Merrimack Kids Joyful Over Full-Day Kindergarten

MERRIMACK, NH —After School District voters' approval of full-day kindergarten last year, the School Board heard great reviews on the program in a meeting last week. This school year, full-day kindergarten has been implemented at Merrimack's three elementary schools for the first time, and the participating students took their time to thank the School Board and the community during Monday's meeting. They were especially excited about having unified arts, which would not have been possible without kindergarten being full-time, according to school staff.

Last year, voters agreed to implement full-day kindergarten in a vote of 1,792-1,192. The associated cost for the program was $878,450, which included about $808,901 in additional salaries and benefits and $69,549 for equipping additional kindergarten classrooms, according to the warrant article approved during the April 10, 2018, School District vote.

At the Monday, May 6, School Board meeting, kindergarten students from Merrimack's three elementary schools talked about their day at school, which typically begins with a morning meeting, followed by curriculum in math, literacy, social studies and science.

One student talked about yoga that the students do after lunch and recess. Another student said she enjoyed learning how to spell by tracing letters with her finger, or finding missing letters in a word. Another student showed a Lego project she made.

With full-day kindergarten, Merrimack students are now exposed to unified arts, which they call "specials." These include art, music, physical education, library and computers, which includes students learning how to use the keyboard.

"Thank you for letting us have specials!" the kindergarten students said in unison, before singing a song about their kindergarten experience and what they learned.

The School Board last week also revised its early-admission policy, to include early admission into kindergarten. Students who are 5 years old by Sept. 30 may enter kindergarten that year, and early admission is allowed for those whose 5th birthday falls between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31. The decision on whether they are ready for early admission is made by the superintendent and the school principal, according to the policy.

The window of time for early admission into kindergarten is different from the window of time for early admission into first grade. For first-graders, they are eligible for early admission if their 6th birthday falls between Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 for that school year.

Superintendent Marge Chiafery explained the difference in the window of time for early admission, saying that unlike incoming first-graders who may already be prepared through previous preschool and kindergarten experience, incoming kindergartners would have less in-school learning time to prepare for entering kindergarten.

The early admission policy for kindergarten is effective starting next school year.