A quarter of kindergarten-age children heading to their first day of class today have not been adequately prepared to learn and have a higher chance of dropping out of school before graduation, according to B.C. Education Minister Shirley Bond.

"There are children who arrive at the kindergarten door who have never held a pencil, and also have never been read to or have books of their own," said Bond, referring to widely accepted B.C. research that shows 25 per cent of children starting kindergarten do not have the educational tools they need to succeed.

At the same time, the high school graduation rate in B.C. is 79 per cent -- a number suspiciously similar to the school-ready rates, said Bond, adding, "We think there is a connection."

In an effort to improve the graduation rate, Bond said that, as of April, the government expanded the responsibilities of the Education Ministry to include concepts of learning and literacy for pre-school-age children, from newborn infants to six-year-olds.

Early childhood development, including issues of childcare, will remain under the umbrella of a separate ministry headed by Linda Reid, with whom Bond promised to work in close partnership.

Under her new mandate, Bond promised a much broader look at education than the traditional kindergarten-through-Grade 12 focus.

She said that over the next two years, she plans to develop education programs designed to enhance early childhood development, working in conjunction with stakeholders including parents and professional early childhood teaching associations.

Bond said one of the possible results is development of family learning centres -- to help parents gain tools to better equip their children for learning -- across the province and the possible incorporation of preschools within elementary schools.

Questions of program funding have not been fully answered yet, said Bond, though it seems the money will come from funding typically attached to Reid's Ministry of State for Childcare.

"We're still working out the changing of the ministries because it's been a fairly significant shift," Bond said…

Bond said it's going to take a shift in mindset within the province to accept the change: "Because when you say the Education Ministry, people think of kindergarten.

"What we want to do is develop a culture that when you say education, you actually think of it as [starting] much earlier."

News that Bond's ministry is now in charge of early childhood education is being received with caution by professionals who work with preschool-age children.

Toni Hoyland, president-elect of the Early Childhood Educators of B.C., said she fears the change could spell trouble for young children currently taught through play-based learning techniques, rather than more traditional classroom settings.

According to Hoyland, the so-called "literacy boot camp" experience she said is favoured by the ministry is "totally inappropriate" for children under the age of six.

"If children are put into a situation where they are being expected to memorize letters or numbers at the age of four or three, they simply will not enjoy that experience and, quite possibly, hate school by the time they get into the system," she said.

Meanwhile, Sharon Gregson of the Coalition of Childcare Advocates of B.C., was critical of what she called the government's continued practice of creating a "fictitious division" between early learning and childcare.

"You don't have literacy happening in one place and childcare happening someplace else," she said. "We're talking about the same children."

Gregson said she's worried the government's recent focus on early learning has much to do with the more than $90 million in federal money -- B.C.'s share of the former national childcare plan -- currently on the table.

"Now childcare and early learning in the zero to six years are looking very attractive as a new source of revenue," she said.

Both Gregson and Hoyland said what's needed is a comprehensive childcare system provincially -- one that allows for equitable access to quality, licensed daycare facilities.

"There are thousands of children on [daycare] waiting lists, no matter how politicians want to try and explain that away," said Gregson. "Seventy per cent of women with young children are in the workforce. We need a comprehensive childcare system in this province."

Hoyland agreed.

"There has been some really good work done in this province that shows children aren't hitting the school system with equal skills, abilities and strengths, and I think we can definitely impact that with a really strengthened early childhood education system," she said…

"I don't want to spill the beans," she said, "but . . . we will talk about giving parents the tools they require."

In related news, B.C.'s Child and Youth Officer Jane Morley will release a special report today on early childhood development, entitled Healthy Early Childhood Development in British Columbia: From Words to Action.

The report, an early copy of which was provided to The Vancouver Sun, recommends the provincial government develop a comprehensive strategy for daycare and preschool programs and come up with methods of evaluating what programs work and which don't.

In an interview Monday, Morley said it is important for the B.C. government to have a plan in place as the federal government makes more money available for daycare programs.

"This is the moment," she said. "Let's move and let's have a comprehensive early childhood strategy and move on it."

Morley's report also recommends that the province develop ways of involving neighbourhoods in deciding what types of programs their communities need.

"What works in the east side of Vancouver doesn't necessarily work in Prince George or a rural community," said Morley.