DSUSD wants eight schools to add full-day kindergarten

The Desert Sand Unified School District (DSUSD) announced Wednesday it wants to add full-day kindergarten to eight of the district elementary schools.

Mona Davidson,Desert SandsTeachers’ Association president, supports the district’s plan.

“I think that the teachers will feel a little more relaxed in being able to deliver curriculum in a meaningful way and also to bond with the students better,” explained Davidson.

DSUSD also hopes to reduce class sizes throughout the district. For kindergarten through third grade, they hope to average 24 students per teacher.

“It’s so important for the foundation of the little ones to be firm and it’s so much better when the class sizes are smaller,” added Davidson.

With smaller class sizes, the district will also need more teachers. According to Michael Wilhite of Desert Sands Unified School District, of the $11 million set aside for this new plan $900,000 will go toward full-day kindergarten. The funds will also go toward:

-Increasing the number of students in, and quality of, Career and Technical (CTE) pathways at the district’s seven high schools

-Investing funds to strengthen Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), and Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) programs

-Ensuring safe and orderly schools by adding attendance facilitators at high schools and assistant principals at larger elementary schools

-Supporting special education students by hiring more teachers and increasing the hours of para-educators assigned in those classrooms

The board will make a decision on the plan June 16. If approved, full-day kindergarten will begin in the fall. The following elementary schools will offer the program:

-Adams

-Franklin

-Hoover

-Lincoln

-Monroe

-Roosevelt

-Truman

-Van Buren