Owen J. Roberts School District to start full-day kindergarten in 2025

SOUTH COVENTRY — The Owen J. Roberts School Board voted unanimously on Jan. 22 to implement full-day kindergarten in the fall of 2025.

The 6.5-hour day will allow deeper dives into content, a slower pace with more time for reteaching and enrichment, as well as more exposure to a wider range of subjects, according to the administration’s presentation made to the school board.

It also provides for goals laid out in the district’s mental health plan, including improving self-awareness, self-management, relationship skills and responsible decision-making, according to the administration.

The administration also said implementing full-day kindergarten will also give the staff more opportunities for early intervention and perhaps stave off an increase in the number of students in the district who require special education services.

For purposes of comparison, eight out of 12 Chester County districts currently have full-day kindergarten. Additionally, Unionville-Chadds Ford will add it in 2025 and Downingtown currently has four out of 10 schools with full-day kindergarten and qualifying families can transport students to those schools.

Across the river, 18 out of 21 Montgomery County districts currently have full-day kindergarten and one additional district, Perkiomen Valley, is adding full-day kindergarten in 2024.

Assistant Superintendent Kathryn Soeder said an in-depth look at the district’s facilities revealed that full-day kindergarten can be accommodated without any major building projects, although some re-districting will be required.

From a construction standpoint, a common learning area in North Coventry Elementary will have to be converted into four classrooms; two autistic-support classrooms will be moved from French Creek Elementary to North Coventry Elementary; 50 to 100 students will be moved from French Creek to East Coventry Elementary; 40 to 80 students will be moved from East Vincent to East Coventry Elementary and student bathrooms will have to be added to West Vincent and North Coventry school buildings, according to the presentation.

The one-time capital cost for those changes is estimated at $265,000 and the ongoing increased cost for staffing is estimated at $475,000 per year.

“This will align with the expectations of our parents and is a worthwhile endeavor,” said school board member Jennifer Munson. “There’s still a lot of planning to do.”

School Board President Rita Pederson said while she would not have wanted full-day kindergarten for two out of her three children, she feels it is necessary “to provide this for children who don’t have access to the same preschool programs my children did.”

Board member David Harmanos said he still has “a lot of questions that have not been answered fully.”

Vice President John Melniczek pointed out that Pennsylvania does not require enrolling students in kindergarten and Soeder said those parents who wish for their children to only attend half a day for kindergarten will be able to arrange that with the building principal.