Ed Board Talks Packed Classes, Late Buses, Kindergarten Entry

Busing, overcrowded classrooms and the age of children entering kindergarten were discussed at the first education board meeting since classes resumed in late August, according to the Middletown Press. 

School buses with hardly any students prompted some parents to contact officials, the Press reports, and Marco Gaylord told those gathered at Middletown's board of education meeting Tuesday that routes will be re-examined at Bielefield Elementary and possibly other locations and five buses had been eliminated.

Large kindergarten and fifth-grade classes at Farm Hill, a second-grade at Wesley and two fifth grades at Bielefield with numbers as high as 27 have officials considering options for crowded learning areas, the Press reports.

Also Tuesday, the education board voted 3 to 4 against allowing 4-year-olds whose birthdays are within days of the cutoff date to enter kindergarten, according to the Press.

The policy re-examination was prompted from a Middletown family’s request to let their daughter begin kindergarten despite her birthday being two days after the state-mandated cutoff date.

If a child is 5 years old on or before the first day of January of any year, according to Connecticut education statute, he or she may enter kindergarten. However, the local board of education can vote to allow admission to a child younger than 5.

The Press reported that Charles and Associate Superintendent Enza Macri told the board there have been several requests from parents with children who just miss the deadline.

Has your child experienced any of these or similar issues in the Middletown public school system? Tell us in the comments below.