All day 4K here to stay at Wisconsin Heights

Following a detailed and thorough presentation by Dale Green, Director of Curriculum, Instruction, & Assessment in the late fall the Wisconsin Heights School Board unanimously voted in January to continue their popular all-day 4K program. Green emphasized they were making evidence-based decisions in the decision. 4K programs must make enrollment open to all children in the district who are four years old on or before September 1st. Enrollment is optional for the parents. Wisconsin Heights’ 4K program was established in the 2007-08 school year. Initially offered as a half-day program, it transitioned to full-day 4K with the opening of the new elementary school in 2022-23. The expansion to full day was paid for by ESSER funds. ESSER stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds, which rolled out in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic in order to help schools address learning loss and other needs. The decision came for the board whether to take on the additional costs of all day 4K now that ESER Funds and long depleted. Enrollment numbers show Wisconsin Heights’ 4K program has been popular, even by limiting open enrollment in the last few years:   2016-17: 52 students 2017-18: 60 2018-19: 65 2019-20: 42 2020-21: 45 2021-22: 55 2022-23: 41 (no open enrollment 2023-24: 62 (no open enrollment) 2024-25: 50 (no open enrollment)   In debating whether to continue all day 4K, Green explained the advantages of an all-day program, which includes:   Daily Learning: Play-based learning intertwined with small groups and direct instruction Focus on developing name writing, letter recognition and sounds, counting, and social-emotional skills Essential Skills: Social Emotional Development: Learning cooperation and problem-solving Creative Expression: Music, movement, and artistic activities Language/Literacy: Engaging read-alouds and letter/name recognition activities Science and Discovery: Fun experiments to spark curiosity Related Arts: Participation in weekly classes in Physical education, Music, Art, and Library Exploration Stations: Art: Sensory exploration and creative expression (Colors, Shapes, Fine Motor Skills) Pretend Play: Role-playing in dramatic play areas Blocks: Building and problem-solving activities Library: Language development with read-alouds and literacy exploration Discovery (Math/Science): Hands-on experiments and exploration   The all day 4K program includes three full-time teachers and two support staff. Green touched upon what the research says, noting:   “The research is clear that students who have had access to a 4K program are significantly ahead of their peers when starting kindergarten,” but also “while this research is promising, there is also evidence that the initial benefits may not be long lasting as the students progress through school.” However “the benefits of ECE [Early Childhood Education] are most pronounced for low-income and racial/ethnic minority children, suggesting that investments in ECE may be powerful tools for tackling early childhood achievement gaps and inequality.” Other benefits include:   Extended Learning Opportunities Socialization and Emotional Development Food Service Parental Workforce Participation Family Impact (Stress, Daycare, Work) A safe environment Early Intervention Act 20: Reading Readiness Equitable access to high quality programing for all 4-year olds   Board President Barb Statz spoke towards the end of the meeting, saying:   “I would love before we end to maybe just hear some last thoughts of our professional gurus, because we don’t get the opportunity to tap into you often. And I think for me, you know, it’s a no brainer when you look at the pros and the positives of full day [4K], because that’s why we initiated [it]. That’s what we went in thinking we would accomplish and that’s why we used grant money.”   She continued,    “But of course, when you’re doing a new adoption, you don’t know the challenges and cons that come with it until you’re living it. And so I think obviously then some of the cons that have been born out of that is because we’re living through it, and sometimes those are measurable. And so I think your points of view, especially when you’re talking about staff fatigue, and you know, we prioritize retention and our staff and making sure we’re having those conversations.”   She concluded with:   “I think it’s just important that you have the opportunity to share what exactly that tax and toll and stress feels like, because for us, again, we can’t read it on a data sheet, so if you feel comfortable…”   And a teacher spoke up, saying:   “Well, I’ve taught, see, this is my 26th year teaching 4K, and my first 23 years of teaching 4k I taught in numerous districts with a part time, half day morning, and then I did morning, and then a little break, and then an afternoon. And I came here to this district because it was a full day program. I feel strongly that a full day program, you have more time to really focus on more social, emotional students that need, that need services. You have the afternoon to provide those services. If there’s not enough time in the morning, it’s really important for students to have specials so that they are comfortable with coming to kindergarten being in an environment following routines, transitions, and just they learned through their play.”   She continued,    “They learned so much. If you looked at our data from last year, from the fall to the spring, many of them started with they didn’t know any letters in their name, and at the end of the year, a good percentage of our kids … knew 20 out of 26 capital letters. Many of them have never held a pencil. We teach them how to really do all those basic skills in 4k and the afternoon just gives us more time to really focus in on those important skills.”   And:   “So I have loved teaching here, due to the full day program, until you have 20 kids in your class. Well, last year was, I’m not going to sugarcoat it--it was very challenging. I had children of four with IEPs as well as students that the longer they were there, I observed and realized that there were other, you know, needs that I needed to focus on. So 21 was way too many to meet all the needs.”   She concluded with:   “But that’s kind of the point is, right? And like in theory, I agree with all of that. But when you’re starting to talk about big class sizes and having to push the boundary and almost the gates, glamorous life that I signed up for, that’s okay, yeah, noted, and I’ve lived both lives in the district, and I was hesitant to go to a full length program because, like, ‘Oh, my, least of my worries,’ yeah, really.”   “You know, there’s joy in this. But you know, like I said, I was hesitant after after first couple of weeks, I’m like, ‘Oh, this is so nice, because we have more time to get to things.’ I don’t have to feel like I’m rushed if I don’t finish something in the morning, I have additional time in the afternoon.”