Teachers tell board to put down pencils
SMMUSD HDQTRS — With the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District already offering a full day of kindergarten, teachers are recommending the school board not add an extra hour of instruction for fear of student burnout.
A joint district and teachers’ union committee found that 47 of the district’s 48 kindergarten teachers strongly oppose extending the school day to six hours instead of the current five hours of instruction, feeling that a longer day would “not be developmentally, socially or academically appropriate.”
“We found that it’s not the number of hours kids go to school, but the quality of instruction provided within that will determine student performance,” said Grant Clark, a kindergarten teacher at Franklin Elementary School, and co-chair of the joint SMMUSD-SMMCTA Committee on Full-Day Kindergarten. “We felt that the time spent on an extra hour could better be used to help students who are struggling.”
The committee found that 84 percent of kindergarten students are thriving under current conditions, scoring proficient or advanced on a literacy survey following their first year in school.
However, 16 percent are below proficient, and therefore, should receive extra attention in the form of tutoring or other programs, the committee recommended.
The committee presented its findings to the school board last week, at which time it also called for the board to lobby legislators in Sacramento to change the enrollment age for kindergarten.
Currently, children who will turn 5 years of age by Dec. 1 can enroll in kindergarten. Teachers here would like to see that changed to Sept. 1.
“The standards have become so rigorous and expectations so high, that by pushing the date back we would have children who are a lot more mature,” Clark said.
With more demands being placed on students to achieve, kindergarten has changed dramatically over the last 15 to 20 years, educators said. Instead of worrying about finger-painting or identifying vowels, students are required to locate the title, table of contents, the name of the author and the illustrator of any book they read, as well as distinguish fantasy from realistic text and use letters or phonics to write about experiences, stories and people.
The new demands have placed tremendous pressure on districts to deliver, meaning each has had to overhaul its programs to make the adjustment.
“This isn’t the kindergarten you remember 10 years ago,” said school board member Shane McLoud, a 5th grade teacher at a charter school in Los Angeles. “Back then, it was more about just being in the classroom, learning how to be in that setting along with drawing shapes, counting to 10. Now, standards have changed, with high expectations that are much more challenging, where students and districts are being asked to do a lot more. Everyone has been trying to adjust.”
During contract negotiations more than a year ago, district officials, including then-Superintendent John Deasy, flirted with the idea of expanding kindergarten by one hour to get the full amount of instruction time allowed under the law.
“I had always wanted to expand to the full hours possible,” said Deasy, who left the district earlier this month to become the chief executive officer of a school district in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
“It is my hope that we would want to work with our kids at the earliest age, as much as possible.
“So, yes, I would hope that in the near future they would move to extend the hours.”
However, many teachers are concerned, having reviewed conflicting studies that show six hours of instruction can be of tremendous benefit for some students, but could cause problems for others who find it difficult to stay focused for an extended period of time, and therefore, may develop negative attitudes about school.
A compromise was reached in which members of the teachers’ union and district officials formed the committee to study full-day kindergarten, in which they surveyed teachers as well as principals to judge the desire for extending the hours. The committee worked through the 2005- 06 school year. While teachers were overwhelmingly against extending instruction, nine out of 10 principals favored the idea, with one remaining neutral, according to the committee’s report.
Despite their support and the recommendation of Deasy, the board seemed to favor suggestions made by teachers, and directed district staff to examine ways in which the district could better target those small number of children who are not achieving at the same level as others. The board asked staff to find out how much it would cost to extend instruction by one hour and to see if that money could be used to fund developmental programs to assist struggling students.
“There certainly was the feeling that the principals wanted it, but the teachers, as a collective body, felt it wasn’t necessary (to add another hour), and they are the experts,” McLoud said. “Teachers I’ve talked with really don’t see the benefit, but what they do see, and what staff has suggested, is we still need to figure out strategies to catch those students who are falling behind.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 18, 2006. Read the original PDF.