Jerry Levengood, the director of schools in Rhea County, Tenn.DAYTON, Tenn. – The Rhea County Schools system is expected to offer all-day kindergarten this year, with a starting date to be determined after transportation and other issues are evaluated.
School board members on Thursday approved a plan presented by Superintendent Jerry Levengood and set a target of Oct. 1 to begin offering a full-day rather than a half-day program. But Levengood said an exact starting date will be set after officials analyze transportation needs and the abilities of the children involved.
“Kindergartners come to us with all ranges of abilities and knowledge,” he said. “Before we begin to transport children and put them off the bus [at their stops] we need to know where they live. We’re starting school with a dangerously low number of buses we can put on the road. I don’t know the impact of [all-day] kindergarten on transportation.”
Levengood said officials would plan to implement the all-day program after the initial uncertainties of a new year settle down.
At the same time, board members approved a letter of intent to purchase nine buses for the year.