Temple City Unified School District Presents : Full Day Kindergarten Update December 11, 2019
History & Background ▪ Assembly Bill (AB) 197 was introduced on January 29, 2019, requiring school districts to offer at least 1 Full Day Kindergarten program by 2022-2023. ▪ The presentation to the Board of Education on May, 8, 2019, concluded that we would take one year to plan and prepare for such a change. ▪ In September of 2019, Assembly Bill (AB) 197 was passed by the State Legislature and later Vetoed by Governor Newsom, citing facility constraints for many school districts. ▪ The 2019 Budget Act includes a $300 Million one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for facilities improvements to expand to Full Day Kindergarten. ▪ The Full Day Kindergarten facility grant application is due in 2020.
What is Full Day Kindergarten? ▪ Assembly Bill (AB) 197 defined Full Day Kindergarten as a school day equal to the same number of minutes per school day that is offered to pupils in 1 st grade. ▪ The day should include ample opportunities for both active and quiet activities within an integrated, experiential, and developmentally appropriate educational program. ▪ 75% of all California schools offer an extended or Full Day Kindergarten program. ▪ 14 other states have mandated a Full Day Kindergarten progra m. (Assembly Bill 197, 2019; Legislative Analyst Office (LAO) based on 2017-2018 data)
TCUSD Data ▪ The 2019-2020 data report for TCUSD 1 st grade cohort indicates that approximately 50% of the students who did not enroll in a TCUSD Kindergarten program attended a Full Day Kindergarten program, either in a different public or private school. ▪ Over the past three years, enrollment in 1 st grade, when compared to enrollment in Kindergarten, increases an average of 53 students. ▪ The amount of students attending TCUSD on permit increases by nearly 5% after Kindergarten.
TCUSD Enrollment Data ▪ TCUSD is declining in student enrollment Overall, District enrollment has declined by 371 students over the course of 5 years. Elementary alone has declined 239 students over the last 5 years while Secondary has declined 132 students over the same 5 years.
Full Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant ▪ Full Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant is a $300 million program that was established to fund improvements, including construction or retrofit of existing Kindergarten facilities. ▪ The State provides eligible districts with 75% of the costs, while the district covers the remaining. ▪ Eligibility for the program is determined on a site by site basis and district characteristics. ▪ Only districts who do not currently offer Full Day Kindergarten instruction qualify for the grant. ▪ TCUSD meets the qualifications for application for this grant.
Benefits of a Quality Full Day Kindergarten Program ▪ Provides for a targeted focus on improving early learning at the national, state, and county levels. ▪ Allows for the enhancement of reading skills in TK,K, 1, & 2 which is essential and greatly impacts student achievement and significantly results in higher reading scores in lower grades. ▪ Offers initial instruction and solidification of reading skills early on as that is always more effective than any intervention model, system or program in later grades. ▪ Establishes ample opportunities to ensure all of our students become proficient in reading by grade 3 as all research indicates that this is critical to later achievement levels. The earlier a person can learn language, increase word selection and enhance fluency, the wider the learning opportunity through the development of comprehension and communication skills. ▪ Provides extra time for English Language Development, ELA, Mathematics, and Science with a highly qualified teacher. ▪ Allows time for students to engage in development activities, such as developing fine and gross motor skills. ▪ Early learning opportunities for reinforcement of positive social skills and behaviors. (NASP Center, 2019; Assembly Bill 197, 2019; NEA Fact Sheet)
Review of Educational Literature It is well established that learning to read is an important task for young learners (Pečjak & Perc, 2018), and as students learn to decode, their comprehension increases (Lonigan, Burgess, & Schatschneider, 2018). Additional instruction is a necessary component to ensuring that all learners--even those performing below grade level--meet standards (Torgeson, 2006). Specifically, poor reading skills should be brought up to the prescribed standards by the end of third grade, as students’ third grade reading abilities strongly correlate with their future reading skills and achievement levels (Juel, 1988; Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005; Snow, 2002). Spira, Bracken, and Fischel (2005) concluded that “remedial programs have few, if any, effects on students beyond the third grade,” which emphasizes the importance of strong initial instructional programs in the primary grades beginning in Kindergarten. Reading performance at an early age bears great importance, as it is a predictor of future academic success (Spira, Bracken, & Fischel, 2005). Researchers argue that the level of reading achievement in first and second grade is a strong predictor of future achievement. In the longitudinal study by Juel (1998) found that “a child would remain a poor reader at the end of third grade, if the child was a poor reader at the end of first grade.”
Areas of Focus ▪ Create long-term student academic success by ensuring students read at or above grade level by the start of 3 rd grade. ▪ Understand program development typically takes 2-3 years to achieve optimal outcome. ▪ The structure of the Full Day Kindergarten program is paramount to the success of the program: ▪ Overcome challenges related to the shorter attention spans of five-year old children ▪ Child care vs. Learning Program ▪ Continual monitoring and measuring of the significant impact on long-term academic learning as a result of implementing a Full Day Kindergarten Program (NASP Center, 2019)
Elementary Teacher Concerns ▪ Lunch/Snack/Shelter ▪ Supervision of students ▪ Traffic impact ▪ Class size ▪ More curricular vs. ▪ Qualified teacher vs aide ▪ Small group instruction extra-curricular ▪ Social emotional impact on ▪ Preparation time for teachers students ▪ Classrooms ▪ Structure of the school day ▪ Playground Space Highlighted concerns from Elementary Teacher Meetings on November 18, 20, and 21, 2019
2019-2020 Full Day Kindergarten Focus ▪ We are currently working with site Kindergarten staff and Union Leadership to develop a working plan for the implementation of Full Day Kindergarten. ▪ TCUSD has an opportunity to apply for the Full Day Kindergarten grant in 2020. ▪ TCUSD district administration is proactively taking steps to ensure we are prepared for the following: ▪ State mandate by the CA Legislature for a Full Day Kindergarten ▪ Securing funding from the State if grant application is Board approved ▪ Mitigating the impact of declining enrollment ▪ Proposing to move the GOALS program from Longden to create added space
Grant Application Process ▪ To be considered for Full Day Kindergarten Grant funding, districts must submit the following to the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC): ▪ Executed application (Form 70-01) ▪ Project narrative ▪ Board resolution approving the provision of Full Day Kindergarten Grant Application ▪ Board resolution approving the provision of Full Day Kindergarten Program (at least one site) ▪ Documentation of site-level Kindergarten and enrollment for the past three years ▪ Site map indicating classrooms currently housing Kindergarten students and facilities ▪ When applying for multiple school sites, a priority order must be established ▪ Grant will provide $800,000 per classroom at each of the approved sites ▪ Temple City USD is eligible to apply for ▪ Emperor – 2 Classrooms ▪ La Rosa - 2 Classrooms ▪ Longden – 2 Classrooms
Next Steps Moving Forward ▪ In order to address the genuine concerns of the TCUSD Teachers, we will: ▪ Continue to share data with Kindergarten teachers in January and gather more feedback ▪ Spend authentic time with Kindergarten teachers during the regular school day ▪ Identify model programs for teachers to go visit and observe programs in action ▪ Collaboratively develop a plan to assess all facility needs/concerns ▪ Work with TCEA and CSEA to review contract requirements ▪ Discuss transition plans that would include options of Classified Aide Support for teachers ▪ January Board Presentation will provide budget information on Full Day Kindergarten ▪ 3 year Budget Analysis – With Grant Funds ▪ 3 year Budget Analysis – Without Grant Funds ▪ Understand the fiscal implications if TCUSD does not apply for the grant and the State Legislature approves the Assembly Bill to implement a Full Day Kindergarten program
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