Initiatives to date are fragmentary and insubstantial

Baby-sitting services masquerading as genuine early childhood provincial initiatives arrive in Vancouver schools this fall.

Two Vancouver elementary schools (Moberly and Selkirk), are slated this month (in association with local neighbourhood organizations) to host so called “Strong Start” provincial pre-school programs.

With one in four of the kindergarten students in BC lacking school readiness thus running the serious risk of falling behind (as confirmed in the provincial government’s spring speech from the throne), the best that Victoria has to offer is a partial support service mislabelled “Strong Start”.

This fall, 80 Strong Start programs will be available in elementary schools across the province. Placed there by the ministry of education under the supervision of local school boards- to lend these initiatives a semblance of educational credibility- the superficial nature of these 3-hour, drop-in centers are Victoria’s answers to what has now emerged as a serious concern in our overall kindergarten to 12 educational infrastructure.

Stay at home parents or grandparents must accompany their three or four year olds to these centers during the day thereby excluding the children of many working parents.

At the start of the current school year an estimated 8,500 (of the projected 35,000) kindergarten students entering our public schools will lack readiness for regular schooling,

Experienced kindergarten teachers will tell you that many of these students have a limited vocabulary, a poor understanding of colours, letters, numbers, sizes and shapes and are often far behind many of their peers. The attainment gap widens as they advance into intermediate grades.

What is BC doing about this?

Despite the provincial hoopla (and the setting up of a separate early learning branch in the ministry), current efforts in this province are at best fragmentary as witness the following: book hand-outs to the parents of preschoolers; a total absence of Victoria- sponsored junior kindergarten classes for disadvantaged four year olds; extremely limited and discriminatory access (only ESL and special needs kids accepted) to all-day kindergarten for five year olds; plus the ongoing and deepening crisis in day care spaces.

Contrast the following early childhood programs in provincial, national and international jurisdictions with BC’s faltering efforts:

SURE START (UK):

This decade-old British initiative for disadvantaged three year olds and up is designed to develop potential in the pre-school years. A Department of Education spokesperson in England recently summed up the British initiative this way:

"Closing the attainment gap between different groups of (pre school) children is a massive priority for us. We are working hard to provide support such as catch up lessons, one- to- one tuition, and wrap around support for children and families—for example, the Sure Start program.”

BEST START (ONTARIO):

In 2004 the provincial government in Ontario launched Best Start which provides full-day kindergarten and child care for 250,000 pre schoolers in that province. Full-day kindergarten and child care for all four and five year olds replaced part time programs with early childhood educators working closely with teachers as a team to prepare kids for the rigours of the regular classroom teachers.

JOUER C’EST MAGIQUE (QUEBEC):

Launched in 1997, the Quebec child care system has at times been hailed (as progressive) and criticized (as too expensive) across Canada. For many early childhood educators, however, it is viewed as the gold standard and “a tremendous development in social policy” according to Larry De Po director at the McGill University Child Care Centre. The province has developed and implemented a curriculum called Jouer c’est magique which focuses on learning through play with a very strong emphasis on college training for early childhood educators.

HEAD START (USA):

Launched in 1965 as a summer program, this internationally recognized program promotes school readiness for disadvantaged students through enhancing the social and cognitive development of pre schoolers. Impressive longitudinal studies highlight the educational importance of early and sustained intervention plus the substantial long- term savings accruing to the state as a result.

By comparison with any of the aforementioned provincial, national, or international initiatives BC’s early childhood programs lag far behind.

Given the contemporary needs of young families in this province, BC needs a full spectrum of choices that include universally accessible full time programs, part-time care, developmentally appropriate pre school initiatives and not just drop in centers.