Four days for 4K

Loyal will double school time for little ones next year

Four-year-old kindergartners in Loyal will attend school four days per week next year, instead of the two days they have been attending since the school district began its program more than 15 years ago. The change was approved by the district Board of Education at its April monthly meeting and is expected to improve the consistency of learning for the children.

District Administrator Chris Lindner said administrators have been considering the change for some time, and recently sent a survey to parents to gauge their opinion. About two-thirds of those who responded said they would favor increasing the school time to four days, Lindner said.

That’s a good thing, said Allison Schley, the district’s 4-year-old program teacher. Two days were plenty when the program first started, she told the Board on April 20, but expectations have changed over the years. The program started to provide little ones with an introduction to academic and social skills, but it has now evolved into more of a mastery of skills so the young ones are prepared when they start the 5-day-per-week kindergarten routine.

With 4-year-olds only attending two days per week, Schley said there is too much passage of time between school days for the young minds to retain what they’ve learned. Much time is spent going over skills the kids may have forgotten over a several-day period.

“Where’s the consistency and follow-through with the skills?’ Schley said. “There’s just no consistency to make headway.”

With a 4-day program, Schley said students will be attending school on consecutive days, which will allow them to carry more with them from day to day. It has not yet been decided if the school week will run Monday-Thursday, or have Wednesdays off, or follow some other format, but Schley said the extra days in school will be beneficial. Staff members will be able to stay on top of students’ social and emotional needs, she said.

“Times have changed,” Schley told the Board, “and the needs of our kids and families have changed.”

Lindner said the switch to a 4-day program for 4-yearolds could be tied in with district discussions on establishing a day care program at school.

“We wanted to get this established and we will kind of go from there and see what the need is,” he said.

The meeting was the first for the Board since the April 5 spring election. New members taking their oaths of offi ce were Holly Lindner (at-large seat) and Dennis Roehl (area south of Highway 9). Dave Clintsman (area north of Highway 98) was also sworn in again after being reelected. They join incumbents Kim Bremmer, Tom Odeen, Carrie Becker, and Harlan Hinkelmann.

In other business, the Board approved the resignation/ retirements of custodial/maintenance director Dan Lindgren and library assistant Sharon Briceland. It also hired Kayla Harder as a first-grade teacher next year, and Austin Haslow for a custodial position.