After years of discussion, debate, and multiple proposals, Londonderry voters overwhelmingly approved the move to full day kindergarten in March, setting in motion one of the most significant instructional shifts the district has undertaken in decades.
Beginning this fall, kindergarten will no longer operate as a half day program centralized at Moose Hill School. Instead, full day kindergarten classrooms will be housed at Matthew Thornton, North School, and South School, integrating the district’s youngest learners directly into their neighborhood elementary schools.
The approval came just one year after voters rejected a bond that would have created a full day program at Moose Hill. With that plan off the table, district leaders pivoted to a decentralized model – one they say will better distribute enrollment, reduce transportation challenges, and allow families to build earlier connections with their home schools.
At the most recent School Board meeting, Superintendent Dan Black provided a detailed update on how preparations are progressing and what families can expect in the months ahead.
Black began by highlighting the district’s recent open houses for incoming kindergarten and first grade families.
“Matthew Thornton, South School, and North School had a very successful Open House for incoming Kindergarten and 1st Grade families last Wednesday,” Black wrote in a memo to the Board. He encouraged families who could not attend to contact their school principals for materials and information.
The open houses served as the first major opportunity for families to see classrooms, meet staff, and understand how the transition to full day kindergarten will work at each school.
Black provided updated enrollment figures, noting that 88 students currently attending Moose Hill are expected to move into the new full day program across the three elementary schools.
In addition, the district has received:
- 105 new kindergarten registrations, and
- 59 families who have expressed interest but have not yet completed the registration process.
“Since the March vote, we have received 48 total new registrations that are complete for kindergarten 2026,” Black told the Board.
The 59 families in the “interested but not registered” category represent the biggest variable in planning. Black said the district is actively reaching out to determine what additional information those families need before finalizing their decisions.
Black emphasized that the district cannot finalize staffing, classroom counts, or supply purchases until they know how many of those 59 families intend to enroll.
“Based on that third group, we will decide how many kindergarten classrooms we create, how many staff we hire, and how much new furniture and curriculum supplies we need to purchase,” he said.
He provided preliminary estimates for the number of kindergarten classrooms needed at each school:
- Matthew Thornton: 5 to 6 classrooms
- North School: 4 or 5 classrooms
- South School: 4 or 5 classrooms
These numbers may shift depending on final enrollment and any additional registrations that come in over the summer.
Black also noted that some families have requested school changes based on childcare, transportation, or sibling placement.
The district is reviewing those requests to determine what can be accommodated without disrupting class size balance.
“We are also working with families who are requesting school changes to make sure we can make that work within our full day kindergarten plans,” he said.
Black told the Board that the district hopes to finalize classroom counts before the end of the current school year.
“Hopefully by mid May we have figured out exactly how many classrooms we will need,” he said. “Then we will have contingency plans if we get a further increase in kindergarten and new first grade students over the summer.”
District officials expect additional registrations to come in throughout June, July, and August – a typical pattern for kindergarten enrollment.
The move to full day kindergarten represents a major milestone for Londonderry, aligning the district with the majority of New Hampshire communities that already offer full day programs. Supporters have long argued that full day kindergarten provides stronger academic foundations, more time for social emotional learning, and greater consistency for working families.
With voter approval secured and planning underway, the district now faces the logistical challenge of transforming three elementary schools to welcome a significantly larger population of young learners this fall.