the length of this email. The background
below is important for context, but I will summarize my thoughts
regarding "voluntary" all-day K:
1) any legislation that moves out of the legislature dealing with
elementary education should include a requirement that districts who
have an all-day K option give parents a choice of half-day program
which would include the basics covered in an all-day program
(specifically, reading/language and math).
2) this choice should provide students with a traditional half-day
program, not just leaving early or coming late to an already existing
all-day program.
The following is the context of why I believe this is important.
Lost in the continuing debate over the merits of all-day
Kindergarten is the perspective of the families with kindergarten
students. My son Adam is a kindergarten student at Boulder Creek
Elementary in the Paradise Valley School District. PVSD implemented
all-day K this school year following a bond override in November of 2003.
All-day K has damaged my son academically. Over the Christmas break I sat
down to read with him and I was stunned that his reading skills
had regressed.
During the summer, my wife had a daily routine of putting our two
youngest girls down for a nap and sitting down with my son to teach
him to read.
He started school reading quite well. However, as a result of
being
in school all day, and not having the one-on-one time with his mother,
his skills have slipped. We worried about this, which is why we had
asked for a half-day option.
When we went to register Adam for a half-day program for the
2004-2005 school year, we were told that half-day programs were no
longer offered because of the new all-day K program.
I met with the principal to tell her that we preferred to have our
son in a half-day program, since we are blessed to be in a situation
in which my wife can stay at home. She concluded that we had every
right to take him out of school for part of the day, but that she
would not accommodate him learning the basics because reading/language is
offered in the morning and math in the afternoon.
I contacted the Director of Curriculum and Instruction who chaired
the committee implement all-day K for the district. When I asked him
what discussion the committee had relating to parents who would choose a
half-day program, his response stunned me. "It never occurred to us.
What parent in their right mind would not enroll their child in an all-day
program?" After picking my jaw off the ground I informed him that the
parent on the phone with him didn't think the all-day option was the best
option for my child.
After speaking at a School Board meeting and having repeated
conversations with the Asst. Superintendent of Elementary Education,
PVSD refused to make any accommodation saying that they would not
inform other parents that half-day was an option because "we believe
in all-day K and we will only pursue a plan to ensure it's success."
Now, I never expected the district to make special accommodations
for one student, but I strongly believe that there are other parents out
there (I know of three other families in our neighborhood) who would
prefer a half-day program if it were available. Taking your child out of
school half-way through a normal all-day program is not a solution. There
is the stigmatizing factor of coming late or leaving early (why is Adam
different?) and some of the basic skills are missed as a result of
curriculum being spread throughout the day.
Make no mistake, my wife and I know that we are blessed to be in
a situation in which we can have the mother in the home to help teach
our children. I don't expect anyone to feel sorry for us. We're not
asking for pity, but we are asking for a real choice. If all-day K is
"voluntary" then let us have our half-day program back. With out it,
our son's education suffers and it puts the education of our younger
children at risk.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further
information or have questions. Thank you again for your service to
our great state.
Sean Noble
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