I think it is asking way too much of a 5 year old to go to school for a full day! The school systems are pushing the children way too much and there's not much play time, due to the structured academic schedule. A lot of kids learn much better through play, but that is not really an option with what the system is asking of them. Hopefully, this doesn't go through, and if it does, too bad I can't afford a Montessori school. :(

The research regarding the benefits for all day K are the tools that the education bureaucrats make to justify installing an all day K program. What they fail to mention is that the majority of the reserach was done in inner cities and low income areas. In most situations for inner city youngsters who are "at risk" being in a structured caring enviroment is a good thing for them and all day K fits that need. In a suburban district like Portsmouth there is little educational benefit to the children but it does act as a childcare benefit . Call it what is is, extended daycare with a big taxpayer bill of over $500K per year.
Watch out taxpayers. Croston was the one declaring an underfunded school district two years ago and trumped a tax override that failed, however, after the last two years of Repubublican leadership the school district is holding close to $4M of surplus and is on steady financial ground for the first time in decades.No thanks to Croston. He will figure out a way very quickly to spend every dime of it and put the district into dire financial straits overnight. You need to put pressure on other commitee memebers to reign him in and make sure to boot him if he runs again.

Won't happen. Why? There are too many businesses in town that have a K enrichment program and thrive on Portsmouth having a half day K program.

How do you then explain that Portsmouth High Schools graduates have higher college placement and higher test scores than Middletown and Newport East Side. Why then do we ned to "match them"? Do we also want to match the horrible financial status both of those towns school sysytems arein. Considr your thought process on this subject.

Is there a diiference in socio economics from Kidgergarten families to 12thgraders. Do the parents of these children get more educated and receive higher income when there children get older? Your logic is non-sense. Soicio Economics is of course the answer to higher school performance, it is also the answer to why all day K is a waste of money in Portsmouth

Our family works 40+ a week and our children have been in daycare since they were babies. Children that have been raised in daycare are use to longer hours in the day, no nap or rest time by the time they get to pre-school and know a lot more then a child that has not been in a daycare/pre-school setting. My youngest will be starting K in September & we would welcome full day K program in Portsmouth! If not I will have to beg & plead with the school to get him in a PM slot. Drop him off at daycare in Middletown, have daycare drive him to school and then he would take the bus home to my husband in the afternoon. All that time being driven around bothers me / my oldest did it for 4 years and I hope we do not have to wait another 4+ years for Portsmouth to get full day K program.

So then i think this is a matter of intellect. Joe, smartly points out that all day K is not a matter of educational performance, rather it is child care. Kristine seems offended by the dialogue but indeed confirms she seeks daycare. East Side clearly lacks the ability to connect K-12, apparently suggesting that an econicic and social advancement occurs sometime befor high school for Portsmouth residents. So here is the question: do the majority of residents want to pay $500k plus more per year to fund daycare for working parents or do the majority want working parents to pay for half a day of childcare for the kindergarten age children. My son is going to an Ivy league school next year ( proudly a full academic scholorship). I loved him attending Hathaway for a half day and me getting him home for the other half. I dont belieive full day K would have made him any smarter and i think his transition of half day to full day made him blossum.

Well THANK YOU East Side!! I can't even believe some of the comments above. A little more time spent in school to learn and socialize with others has "little educational benefit" and is a "waste." Who in their right mind thinks this way...that more education is not a positive thing.

when my oldest was in K in Portsmouth, my work schedule made us have to have him at one of the local daycares for the afternoon- SO, he got picked up by the bus at our house in am, went to Hathaway for about 2.5 hrs and then got on a bus again to go to Countryside for the afternoon. It was a choppy day and I really think it had a not so positive effect on him. It was not until 1st grade when I really saw him make strides- coincidence? maybe, but I think it was more the continuity in his day and routine that helped him start to flourish.

I now have a work schedule that allows me to be home for my kids. So, for my 2 other children that will be entering K in the coming years, I am not looking for "daycare" but simply a day that actually allots enough time for the learning process that these kids are ready for at 5yrs.

Of course education is an issue of quality over quantity. Whydo the high performing independent schools produce educational results far greater than public schools and do it with 150 day per year school year. East Side great logic, heck why stop at Kindergarten age, 1 day old isnt too young to start throwing kids into a room and start teaching them. East Side the ithink the question of intellect, comment above, was directed towards you not the kids.

East Side, the argument about adding all day K is it makes these youngsters better students. If that is true then the results would show up in high school. Sadly, there is no evidence that suggests that. As for the $500k that is how much it costs to add additional staff for all day K. I dont think you understand how the school budget works, that increase would be half of the increase allowed by law in one year. What expenses would you cut to fit this into the budget?

http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy-priorities/early-childhood-education-care/full-day-kindergarten.html

Pretty much ends the debate.

Old Townie, the link from a website does not end any debate. Read what Joe wrote above a few days ago. The studies for all day K benefits are based on inner city and low income children. That is not representative of the population in a suburban district. You really have to measure the 12 grade performance as the benchmark for justifying A longer K program. 12 th grade performance is quite good and better than other ditstricts tha have all day K. The evidence then shows that there is likely little educational benefit

St philomenas has all day kindergarten and it is probably a great idea for the town. Maybe a nap time has to be part of the day plan ,overall a big plus for working parents dont have to worry about daycare and sitters .

K mafia reality - what's strange is there are good arguments for and against a full day K program in Portsmouth from the comments above. What is sad is that the K mafia (those businesses that formulate the K program's schedule) is never discussed. Also not discussed are those parents that can't deal with their own issues of their K schooler growing up. What I don't get is how does this same arguement stop once 1st grade starts?