Hi All, Below is the email chain i had with Edison Board of Education. Please feel free to add your comments and options you can think of to support Full day Kindergarten program in Edison township. Also, please share this petition to other Edison resident who can help and support us for this petition Thanks Kalpit ######################################## Hi Deborah, Dr. Richard O'Malley and All, Thanks for your quick reply and i really appreciate the info you did provide. As a parents and also Edison township resident, we all want our kids to have a batter study and full day Kindergarten program. Everyone is struggling and not happy since Edison is the only township where we are missing full day Kindergarten program in spite of paying a high tax. I do understand your side as well but this is on going issue since last few years now and i don't see anything is being done to resolve this issue We really would like to know and hear some of the option board and Edison township thinking about resolving this issues. I really appreciate if you can include this topic in any upcoming public meeting and discuss that with all of us in detail. Here some of the suggestion we can recommend and they are not hard to implement immediately. Just because of space limitation if few kids are missing their prime age study is not acceptable in this progressive Edison township and state of New jersey Below are the options you can add in to the meeting so that we can discuss more in detail publicly to either support that or make any adjustment to accommodate small kids feature in some alternate space (1) First of all , we need to identify which are the Kindergarten public schools having space issues and limitations. If only one or two school has that issue and just because of those one or two schools, if other school are kids are suffering and missing their full time Kindergarten study program then it is a time to atleast start the Full day Kindergarten at the places were scape is not an issue and offer others who are not in that region to enroll in to part time Kindergarten at their regional school and if they want their kids to go to full time then they will need to drive them to outside region for the full day Kindergarten program. Bus service and other minor items can be discuss if we decide to go through this route of implementing full day Kindergarten in Edison Township Edison township runs a pre-k ( pre-school kindergarten) program which is paid program by the parents and in that program, kids are enrolled and travel across the other part of the Edison township and same thing may can apply for full day Kindergarten program. (2) I live in the region where Martin Luther King (MLK) Elementary School and James Madison Primary (JMP) Schools are located. Both of these schools runs half Kindergarten program. One morning session (9AM to 11:30AM) and one afternoon session ( 1PM to 3:30PM). Each session has only about 9 to 10 kids so 10 kids morning session and 10 kids afternoon session. Each session has two teachers supporting class. Isn't it a good idea to combined these two class and enroll about 20 kids for full day instead of half day? From first grade the class size will be between 20 to 25 kids and why do we have only 10 kids per class in Kindergarten? If not all the schools can support this idea but at least there are few schools can accommodate this idea and starting something is more important then doing nothing to resolve the issues for several years.This option and idea will resolve the issue of any space limitation which you have mention in the email (3) As you mention earlier in your email about space limitation and our question to you and township is that, what are the options and initiatives Edison township is thinking about to resolve issue short tear and long term. I am sure it will take several year to resolve long term issues to build and construct new class rooms but to rent a place to run the Kindergarten program is not a bad idea and it will not be expensive or time consuming to build and start something short term. You can get a centralize located building for rent to run only full day Kindergarten program in Edison Township so the school or places where you can not accommodate all the kids for full day Kindergarten program in their regional school can enroll into centralist located school where the space is not an issue and this will be a decent short term solution till the issue will be resolve by Edison Township. Again i am keep repeating this again and again but to resolve the issue is more important for kids then doing nothing about it and this option is also can help kids and parents to get a full day Kindergarten in Edison township (4) There are certain Edison township own places and building in or around few Elementary schools in Edison. Either those buildings are empty or not being used or used once in a while for small events. Isn't it a good idea to make a full use of those places and building and convert them into class rooms to resolve