【讨论】FULL DAY KINDERGARDEN
 

Ontario government comes through with funds totalling $500 million for long-promised initiative

November 28, 2007
The Canadian Press, with files from Karen Kawawada, Record staff

TORONTO

Ontario will start to phase in full-day learning for four- and five-year-olds in 2010, seven years after Premier Dalton McGuinty first promised to introduce full-time junior and senior kindergarten.

McGuinty visited a Toronto public school to re-announce his promise to study full-day learning for about 240,000 of Ontario's youngest students and start phasing it in with a $200 million budget in 2010, increasing to $300 million the next year.

"I would be surprised if $300 million were enough for a fully phased-in, full-day learning program for all Ontario four- and five-year-olds,'' McGuinty admitted. "We're talking about a huge number of children, and I think we've got to be honest, we're talking about a multi-year phase in.''

McGuinty said studies consistently show that four-year-olds in full-time learning programs score higher in math and language skills than other students.

The premier also appointed Dr. Charles Pascal, chair of the Education Quality and Accountability Office, to study the issue and recommend the best ways to implement full-day junior and senior kindergarten in Ontario.

Pascal said he hoped to create a seamless system where children are exposed to a mix of kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators, and joked that the proposed budget was "unequivocally, maybe'' adequate to get the job done.

"The money that's on the table may absolutely be enough. It depends on options, but I prefer not to begin holding that perfectly constant,'' said Pascal.

"That may not be music to the premier's ears, but it's my answer.''

In Waterloo Region, Catholic board trustee Louise Ervin, who ran for the Liberals in last month's provincial election, welcomed Pascal's appointment.

"He's been involved in education for quite awhile and from what I remember he's always been a strong advocate of early childhood education," she said.

More generally, "especially for children who have parents who are working, the seamless day is better than having children transported all over the place," Ervin said.

Public board trustee, longtime public child-care advocate and former NDP candidate Catherine Fife also praised the appointment and said she likes what she's hearing so far.

"At least it's keeping tax dollars in the public domain for the benefit of children," she said.

But Fife said she hoped the plan won't replace broader investment in child care, including before- and after-school programs.

There are also significant challenges school boards have to face before they can implement full-day learning, she added. The major ones are space and staffing.

"School boards would require guaranteed multi-year funding to not only plan the capital space but negotiate those new collective agreements. If we have early childhood educators (working with teachers), that's a whole new bargaining group."

Kitchener day-care operator and preschool resource consultant Sherri Dombroskie said child-care centres are already best equipped for all-day care.

"We have a system that works in child care and I strongly believe we need to support that system first before we go into the schools," she said.

Dombroskie also had concerns about how full-day learning would work for staff. Minister of Education Kathleen Wynne told CTV yesterday she envisioned a teacher, an early childhood educator and an educational assistant working with 25 children from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., although parents could choose to have their children there only half-days.

That ratio of children to adults is high, said Dombroskie. Also, she asked, "Would those teachers be present all day long? When do the breaks happen?" she asked. "With the relationship between the (early childhood educator) and the teacher, will they be treated equally?"

Preschool teachers aren't "glorified babysitters" and they deserve fair pay, Dombroskie said.

West Montrose mom Marie Roemer said all-day, everyday kindergarten isn't a good idea at all. She has one child in junior kindergarten and another in senior kindergarten, going to school alternate days.

"I find they're really tired at the end of the day; they're pretty cranky and the next day they're exhausted," Roemer said. "I'm still a fan of the half days myself."

The Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care called McGuinty's announcement "terrific,'' but said they would like to see the full-day learning plan implemented faster and with better funding.

"Honestly, it's going to take a lot more cash than that. It's going to take a lot more funding than that,'' said coalition executive director Elizabeth Ablett.

"Although I understand it does take time to build something right, it does take substantial funding.''

But Pascal said he was glad to see the Liberals were taking time to make sure the policy was properly developed, and that teachers and parents were widely consulted, before it's put into action.

"Getting this right is far more important than getting it done by next Tuesday,'' he said.

Statistics Canada data from 2006 shows there are 272,000 four and five year olds in Ontario, but the province said the numbers in school are somewhat lower because kindergarten is optional and some parents don't enrol their kids.

BY THE NUMBERS

240,000 children in kindergarten (115,000 in JK; 125,000 in SK).

$200 million in 2010; $300 million in 2011.

No deadline for full-day kindergarten throughout province.

Eight francophone school boards, including those in Waterloo Region, have it.

Also at Lexington Public School in Waterloo, where children attend morning kindergarten and get afternoon care from an early childhood educator.

明年有希望实施吗？

够呛。

我们这儿10几年前就变全天了，从我家小丫头上JK起。不过还是HALF TIME，两周里上5天。完全的FULL TIME我估计有的小孩可能会不适应，我认识不止一个西人连HALF TIME的JK都不让孩子上哪~

你这还是半天嘛，很早就有啦，和每天上半天的没啥区别。就是冬天稍微好点儿，不用每天接送。
半天最讨厌的是两个孩子，一个上小学全天，一个半天，我认识一妈妈，说太麻烦了，每天来来去去三趟。

Emma幼儿园把老师招来，每天上课从楼上走到楼下就行了。其他时间还按照幼儿园的作息时间。

daycare那么小的小孩大部分不都是full time吗？JK都四岁了还不适应？

噢，我光看了看标题没读内容。这记者写的标题比较模糊了，FULL DAY、FULL TIME不是一个概念阿。不过隔天上跟每天半天区别还是有的啦，上一天时间不是长了嘛~要改的时候也有不少人反对的，我们街坊有一位就因为这让她女儿在家多呆一年直接上SK了。我们这儿当时改是教育局为了省钱，上全天的中午那趟校车就省了。

不知道，我没有DAYCARE经历。

不行了，经济不允许。

听说明年夏天有希望实施了?

明年9月份开始，不过是phased in，不是所有的学校都有，我们家的那所就没有。

我们整个peel区就只有20家开始执行。

http://www.peel.edu.on.ca/facts/earlylearning.htm

我们这儿的学校好像明年就有了。

魔力家家，我和你算一疙瘩吧？YORK REGION什么时候开始呀？应该也是到2：30吧？

我不太清楚啊，也是听别人说起的。好像应该是到3：30吧。现在那个一星期上两天一星期上三天的都是到3：30哒，就是和小学生一起放学的。
不过好像听说也不是所有学校都实行，我只知道这个石桥小学明年是要改的，因为他们说明年报名要晚一些，就因为要准备这个全天制的事情，具体我也没打听，因为我家小的还不到年龄。反正听说一旦开始报名就要赶早去，晚了搞不好就满了。

哦，我刚查了Please note that not all public schools in York Region will be offering full-day/every day kindergarten in September 2010.

**Additional documentation may be required for full-day/every day kindergarten.

http://www.yrdsb.edu.on.ca/page.cfm?id=S00000094

要是明年9月我家门口小学有，我就送2胖去这个免费的了，现在上的蒙校娘的圣诞节还放俩星期假，还有MARCH BREAK。我这俩都在家，房盖都挑了。:tired:

那你打电话去问问呗。

明年去问问，现在估计都放假了吧？

公校圣诞节也都娘的放两星期假啊，妈吃不瑞克也一样，你嫌她们烦，给送CAMP里去啊。