PRESS RELEASE FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN RESTORED IN PHILADELPHIA

PHILADELPHIA – Today the School District of Philadelphia announced that it will offer full- day kindergarten next year despite a significant decrease in funding. The District’s budget, adopted by the School Reform Commission earlier this week, allotted funding for half-day kindergarten. Superintendent Dr. Arlene Ackerman contacted the Pennsylvania Department of Education today to request a waiver allowing the District to use Title I funds to augment this half-day offering to provide a full-day program.rnrn“I’ve heard the voices of the community, the voices of our dedicated parents who have traveled far to lobby on our behalf, and of course the voices of our young,” Dr. Ackerman said. “In my career other districts have used Title I dollars to fund kindergarten and although that was not originally an option here, I’m thankful that we were able to find a way to make this work for the benefit of our students.”rnAlso today, the District and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) met again to discuss financing options to restore TransPasses for nearly 60,000 students. Both organizations report progress is being made.rnrn“Our students deserve the opportunity to compete with students throughout the Commonwealth and this world. It’s this nation’s promise of public education and it will continue to be our promise to the students of Philadelphia,” said Ackerman, who acknowledges that transportation options are key to students accessing the system of great schools being developed in Philadelphia.rnrnThe School District of Philadelphia faces an unprecedented budget gap of nearly $630 million. In March, Governor Corbett proposed a budget to reduce Commonwealth provided funding to the District by $292 million. Of that $292 million was the elimination of the full Accountability Block Grant worth $55 million. For the past ten years the District has used that grant to fund kindergarten programs. Recognizing the importance of kindergarten on future education outcomes, the District reallocated funds to provide a half-day program, in its initial budget.rnrnFor more information on the School District of Philadelphia’s budget visit www.philasd.org/budget.rnrn###rnStay informed of SDP’s activities online: videos available at www.youtube.com/PhillyEducation and www.facebook.com/PhillyEducation; follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PhillyEducation; view our photos on www.flickr.com/PhillyEducation or check out our blog at www.phillyeducationblog.com.