Would you pay for public school kindergarten?

[okeydokey]

I wouldn't have been able to financially. How sad.

 

[golfgal]

Kindergarten isn't mandatory in most states and that is how they will be able to get away with it-just like preschool isn't required so they can charge. If we had to pay $5000 for our kids to attend kindergarten we would not have sent them, especially the twins because that would have been $10,000. We would have kept them in pre-school for the $560/year that we paid. The district where we lived when the twins were in kindergarten had free all day kindergarten and it was fabulous. Here they have 1/2 day free and a fee, $1500 I think, if you want to go all day. It DOES cost at least that much to provide kindergarten so I can see where they come up with the number. I am sure the proposed tax increase is no where near that much though, but people don't look at it that way.

 

[HelenePA]

I wouldn't have been able to do it either. Heck I couldn't come up with 3.5k$ when my son was in that kindergarten mess at the begining of the year... We also have free all day prek (no income limits open to all in our district)

 

[minniebeth]

This is exactly what NBC/MSNBC's "Education Nation" is addressing in the new movie "Waiting for Superman" now showing in limited theaters. Basically, they are saying there are "two Americas" when it comes to education. When I read about referendums like this, I think it really is a reality.

Personally, I think all day kindergarten should be mandatory. Too many of our children are not getting the basic skills, just like Vettechick99 is saying.

 

[golfgal]

This is exactly what NBC/MSNBC's "Education Nation" is addressing in the new movie "Waiting for Superman" now showing in limited theaters. Basically, they are saying there are "two Americas" when it comes to education. When I read about referendums like this, I think it really is a reality.

Personally, I think all day kindergarten should be mandatory. Too many of our children are not getting the basic skills, just like Vettechick99 is saying.

I LOVED all day kindergarten and so did the kids. At that age they LOVED being in school. I joked with some of the teachers at the school that they should save the 1/2 days for the high school seniors and have all the kindergartners go for a full day. Our oldest didn't have a full day option and honestly didn't really learn any more or less then the twins but the benefit of the full day of kindergarten had for the twins was that they were used to being in school all day so the first month or two of 1st grade wasn't as much of a transition and they were able to do a lot more in 1st grade then previous years (the twins' class was the second class to have all day kindergarten at their school).

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I wouldn't have been able to financially. How sad.

Same here. I have neighbors who have triplets. Can you imagine??

 

[ccgirl]

It varies by district here. The public school in my town is only 1/2 day. So, some parents choose to send their children to my DD's private school as it is cheaper than paying for daycare after/before 1/2 day kindergarten. Her you do morning session 1/2 the year then afternoon session the other 1/2. Very hard for working parents. Why are they making you pay? Is it because they consider it optional? As another poster pointed out; that is what taxes go for. In my town, 52% of my taxes go toward the public school.

 

[minniebeth]

I agree that most kids we know that attend all-day kindergarten loved it. My DS was fortunate to attend all-day K (Virginia) but then we moved half-way through the year when my older DD was in K and she went from a full day to a half-day and so missed it! My youngest DD was in 1/2 day, and we paid for her to attend an afternoon "extended day" program 2 days a week.

golfgal, I agree that it's not only about how much the kids are learning, but preparing them and building their stamina for 1st grade.

 

[kamik86]

I had only half day kindergarten when I was in school. Our district did half day morning for some areas of the district and half day afternoon for the others. Neither did lunch so there was enough of a gap where they only needed half the buses (just ran them twice), half the teachers, half the class space etc.

It wasn't a problem for my parents though my mom didn't work yet. She didn't start until I was in 1st or 2nd grade and even then it was in my school library for a few years.

 

[kimblebee]

In Manitoba, school is mandatory from K-12. We don't have to pay a cent for it, thank goodness.

 

[bigbabyblues]

That's more than I pay for a year for private school for one of my boys.

 

[Polyluvr]

I pay $3400 for my son-5 to attend a catholic private kindergarten; so I don't know Are they receiving a great education ?

 

[Polyluvr]

So if you can't afford the $5k, your kid gets no schooling? OMG, that would be a huge mess. I would hate to be a 1st grade teacher in those districts!!!

