Kindergarten Program to be Restored in Elementary Schools

It's back.

School District of the Chathams' Superintendent Jim O'Neill said at a Board of Education meeting Monday that the district will keep the kindergarten day as long as it's always been—two hours and 50 minutes.

O'Neill said, however, that even though the day's length will not change, the way it is administered will likely be different. The initial plan to cut down the kindergarten day would have eliminated specials such as art, music, gym and library from the program, and O'Neill said the way those specials will be run next year will likely change.

"We cannot guarantee what that program exactly will be like," he said.

He said the district might not have the facilities available to host specials activities such as gym during the day, so he said some of the programs might be more "academic" in nature than they previously were. He also called the prospect of hiring specially certified people to direct the specials "problematic."

But O'Neill assured parents—many of whom signed a petition asking the district to not cut the specials—that the kindergarten's essential character would remain the same.

"There will be no change in the time, and I'm sure the program will be viable and rich," he said.

In other business, the board accepted the retirement of Director of Special Services Harold Tarriff. Tarriff had been at the School District of the Chathams for the past nine years and before that had been at the Chatham Township School District before it merged with the borough district.

Tarriff's retirement will go into effect Nov. 1. Superintendent Jim O'Neill said Tarriff was not obligated to submit his retirement so soon, but said in an effort to allow the district more time to find a suitable replacement, Tarriff submitted it now. O'Neill said that act is just one more example of Tarriff's cooperative nature.

Board members praised Tarriff, some of whom said he had worked with their children in the schools to give them a better experience. Others said they had enjoyed working with him.

"Two words that come to mind when I think of you [are] intelligence and dedication," board member Richard Connors said. "I feel very sorry for the person who's going to replace you."

Tarriff, in turn, praised the school district.

"I'm the envy of my colleagues because of the support I get here to do the job right," Tarriff said. "It's a pleasure to do the job in a place that values doing it right."