Full Day vs. Half-Day Kindergarten
Parent Q&A
Archived Q&A and Reviews
| Questions |
|
PM Kindergarden assignment and Aftercare nightmare
July 2014
My son will attend Kindergarten this fall at Fairmont Elementary in El Cerrito. I got wind that he will be assigned to the PM Kindergarten class (starts at 11:20) because we didn't register him early enough (I know, parenting fail). Unfortunately, my husband and I both work full time and the complementary childcare program through the city told us that they may not be offering AM care if there is not enough demand. (They didn't have it this year for the same reason.) I am REALLY confused as to what other parents do who are assigned to the PM K class if both parents work full time out side the home? Anyone out there have the same problem? Are there daycares in the area who will take care of my Kinder kid in the morning, take him to school, and care for him afterschool?
I am seriously stressed out as to what we will do if he gets final assignment to the PM class and there is no AM care. The principal implied that maybe some spots my open up in the AM Kindergarten after the first week but it's not something I can depend on. Has this happened to anyone else? What did you do? Are you in the same boat as me this year? If so, could you please please sign up to get the AM care through the city? confused PM Kindergarten mom
I was in the exact same situation 2 years ago, and I remember really flipping out and being super stressed too. I really wish that EC/WCCUSD would communicate the situation better to parents when they are registering for K that the availability of the afterschool for K is dependent of how many K classes they have, and AM K is a better choice if you want aftercare. Then working parents who intend to use after-care can mark down ''no preference for AM or PM care, as long as aftercare is available'', which is basically what I put this year for my 2nd kid who is entering K this year.
What I did two years ago in your situation is to talk to the principal to explain how critical it is that my child be switched to the AM K if there will be no morning ''afterschool''. It sounds like you have already done that. My experience was that the principal did in fact switch my daughter to AM K. She told me she couldn't guarantee it (which of course freaked me out, bc I considered it essential, and should overrule someone else's ''preference''), but she did tell me there was a pretty good chance it would happen. And it did. I guess I can give you no additional comfort, except to commiserate, and encourage you to continue to work with the principal to explain the critical situation (and suggest they make this issue clear at registration time to avoid this hassle in the future!) another Fairmont parent with incoming K
First I just want to say that I sympathize with your summer-before-kindergarten anxieties - been there (last year). I think you're doing all the right things with letting the principal know your situation, and keep being a squeaky wheel with the City of EC. You may even want to try to communicate directly with Anthony (the school site before/aftercare director), if not him, maintain a relationship with the Rec Dept office. You should also be sure to attend all the kindergarten playdates going on this summer (starting the 26th) to meet other parents and find out if there are other folks on the fence about PM-K beforecare. Or, leads on daycares nearby. It WILL work out! Fairmont is a good school and once you're settled in, I think your kid will have a good experience there; ours is happy to be headed into first grade. Personally I think it's a District failure to even have PM kindergarten but that's a whole other subject. Make the City of El Cerrito meet your need! Fairmont mom
Which schools offer all day kindergarten?
Feb 2008
Does anyone know of public schools offering all-day Kindergaten schools in either, Berkley, Oakland, Alameda or Albany or perhaps other communities? My friend in Chicago tells me their school district has adopted this successfully. Thank you
looking at option
I could be wrong about this, as my son doesn't start kindergarten till next fall, but I'm pretty sure all Oakland schools have all-day kindergartens. That was my understanding, and it's mentioned several times in their 2007 Annual Report: http://webportal.ousd.k12.ca.us/docs/13668.pdf Public School Mom-to-Be
All OUSD public schools have full-day kindergarten. I don't know about other districts, but this FDK was implemented in 2005. OUSD Parent
My son is an Oakland Public School kindergartener this year. I think the entire OUSD is full day kindergarten. Certainly all of our pre-school and daycare friends are in full day programs at various OUSD schools. ncaton
The Oakland Unified School District mandated several years ago that all kindergartens be full-day. Oakland Public School Mama
As I understand it, all kindergartens for schools in Oakland Unified School District are currently all-day only. This generally means from around 8:30 to around 2:30 (varies a bit by school). Karen
All Berkeley Public Schools have ''all day'' kindergarten. The exact times the day runs depends on a given school. Some start and end earlier than others. Kindergarteners end their day one hour before the upper grades do. Most schools offer after school care on site, and some of the later starting schools (around 9 am) offer before school care as well. There are also other after school care programs at city parks, the JCC in Berkeley, to name a few.
Oakland, I believe, now has ''full day'' kindergarten now at all schools.
Albany is still on half days. There are before and after care programs on site at some schools and also through the Albany YMCA on Solano. Anon.
Berkeley Public kindergarten is just over 5 hours. Our school is 8 to 1:20. A couple hours shorter than what you were thinking, but not sure if that's short enough.
