Pilot Full-Day Kindergarten May Come To 2 Bridgewater-Raritan Schools
BRIDGEWATER, NJ — In preparation for full-day kindergarten, the school district is planning a pilot program set to begin for the upcoming 2025-26 school year at two schools.
The district is planning on implementing the pilot five-day full-day kindergarten program the for 2025-2026 school year at Adamsville and John F. Kennedy Primary schools "to ensure we ready for a districtwide launch in 2026-27," said Superintendent Robert Beers at the Sept. 24 Board of Education meeting.
"This pilot will be focused on ensuring that the facilities, materials, schedules, curriculum, instructional programs, and staffing are all ready for a successful district-wide launch in 2026-2027," said Board member AJ Joshi.
This will be the first time the school district will implement full-day kindergarten. This follows a vote to pass a $2.46 million referendum last November .
In order to get the district ready for the full-day program, a $13.68 million contract for an addition at the middle school was recently passed by the Board at the Aug. 27 meeting.
A groundbreaking for the beginning of construction at the middle school is expected in the next couple of weeks.
The addition will create a traditional middle school environment spanning grades 6-8. Adding sixth grade to the current Bridgewater- Raritan Middle School will free up space at the primary schools, allowing the district to implement the full-day kindergarten program as planned. The entire cost of the addition and the steps needed to implement the full-day kindergarten program are projected to cost $34 million.
The passing of the referendum resulted in a tax increase for an average Bridgewater home, assessed at $488,933, by $90 per year and an average home in Raritan, assessed at $320,525, by $66 a year.
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