The kindergarten enrollment at Pleasantdale is at 86 children. 54 of the children attend half day and 32 attend the extended day program.
There are four sections of kindergarten. One section is afternoon kindergarten and three of the sections consist of half day morning kindergarten followed by afternoon extended day playtime.
In the half day sections, there are 22, 22, 22, and 20 respectively. In the extended day classes there are 9, 10 and 13 kids.
Does it make any sense that we cram 22 kids in a class when they are there to actually learn, but when they extend their day to play there are considerably less kids?
Shouldn't we have less kids in the half day program when learning is taking place by giving the kids a more favorable student to teacher ratio?
Wouldn't it make more sense to have six sections of half day kindergarten and two sections of extended day?
It would look something like this:
Teacher A would have a morning and an afternoon class. The morning class would have 14 kids, the afternoon class would have 13 kids.
Teacher B would have a morning and an afternoon class. The morning class would have 14 kids, the afternoon class would have 13 kids.
Teacher C would have a morning/extended day class. This class would have 16 kids.
Teacher D would have a morning/extended day class. This class would have 16 kids.
Many parents request morning kindergarten, but we are confident they would be just as happy sending their children in the afternoon if the class sizes were smaller.
It all boils down to dollars and sense. Common sense. Superintendent Fredisdorf hopes that the half day morning students will add on the extended day option so he can charge them money. It really is all about the money. If it wasn’t, he and the school board that allows this, would not be doing such a disservice to the kids in kindergarten.
Undoubtedly, you have heard of Dr. Fredisdorf's "fiscal prudence." As far as fiscal prudence goes, are they really being fiscally prudent when they pay three teachers a full salary to be there but are not allowed to teach anything? Can you imagine how much more the kids would learn if the teachers were allowed to teach?
Do the research and the math...kids in smaller classes will gain more in their early formative years of learning. Oh, and you can bet that any kindergarten teacher you ask will tell you the same thing.
It's time to wake up and ask our superintendent and board of eduction members to do what's best for the kids in our district!
Editor's Note:
Our figures are wrong. We heard there are even more kids currently in the half day kindergarten classes than we previously reported. :(
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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2 comments:
Well said, once again you can't argue with the facts. So Mr. superintendent, we know that you check in and read this blog. When will you be brave enough to respond? When will you put the children first? When will you stop saying you are fiscally responsible rather than just protecting your bottom line at the expense of our kids? When will you stop trying to make your own rules and then dictate to the naive and weak board of education how to respond on the tough questions? When will the board wake up and realize they are the superintendent's boss, not the other way around. Furthermore, when will there be some regulatory correction on how this district is run? Stay tuned as we appeal through the chain of command upward to get some investigation of what is really going on! Come on community, these are our children. Open your mouth and fight for them. Be honest and tell the authorities you cannot give your name because you fear the superintendent's revenge. They need to know that too!!!!
PDale does it again!
Yes, once again children at the middle school will be denied access to qualified art instruction! For those families new to the middle school, the current 7th grade class has not had art since 4th grade!
Last week parents were notified that Mrs. Washburn will be off for several weeks for medical reasons. (I wish you the best Mrs. Washburn). That cannot be avoided. What is frustrating is that our current administration felt that Mrs. Sedjo was a perfect fit for filling in during Mrs. Washburn’s absence. While I don’t have a copy of Mrs. Sedjo’s teaching certification, the letter from the school stated that Mrs. Sedjo taught Language Arts and that she will shadow Mrs. Washburn for two days prior to Mrs. Washburn leaving! Two days??? Mrs. Washburn has over 30 years experience! Can she really convey her knowledge of art to Mrs. Sedjo in two days.
Maybe it’s me, but I don’t feel that Mrs. Sedjo is the best choice for our children. Now, as an after thought, the school has decided to seek out Mrs. Freidfeld to help assist Mrs. Sedjo for one day a week. Well kudos to who ever thought of calling Mrs. Freidfeld. We are thankful for that (too bad she was not the first person called). But, I think that the message to the children/families at Pdale is clear - art is not a priority!
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