With the state-mandated deadline of the 2016-17 school year approaching for all districts, Cranston has taken the first steps toward all-day kindergarten.

“Cranston Public Schools is excited to be opening four all-day kindergarten classrooms for the upcoming school year,” Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse said. “Our youngest students will certainly benefit from all-day kindergarten as they begin their academic journey in Cranston. We are grateful for the infusion of monies we received from the state … to implement this new program. This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to prepare for district-wide all day kindergarten in 2016.”

At a special meeting in May, the School Committee presented how the pilot was going to be rolled out.

Schools were selected based on which currently have the appropriate space and classroom setup to house a full-day kindergarten. These classrooms require specific qualifications. Schools were chosen based on their ability to accommodate the program, and no money would have to be allocated for construction.

Once the potential locations were determined, the schools were further narrowed down based on registration numbers.

The district will place two classrooms at Orchard Farms Elementary School.

“The school has the room, and the population warranted it,” said Janice Ruggieri, the committee’s chair. “Some of the schools we considered were not viable due to actual enrollments. The ones we picked have no costs associated in infrastructure.”

The other classrooms will be at Rhodes and Barrows elementary schools.

The critical piece to the plan was the passage of the state budget and the disbursement of funds.

“The total that we are expecting from the governor is $556,742. The cost of the program from that budget is $204,562, approximately. The remainder of the cost for the program is already in our budget in the form of the teachers who already exist. The remainder of the state aid from the governor is going to be used for the expenses for the district-wide kindergarten, for purchasing furniture, equipment and supplies for the rest of the classrooms,” Ruggieri said.

The district will also receive money from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) to purchase supplies, equipment and furniture. Michele Simpson, executive director of pupil personnel services, said that funding totals $23,851.

“I’m happy we were chosen to receive these funds,” she said. 

For the students already registered for kindergarten at the selected schools, families have been notified and they will be placed in the all-day program.

The cap for each classroom has been set at 22 students. If a student registers for kindergarten at any of those schools and the cap is already met, the student will register and attend a half-day program at a neighboring school.

If for any reason families do not want their child in the all-day program, they may opt out of the pilot, and the student will be placed in a neighboring school.

Citywide committee representative Mike Traficante addressed what he saw as the upcoming challenges.

“I totally support this initiative, I want to be clear about that, but there are many things we need to know for the ’16-’17 school year that have to be addressed,” he said.

Traficante read off a list of concerns, including the logistics of moving the sixth grade back to middle school to make available space and classrooms, the costs associated with elementary infrastructure improvements, the per-pupil cost, furniture, staff certification and professional development.

“I am excited to see the program finally start … it has been a long four years of planning and working,” Ruggieri said. “We started with a large group of teachers, ex-teachers, administration, members of our food service, transportation and building services and the School Committee who were dedicated to getting this program to Cranston. We are all glad to see that we were able to accomplish what we set out to do, even if we hit a few bumps along the way. I am glad to be able to be part of moving the district forward and finally seeing a program come together that has long been needed in Cranston.  I am thankful to Sen. [Hanna] Gallo, who has never wavered in her support or in her dedication to getting full-day K to the entire state, but most importantly, to Cranston.”