By Holly Heller Staff Writer
BREMEN — Halfway through its inaugural year, Bremen’s full-day kindergarten program has received positive feedback from teachers, administrators and parents alike.
“I have received no negative feedback from anyone,” said Bremen Elementary-Middle School Principal Tracy Tredway, who said he is “very pleased” with the program.
full-day kindergarten teacher Susan Gooch, speaking on behalf of the kindergarten team, said “We all feel that it is very beneficial for the students to be here all day. We definitely see an improvement overall. We’ve seen a lot of growth academically and socially.”

The purpose of extending the school day is to allow more time for the kindergartners to become proficient in state standards. Teachers say the extra time with students has been useful in meeting that goal.
“We definitely like the all day program,” Gooch said. “Whenever anything is introduced academically, it can be ‘practiced’ in the other part of the day. We now can do more ‘fun’ activities to practice learning those standards.”
Long-term benefits are also expected for students who attend full-day kindergarten, according to Tredway.
“Research studies confirmed a positive relationship between participation in a full-day kindergarten program and later school performance,” Tredway said.
While it is too soon to measure long-term effects of Bremen’s program, teachers and parents have already noticed an improvement in student learning and performance.
One parent, Jenny Spaid, can attest to that. Her 6-year-old son, Carson, may be the only student to have experienced the half day program last year and the full-day program this year.
“We decided to send Carson to two years of kindergarten instead of three years of preschool. His birthday is July 26, just five days before the cutoff,” Spaid explained.
Carson’s unique situation serves as an unofficial compass for the program.
“I love the program,” Spaid said. “I think he’s learning more than he did last year. I think he’s farther along at Christmas break this year than he was at the end of the school year last year. I think it’s because they have more time there. I think it’s awesome.”
And what does Carson think?
“He loves going all day,” Spaid said. “He seems to really like it.”
Carson is one of 49 students (62 percent) enrolled in full-day kindergarten, while 32 students (38 percent) are enrolled in the half-day program.
Susan Gooch, Danielle Gantz and Linda Huff teach full-day classes, while Leah Binkley teaches two, half-day classes. The team is rounded out by classroom aides Julie Laudeman, Portia Knoblock and Karen Smith. Full-day students also participate in the Bridges program, which is coordinated by Becky Smorin and Katie McGee.
Staffing roles could possibly change next year, depending on enrollment and demand for the full-day program. If demand increases, the school is ready.
“We have classroom space available,” Tredway said. “Creating additional classrooms for kindergarten was taken into consideration when plans for the building project were developed.”
Next year, Tredway hopes the $40 weekly fee paid by parents of full-day students will be eliminated.
“My hope is that full-day kindergarten will be offered to Bremen students at no cost to parents,” Tredway said. “However, that will be dictated by state appropriations for full-day kindergarten that have not yet been established for the 2008-09 school year.”