The student population of Lietz Elementary School is nearly 450 students, 28 percent of which receive free and/or reduced lunch, making the school eligible for Title I services. In order to better serve the students of Lietz and provide them with the best education possible, starting with the 2007-2008 school year, the Union School District will be implementing an extended day kindergarten pilot program. Research indicates that a full-day or extended day kindergarten program has stronger, longer lasting academic benefits for children from low-income families or others with fewer educational resources prior to kindergarten. We in Union are anxious to find out first hand about the benefits that an extended day kindergarten program will provide for all of our students attending Lietz and will be studying the effects of the extended day for our students, families and teachers.
The kindergarten teachers at Lietz look forward to having more time to explore subjects in depth, to emphasize language development and appropriate literacy experiences, and to develop a more flexible and individualized learning environment for all of the students. Teachers will be able to spend more time with each individual student and prepare and present instruction that truly meets each of the students’ needs. The additional time will also provide teachers with the opportunity to develop children’s social skills, including conflict resolution strategies and provide extras such as physical education, art and music which provide experiences beyond the core academic subjects and meets the needs of the whole child.