Walden Center and School has a shorter day for kindergarten students - 8:45 to 2:30. The class structure for kindergarten (and also for older students) includes a lot of outdoor & movement time (and the arts: music/drama/visual are AMAZING) as well. The kindergarten classroom is set in a converted little cottage, so it has an adorable home-y feel, and the kindergarteners have their own play structure and sandbox area, but are also wonderfully intergrated into the rest of the school. Here's a link to the kindergarten classroom's schedule & some details about how the curriculum is set-up for kindergarteners - it's a very sweet way to start one's schooling journey: https://waldencenterschool.org/life-at-walden/lower-group/
Kindergarten is 8:10 to 1:30 at our elementary. Since many come for the university, I'll add that public schools are open to every resident regardless of immigration status or length of stay. Berkeley offers some of the best schools in the country. Enrollment for fall has already started so I'd contact them ASAP if you want a spot at a specific school.
All the public elementary schools in Berkeley have fairly short days for kindergarten—either 8-130 or 9-230 basically. You can see the exact schedules by clicking on each school here: https://www.berkeleyschools.net/schools/elementary-schools/
Be aware that you won’t be able to apply until you have proof of a local address so if you’re not applying until the end of the summer you may be placed in any of the schools (not just in your zone) since enrollment in the first round starts in January so you will be applying quite late.
Most of the public schools in Berkeley has kindergartens that starts at 8 am and ends at 1:20 pm. there are a few that starts later and ends later e.g., starts at 9:10 am and ends at 2:25 pm. The days get slightly longer after kindergarten (dismissal at 2:10 pm) except for early release day (Wednesday for us).
I think Albany (next city over) public schools used to have even shorter kinder days but not sure if that has changed. (My info is a few years old.)
Berkeley public schools are separated into zones and are a lottery, so you don't necessarily get to pick your school. Some schools have K dismissal at 1:25, the others are 2:15. For example, Ruth Acty kindergarten is out at 1:25, Rosa Parks at 2:15. Sounds like you haven't registered yet, so you may just get placed where there is room. You won't really have a choice, but all of the elementary schools are good.
Kindergarten at EBGIS in Emeryville is from 8:30-2:15, with drop off starting as early as 8 (no extra fee) and aftercare options that go from 2:15-6 for an extra fee.
Welcome to Berkeley! My daughter attends a half day kindergarten at Berkeley Rose Waldorf School. The kindergarten runs from 8:15/30am -1pm with the option for aftercare. It’s also possible to “drop in” to the aftercare program as needed. The school is located in north Oakland, near Piedmont Avenue. Previously the school was in Berkeley, so many of the families in attendance reside in Berkeley (and hence the name!) It’s a beautiful school and community - we have 3 children there and have truly loved our experience!
All of the BUSD schools end much earlier for kinders. Ruth Acty, for example, runs 8:15am to 1:30pm. And depending on the school, there are different after-school options for those who need care in the afternoon. Good luck with your move!
I can't recommend Berkeley Rose Waldorf School enough! I have a rising 2nd grader, a rising TK kiddo, and an infant at home and have had the older two at the school for the past two years. The school day for K runs 8:3am0-1pm and at least one of those days is spent entirely outside in the Claremont Canyon. Our children have loved their experience at BRWS and we are beyond grateful for the amazing teachers that have guided them both. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk in person.
Welcome to Berkeley. The public kindergarten here run the same amount of time as each other (approx 5.5 hours) and have different start times.
Early start school (Malcolm X etc) are 8:00-1:30
Late start (Rosa Parks, BAM, etc) are 9:00-2:30
You can register in the district when you physically move to Berkeley. Your child will be assigned a school based on what schools still have space that late in the summer.
We live in Albany (bordering Berkeley), where the public school kindergarten hours are 8:30am-1:30pm. There are opportunities for interdistrict enrollment applications, but I don't know how competitive it is. In Berkeley public schools, it looks like hours vary by school; the two examples I looked up were 8:10-1:30 and 9:00-2:15. You can find all the schools and their times at http://berkeleyschools.net, unfortunately I don't know much about how public school enrollment works in BUSD but I'm sure someone here can tell you!
BUSD Kindergarten classes are a shorter day, though not half day. The school my kids went to was 8:10-1:30. The rest of the grades are done at 2:20. Hope this helps!
BUSD schools are 1 hr shorter for TK and K than older grades. Our school was 8:08 to 1:30 for Kinder.
Berkeley Public Schools (BUSD) are great, and TK/Kindergarten gets out an hour earlier than 1st-5th. The elementary schools have slightly different bell schedules (some are earlier/later - you can look up bell schedules on each school's website), but our Kindergartener is in school 8:10am-1:30pm. Not sure if that meets your "half day" expectations.
BUSD Kindergarten is either 8am-1:30pm or 9am-2:30pm depending on the school. I haven’t heard about any shorter day kinder programs; most likely you’d have to keep your kiddo in a half day preschool if you need that kind of schedule. Kindergarten isn’t mandatory in California, you just have to have a kid enrolled in school by age 6 which could be first grade. best of luck!!
Kindergarten at Aurora (technically in Oakland, but very close to the Berkeley border) ends at 2:20 (2pm on Wednesdays). We can’t recommend the school enough. Our whole family has been very happy there!!