August 27, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 3 Midland Park Parents want district to offer full-day kindergarten A group of Midland Park parents with young children is spearheading a petition effort to get the school district to offer all-day kindergarten. Of the 79 school districts in Bergen County, 55 provide full-day kindergarten, though neigh- boring districts such as Wyckoff and Franklin Lakes have only three full days and two half days. State wide, about 80 percent of public kindergarten children attend full-day. The petition is posted online and on Facebook, and according to Kim Rupp, who started the drive, 65 parents had signed it within the first 24-hours. “We just put it on Facebook to see if there were other parents who shared our same concern,” said Rupp, who has two young children. “It just took a life of its own. We feel passionate about this,” said Meghan Grillo, another organizer, mother of a one-year-old. “We want to bring it to the public’s attention, particularly now that the district is considering facilities’ upgrades through a referendum,” she added. Grillo said that since one of the reasons previously given by school officials for not increasing the kindergarten time was lack of space, discussing the space issue at this time was particularly appropriate, a sentiment supported by Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Cirasella. “With the upcoming referendum (the vote is on Sept. 30) there exists a valu- able opportunity to access critical grant funding, $2.8 million from the state, to help remediate facility needs. Should this be accomplished, any and all prospective curriculum and program changes will be reviewed with regard to the facility upgrades a passed referendum will sup- port,” Dr. Cirasella said. “As many of the next generation of Midland Park children get ready to enter into the school system over the next few years, many parents like myself are con- cerned that our children will either be behind in learning compared to other towns that offer full-day kindergarten or be saddled with paying out of pocket cost to send our children to other programs in the area. This could create other issues when the kids meet in the first grade, since some children might be ahead and the teachers will need to balance the dif- ference,” explained Sal Falciglia of the reasons he decided to join the full-day kindergarten push. He has a one-year old and a four year old. Grillo said she felt full-day kindergar- ten was necessary in light of curriculum changes being instituted from Trenton and the need for more time so children can meet the tougher standards. She said the group was comparing test scores with other area districts to see if the Midland Park children could benefit from the additional instruction time given today’s expectations around standardized testing and core curriculum standards. Dr. Ciracella said the board has consid- ered the prospect of providing a full-day kindergarten program in the past and will likely revisit the issue again this year “The decision to move to an expanded model is a complex one, involving facili- ties/space issues and potential financial impact on the annual district budget. Please know the BOE Curriculum Com- mittee will continue to discuss this issue and determine if a study should be under- taken. We would next conduct a thorough review of potential full-day implementa- tion and make a recommendation for the full Board’s consideration,” Dr. Cirasella explained. New Jersey does not currently mandate that children attend kindergarten, except in certain school districts with high con- centrations of lower-income families. Rupp said many of the parents are expected to attend the referendum infor- mation meeting on Sept. 8 and will then meet as a group on Sept. 9 at 8 p.m. at Memorial Library to go over the facts and urged like-minded residents to join them. She said the petition may be accessed through change.org by typing Midland Park NJ full day kindergarten, or resi- dents may email her at midlandparkfull daykindergarten@gmail.com to get the link and any other information.