I am working on my couseling degree so this year I registered new students as part of my internship. We had parents register their kids the first day of school (not before like they are supposed to ) and each student is assessed right then. They are supposed to be able to use scissors, follow directions, write their name, etc. Very simple skills. You would not believe the number of 5-6 year olds who can't do those things. What do they do all day? Watch tv? So imagine 6-7 year olds who don't go to Kindergarten and are expected to know letters, sounds and sight words and they know nothing. Talk about setting them up for failure.

This referendum is a bad, bad, bad idea. BAD!!

My son went to 2 years of pre-k at our local catholic church,he is now attending full day kindergarten at the parochial school~ he didn't know how to write his name prior; he could manage some letters; and scissors ??? I am not for the scissors use in the pre k set~ and no my son does not watch tv all day~ but I'm not a teacher either~ I never pretended to be one on TV either .

I didn't learn to read/write till I was in 1st grade....,. kindergarten should be more about socialization~ not prepping for state mandated tests

 

[HelenePA]

My son went to 2 years of pre-k at our local catholic church,he is now attending full day kindergarten at the parochial school~ he didn't know how to write his name prior; he could manage some letters; and scissors ??? I am not for the scissors use in the pre k set~ and no my son does not watch tv all day~ but I'm not a teacher either~ I never pretended to be one on TV either .

I didn't learn to read/write till I was in 1st grade....,. kindergarten should be more about socialization~ not prepping for state mandated tests

School has changed so much since I started... My k was half day. My son did in prek what I did in k. Of course he was the same age as I was in k when he was in prek. Maybe that's why? New age rules since I started.

 

[vettechick99]

My son went to 2 years of pre-k at our local catholic church,he is now attending full day kindergarten at the parochial school~ he didn't know how to write his name prior; he could manage some letters; and scissors ??? I am not for the scissors use in the pre k set~ and no my son does not watch tv all day~ but I'm not a teacher either~ I never pretended to be one on TV either .

I didn't learn to read/write till I was in 1st grade....,. kindergarten should be more about socialization~ not prepping for state mandated tests

Not exactly the same. But in my county, no matter if they had pre-k or not, if they lack a certain number of skills they are put into an EIP (early intervention program) class. It goes at a slower pace and has fewer children. All the students I saw that day (no shocker) went into an EIP class. EIP students (in my area) also tend to be behavior problems. Probably because they are not used to a structured school environment.

I learned to read Dick & Jane books in Kindergarten and fully read in 1st grade. We do even more than that now. Just look up your state's standards - it's amazing what is required of children. If they come to 1st grade (I taught it for 3 years) without knowing their letters, sounds, and a good amount of sight words, not to mention numbers and basic addition skills, they really struggle.

 

[Planogirl]

DS had a great daycare that gave the kids lessons and it cost way less than this. I think that we would have skipped kindergarten.

 

[Lisa S.]

Not totally true. I am also in AZ and our kinder program is full day at no cost to the parents, everything is provided. I also teach kinder in a neighboring town and we have full day kinder at no cost. So it really is just up to each district. I'm up north

I stand corrected.

I should have known better than to assume it was the whole state. . .and it's just one more reason that I call our city down south the "red-headed stepchild" city.

 

[tvguy]

That's more than I pay for a year for private school for one of my boys.

Wow, you got a bargain. Private school around here is about $11,000. Some church schools are subsidized down to about $7,500.

 

[mhsjax]

We have full day kindergarten here, public school and we don't pay a thing. There is noway I would pay a public school. If given that situation, I would put them in private, just so they wouldn't get the money. They get taxes, so I won't pay for kindergarten.

 

[Mary•Poppins]

This is so sad. I am a teacher and even though many people feel that kindergarten may not be necessary, the curriculum and challenges students face in school are daunting. The district I teach in and the one my children go to have full-day kindergarten and we do not have to pay. The children leaving kindergarten are reading and if they are not, we are looking at giving them remedial services. I have been teaching for 23 years and what was expected at the end of first grade could not be achieved if a student did not go to kindergarten (unless they were being taught at home).

However, 5,000.00 would be a challenge for any parent.

I really feel the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer. You know that children who really need to come to school and be in an enriching environment won't be able to come. How sad.