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Washougal kindergarten will add time in classroom

This year's every-other-Wednesday plan caused trouble

By Marissa Harshman, Columbian Health Reporter
Published: May 16, 2010, 12:00am

Washougal kindergartners will see their teachers for an extra half-day per two weeks when they enter the school district this fall.

The school district announced changes to its kindergarten schedule last week. Next year, kindergartners will attend school on one of two schedules:

nAll day every Monday and Thursday and a half-day every Wednesday.

nAll day every Tuesday and Friday and a half-day every Wednesday.

All of the district’s elementary school students attend for a half-day on Wednesdays. Currently, kindergartners attend school every other Wednesday. This is the first year of the full-day, alternating-day kindergarten schedule.

The schedule change was suggested by teachers.

“When I met with our kindergarten teachers, one thing they said was there was confusion on Wednesdays,” Assistant Superintendent Rebecca Miner said. “You can’t ever have a schedule where it really alternates every Wednesday.”

The schedule was complicated whenever the district had no school on Mondays or Fridays, Miner said. When that happened, those students who had a day off needed to attend school on Wednesdays, which sometimes threw a wrench in the Wednesday rotation, she said. Next year, the schedule won’t be altered when the district has no-school days.

The new schedule is more consistent and gives students more contact time with their teachers, Miner said.

Because every kindergarten class now will meet on Wednesdays, the district is making some staffing changes.

The district has two full-time kindergarten teachers; the rest work part time. The part-time teachers will work every Wednesday next year, instead of every other. For the full-time teachers, who already work every Wednesday, the school district will hire two substitutes as Wednesday assistants, Miner said. The same substitute teachers will stay with the classes all year, she said.

Current bus routes will be able to accommodate the students so the change will not increase transportation costs, Miner said.

Marissa Harshman: 360-735-4546 or marissa.harshman@columbian.com.

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Columbian Health Reporter