Full-Day Kindergarten Study Prompted by Common Core

A survey created by the school district is but one part of a detailed study underway to determine if it's time to implement full-day kindergarten in Oxford.

That survey is targeting a specific segment of the community—parents of preschool-aged children.

"This is only one segment of the population designed to gather a very specific set of data," Superintendent of Schools Tim Connellan said. "Input from different segments of the Oxford community will be sought at various points in time in the near future."

Further explaining the process, Connellan noted that the Board of Education has created an ad hoc committee to study the option of full-day kindergarten. That committee is to report back to the Board with information gathered so that BOE members can make an informed decision regarding full-day kindergarten. 

"The Board will be reviewing all of the information and making a decision on whether to implement full-day kindergarten and if so, when to make the transition," Connellan said.

"The impetus for studying this option is the set of new demands placed on school districts related to the transition involved in using the Common Core State Standards as the guide to building and implementing curriculum," he said. "The demands and consequently the expectations are higher for all students.  Therefore it seemed logical to review the impact of the Common Core on the kindergarten program."  

Oxford currently offers half-day kindergarten.  

Some residents have already begun weighing in on full-day kindergarten, in the comments on an article we published Tuesday. One said it's a no-brainer, another said its the equivalent of day care paid for by taxpayers.

Yet another offered this perspective:

"The selfish side of me says my kids are well past kindergarten why should I pay for someone else’s child. The more benevolent side says this is the direction that most districts have either moved towards or are in the process—bring it on." 

What do you think?