Shawano School District offers 4K program

The Shawano School Board approved on May 17 a pilot program for an all-day 4-year-old kindergarten program for Hillcrest Primary School and LEADS Primary Charter School.

Troy Edwards, Hillcrest principal, said the effort for an all-day 4K program is being pushed because of the curriculum the school currently has for that grade level, Tools of the Mind. He said that the half-day program provides a good education, but it’s not able to tap into all of the items that Tools of the Mind offers.

“If you do math, then you’re probably not going to have time to do the ELA (English Language Arts) stuff, and vice versa,” Edwards said. “By increasing these two sessions, one at Hillcrest and one at LEADS, it would give us the opportunity … to be able to provide the Tools of the Mind resource more thoroughly and provide more educational opportunities for the kids in those two sessions.”

Tools of the Mind also helps to provide social and emotional learning for 4-year-olds, including taking turns and being a good listener when others are speaking, according to Edwards.

There is space available at Hillcrest for both classes, Edwards said, but the classes would be limited to 18 students each. He said there are 51 children enrolled for 4K at Hillcrest next year, with another 15 potentially signing on, as well, while LEADS has eight children enrolled. If there is more interest than space, a lottery will be held to see which students get into the full-day program.

Edwards said the program would be offered for two years to get data on how well the full-day program does versus the half-day program, at which point a determination would be made whether or not to continue.

“There’s lots and lots of research that talks about the benefits of investing in our early learners and trying to close the gaps early,” Edwards said. “That’s something that we would be exploring.”

The move would require adding an additional full-time position for a teacher and a paraprofessional, which would cost the district an additional $115,000.

Board President Michael Sleeper said the full-day 4K program is needed for the public schools because there are other entities offering the same thing, such as the parochial schools.

“Let’s face it. We’re in a competitive market,” Sleeper said. “This would be one positive aspect that we could bring to the table to attract and retain students.”

Sleeper added that there is talk in the federal government about providing full-day funding to schools that offer full-day programs. Currently, Shawano only gets 60% funding for 4-year-old kindergarten.

Board member James Davel said it’s necessary to offer the program in order to increase the district’s student count, which has been decreasing steadily for years.

“It gets us some students in to transition for kindergarten,” Davel said.

Board member Mart Grams felt the offering of the 4K program would damage local daycares.

“This would be horrendous for them,” Grams said. “We’re a public entity with, unfortunately, unlimited funds, no matter how much we may think, we just increase the levy. We have no real handcuffs on our ability to write checks. Aren’t families supposed to be raising kids in this country, not the schools?”

Sleeper dismissed Grams’ claim that 4K would hurt daycares, noting that school is not mandatory for children until they turn 5 years old. The 4K program is optional, he said.

Board member Alysia Pillsbury said the 4K program would have helped her family if it had been available when her children were that age.

“I didn’t have that option to stick with them until they were 5 or 6,” Pillsbury said. “I know there are other families that will be helped by this.”

The proposal passed 8-1, with Grams voting against it.

lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com