the issue of space for full day Kindergarten in Edison? This is one option as an example and i am sure if we research and look into more about this options we will find more places and building which are in or around the existing Elementary or Middle school where an empty Edison township building can be converted in to class room school for full day Kindergarten. I am referring to Edison First Aid Squad building located at 848 New Dover Rd, Edison, NJ 08820. This building is right next to James Madison Primary (JMP) and James Madison Intermediate (JMI) Schools. Building is own by Edison township and it is not being used 100% now a days. Township is renting that building as a banquet hall for celebration and family parties. If township prepare and create small rooms inside this building then it will resolve the issue of space. Edison township own empty building is sitting right next to an elementary school and if someone make a move then it will be easy to convert that building into school to support the issue of space. Even if you build a centralise Full time Kindergarten program in that building and if the parents from other region will need to drive their for pick up and drop off then it will be still batter option then what we have right now These are the major options you can include into public meeting and i will add this to the petition website so if other parents will through any ideas then we can include that in to the option as well. If we will not do anything about making this happen then we will never make it and it is time to take action and do something abut small kids feature. Please help and support us. If we work together, i am sure we can resolve this issue and we have a lot os hopes from the board and Superintendent for this matter. Please let us know when you will discuss all about full day Kindergarten program option in public meeting and i will invite all who has filed this Petition for support Best Regards, Kalpit kkhamar@yahoo.com Phone: 732-491-1604 Thank you for your email. With increased enrollment every year and ongoing overcrowding issues, we cannot have full day kindergarten in Edison unless we can solve this issue. We simply don't have the classrooms necessary to run a full day program. As far as reaching out to the right person for information, you are doing the right thing by contacting the superintendent. I'm sure this is something we will continue to discuss as a board. Sincerely, Deborah A. Anes On Nov 12, 2014, at 11:02 AM, Kalpit Khamar wrote: > Hi All, > > FYI, couple of months ago when i visited Edison Board of Education building at 312 Pierson Avenue for the matter of making a Kindergarten program full time, they did ask me to file the petition and depends on the vote they will evaluate the possibility to support full day Kindergarten starting from next year. I am trying to reach out to Superintendent and others on this matter through email since we have enough vote from the parents who did sign this petition online. I need your help to include this matter in to monthly meeting and please let me know the right person and resource to escalate this matter immediately > > Thanks, > Kalpit Khamar > kkhamar@yahoo.com > Phone: 732-491-1604 > > > > On Wednesday, November 12, 2014 10:52 AM, Kalpit Khamar wrote: > > > Dear Superintendent Dr. Richard O'Malley, > > I haven't hear back from you for our previous email. Please kindly reply to this email and let us know the next step. Everyone is waiting for your response on this matter and we really appreciate your help for this matter > > Best Regards, > Kalpit Khamar > kkhamar@yahoo.com > Phone: 732-491-1604 > > > On Thursday, October 30, 2014 3:58 PM, Kalpit Khamar wrote: > > > Date 30th Oct 2014 > Edison Township Public Schools > 312 Pierson Avenue > Edison, New Jersey 08837 > > > Ref: Regarding Petition "SUPPORT FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN IN EDISON, NJ " > Edison Township, NJ Board of Education: SUPPORT FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN IN EDISON, NJ > > > > image > > > > > > > > > > > Edison Township, NJ Board of Education: SUPPORT FU... > PLEASE SIGN OUR PETITION IN SUPPORT OF FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN IN EDISON, NJ. PLEASE JOIN US IN VOICING YOUR SUPPORT. Why is Full-Day... > View on www.change.org > > Preview by Yahoo > > > Dear Superintendent Dr. Richard O'Malley, > > I am writing this email in regards to a Petition "SUPPORT FULL-DAY KINDERGARTEN IN EDISON, NJ " filed by us couple of months ago. We are very interested to speak to you and the team responsible for supporting this changes going forward at Kindergarten Schools in Edison township. Please let us know the next steps and appropriate time to schedule a meeting so that we all can participate and hear the updates from you and township regarding this matter. Looking forward to hear back from you and feel free to reach out to me if any questions > > Best Regards, > Kalpit Khamar > kkhamar@yahoo.com > Phone: 732-491-1604 > > >