A New Vote on Full Day Kinergarten

The East Penn School Board will again consider two proposals on full day kindergarten at their meeting on Monday.  The first calls for implementation of the full day kindergarten plan, which was developed over the last two years by a special committee made up of educators, parents, and administrators.  The second calls for a public referendum on full day kindergarten and sets a ceiling on the costs permitted for such a program.

Both of these proposals have been raised before.  The former was defeated by a previous board in a 4-5 vote in October.  The second was raised at a November board meeting, but there weren't even two board members who wanted to discuss it and therefore did not come to a vote.

I have been a vocal supporter of the full day kindergarten proposal.  I voted yes on the proposal the first time around, and plan to do so again at Monday's meeting.  I believe that the plan before the board is well designed, that it is needed in our community, that research shows that it will be beneficial, and that its benefits outweigh its costs.  I have discussed all of these issues in a collection of short blog posts and videos that you can access (and share) at: https://munson4eastpenn.org/fulldayk

If you would like to speak to the board about full day kindergarten, you may do so during the public comment period held at the beginning of the meeting on Monday, December 11, at 7:30pm, in the board room at 800 Pine St. in Emmaus.