Eighty percent of New Jersey school districts already provide full-day kindergarten.
PITMAN -- Roughly 80 percent of New Jersey public school districts offer full-day kindergarten.
The Senate Education Committee approved a bill last week that would require the remaining 20 percent of New Jersey districts not offering full-day kindergarten to do so in the next two to three years.
If the budget allows, Pitman could be one of the next districts to offer it come fall.
The district has been deep in its 2016-2017 budgeting process for months, Pitman Superintendent Patrick McAleer said, and full-day kindergarten is a goal.
The district is still working on its budgeting and should have a better idea of the plan by the time the next school board meeting is held next week.
"We're not even certain that the budget for next year will support full-day kindergarten," McAleer cautioned when contacted Wednesday.
The district currently has a total of 78 kindergartners it its three elementary schools.
"There's a feeling that having a full day is beneficial to their kids," McAleer said. "I expect some folks feel having a full day maybe helps them logistically. We're looking at it as a positive thing we can do to ensure students are truly ready to start first grade."
A half day doesn't really allow enough time to fulfill that mission, many educators agree.
"There's a lot that you try to accomplish and 2 1/2 hours can make it hard," McAleer norted.
The subject drew plenty of interest on the Facebook page for local news site Pitman Today, where readers offered views for and against the idea. Most commenters seem to favor the move.
Pitman school board member Laura Schultz said she supports the move to full-day kindergarten and championed the idea when she originally ran for the board in 2012.
Pitman has actually been looking at this since 2006, Schultz said, adding that several other Gloucester County districts are currently considering the change. The new legislation regarding mandatory full-day kindergarten is one more reason to act now, she said.
"I don't think that Pitman should wait until the state forces us to make this change," she said.
The majority of the expense in moving to full-day kindergarten would come in staffing, McAleer said.
"We believe we would need to find funding for two additional teaching positions," That cost, including benefits, would likely exceed $100,000. Other expenses would include supplies, but McAleer doesn't see that being a large dollar figure.
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As for classroom space, administrators feel they can find space for two full-day kindergarten classrooms in each elementary school by reallocating existing space.
That means current class sizes could remain the same.
"As of our most recent budget planning meeting on March 2, full-day kindergarten remains in our budget and is still a possibility for the 2016-2017 academic year," Schultz said Wednesday. "Many Pitman residents with young children strongly support switching to full-day kindergarten, and I hope that the school district will be in a financial position to finally make this happen."
While McAleer favors the move, he remained cautious about ensuring the district can budget for the change.
"We can't make any firm decision on any of that until we know what our budget will look like," he said.
The school board will vote next week on submitting its proposed budget to the county superintendent of schools for review. A public hearing on the spending plan and adoption of it will likely follow in April.
A common argument against full-day kindergarten is that it could be overwhelming for some students not accustomed to a full-day learning environment.
McAleer noted that it's important that the program remains sensitive to the needs of students and incorporates time for unstructured activities.
"That's why a good kindergarten program doesn't look like first grade," he said.
The next school board meeting is Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Pitman High School media center.
A reader sent this: "The Pitman Board of Education is actively discussing the possibility of switching to full-day...
Posted by Pitman Today on Monday, March 7, 2016
Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MattGraySJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.