Another Jim (Jim Hukari) is facts averse and on the opposite end of the spectrum. My former school board opponent penned a letter to the editor with more spin than the Virginia Reel (a colonial dance).

The new strategy is to say opponents of all-day K simply need to visit the classes to become believers. In this case he claims Gov. Gibbons needs only to visit a local school, but misleadingly wrote he will find “data” by doing so. Gibbons will not find any data, neither will anyone else. The principal of one of the schools Hukari mentioned told me last week they are still putting together their baseline figures. The program is too new to have any data.

If one were to use their logic, or the lack thereof, then advocates for all-day K should be called upon to visit half-day kindergarten classes and explain why they don’t work. Class visits to both types of kindergartens will show cute kids and dedicated teachers, but won’t demonstrate long-term academic benefits. That’s why we have longitudinal (long-term) studies, data.

Falling back on the “you need to visit” line is admission objective research does not support their contentions. You need only to read Clark’s article and the ABCs of All-Day K to see why.

You can read Jim Hukari’s letter to the editor by clicking here.

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