School Board to Discuss All-Day Kindergarten, Calendar

The Farmington Board of Education will again take up discussions about the school calendar and the possibility of offering all-day kindergarten. The discussions were originally scheduled for Oct. 29 but were rescheduled due to weather. The discussions will take place during the Tuesday meeting at 7 p.m. at East Farms School.

The topic of all-day kindergarten was first discussed at an Oct. 1 meeting, in which Superintendent Kathleen Greider explained that several other districts in Farmington’s peer group had made the switch to all-day kindergarten. In the agenda for the Nov. 13 meeting, Greider also said “the catalyst for the increase in school districts moving to a full day kindergarten program primarily stems from the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. These standards increase expectations of student outcomes at all grade levels.”

At the previous meeting, board members requested more information about what adding all-day kindergarten in Farmington would mean for students, for the Farmington budget and whether there is sufficient space in elementary school buildings. Assistant Superintendent Kim Wynne and Business Administrator Mike Ryan will present answers to those questions Tuesday.

The board is also scheduled to vote on proposed changes to the school calendar. A subcommittee that had studied the school calendar made recommendations at the last board meeting. Members felt some of the changes – like early dismissal days to allow for professional development – would be too burdensome for families. The board chose to send the issue to another committee for discussion and brought forth only one change: a pre-Labor Day start to school.