District to study its kindergarten program

Board of Ed will decide in January if change is necessary

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The East Meadow School District has formed a committee to review the effectiveness of its current half-day kindergarten program and compare it with other options, including full-day kindergarten.

The 13-member committee of teachers, administrators and parents will study factors such as academics, finances, facilities and personnel, and present its analysis to the Board of Education in late January, according to Superintendent Louis DeAngelo.

East Meadow is one of 16 school districts in the state — and one of two in Nassau County — that do not have a full-day kindergarten program, and each year, DeAngelo said, district officials analyze the possibility of widening the program. Parents, meanwhile, have often expressed their fear at school board meetings that East Meadow children may be falling behind in a half-day program, in light of the adoption of the demanding Common Core State Standards.

One of the committee’s points of emphasis, said DeAngelo — who is not a member — will be to study students’ performance since the inception of the Common Core in 2011, compared with other districts.

The superintendent did not reveal who is on the committee. But he emphasized that it would not be making a recommendation, and that the board would make the final decision.

DeAngelo announced the committee’s formation at the district’s most recent school board meeting, on Nov. 20, at which some 50 parents — half of them dressed in bright yellow shirts as a show of unity — showed their support for a full-day program. A handful of them spoke during the community participation session.

Tara Iliopoulos, who co-founded the Facebook group “East Meadow Parents for full day kindergarten,” which has more than 200 members, said it is the group’s desire to see a full-day program implemented for the 2015-16 school year. “We’re aware that it’s a complex issue,” said Iliopoulos, who has a daughter who will enter kindergarten in the fall. “There are implications to it that would affect other areas of the school budget. But we really wanted to put a sense of urgency around it.”

A separate online petition in support of a full-day program has more than 900 signatures.

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