By MATT PIKE
Starting next school year, the St. Joseph School District Early Education Centers will shift from a five-day model with full and half sessions, to a four-day model with exclusively half day sessions.
Superintendent Ashly McGinnis says the shift, which was approved by the Board of Education during last month's meeting, came after hearing feedback from staff at the Early Education Centers.
"That it may not be the best situation to have full day for those littles, so we have revamped our programming for next year to where we will have a half day program, so an AM and a PM," McGinnis explains. "So, we'll have the same amount of slots for our kids, we'll serve the same amount of kids, it will just be a difference in programming."
The decision, McGinnis says, also came following a review of the fiscal reports as well as reviewing data from student performance in the classroom in the previous model.
Board President Ronda Chesney says as a former preschool teacher, who taught in a half day model, says she's excited about the opportunities this model provides for both students and teachers.
"Children in a half day program will get the same academic opportunities in the morning, and the children who come in the afternoon will get the same opportunities," Chesney explains. "Teachers, it's a benefit for them as well, having Friday to do IEP paperwork, to collaboratively plan with other preschool teachers that are in the same type of classroom, they will be able to collaboratively plan with their paraprofessional and the other special education staff in the building."
"So overall, it's going to actually give children a better opportunity in preschool, the teachers will also have the opportunity to put new materials out, put materials away, and in a preschool classroom those materials actually are the third teacher in the classroom and are very important to children's learning because they actually drive the children's learning."
Chesney believes this is a good time to make changes that she believes will be positive changes in the long run, with the full day model having just been active for the last two years.
District staff collected data that kindergarten readiness to be 38% for half-day sessions and 41% for full-day sessions, while fiscal reports determined an estimated $1.1 million to be saved from implementing the change.
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