Early kindergarten proposal gets kudos; 'This could be the most important development in social policy in this generation'
Coquitlam Now
08 Aug 2008

When her four-year-old son came home chatting excitedly about a platypus and other underwater creatures, Corrie Bzowy couldn't help but smile.

She knew they hadn't talked about the aquatic animals at home. Instead, Cole learned his new vocabulary at ….the childcare centre he attends in Port Coquitlam.

…Cole loves to learn. He recognizes the letters in his name, remembers the words to songs and creates artwork based on monthly themes.

Watching his progress each day, Bzowy believes her son would thrive in a full-day kindergarten environment.

"I'm really excited about it. I think that every child needs to get a good start. We know that kids do need to be part of an educational setting early on," said Bzowy, who teaches grades 6 and 7 at …Middle School in New Westminster….

As a working mom, Bzowy said she likes to know Cole has the chance to learn and socialize when she drops him off for the day.

"My son is a social being. He loves to be around other kids. I think 100 per cent kids need to be with other kids. They need to have the social connections," said the Port Coquitlam mother.

"For me, I like to work and I like to be a mom too. My son is four and he's ready for kindergarten. He's been ready for quite a while. It's amazing. He's flourishing."

Paul Kershaw, an assistant professor at UBC who focuses on family policy, said full-day kindergarten would give kids an educational boost while making it easier for moms like Bzowy to maintain their roles in the workplace.

"There are gender equality issues that remain in British Columbia and in Canada. The gender earnings gap emerges in the late 20s and early 30s. That all comes down to the birth of the first child," said Kershaw, adding that many mothers choose not to return to work due to high childcare costs.

"We hear regularly there are labour shortages in British Columbia. A well-organized childcare project could go a long way to supply workers. Mothers would have more flexibility to contribute to the labour market."

A full employment-day program -- long enough to accommodate parents' work shifts -- would also improve child development and in turn create a stronger future economy for the province, said Kershaw.

"I actually think the government of British Columbia right now deserves some credit. This could be the most important development in social policy in this generation," he said.

Like Kershaw, …Wendy Cooper would be pleased to see government support for childcare programs. But maintaining high-quality staff would be essential to the success of the project, she said.

"I think the bottom line is government involvement in that age group is indeed a bonus. How that looks in its implementation is the tricky part," said Cooper, former chair of the provincial childcare council.

"Quality programming is always a benefit as a support to families. But if you don't have enough staff, you jeopardize the quality of the program. The real work will come when the plan is in place."

If full-day programs are implemented, Cooper suggests the province create a partnership between schools and existing childcare centres.

"I think the concern would be the services that exist today aren't eroded in a transition to a full-day kindergarten. There are a lot of quality programs for kids in that age group existing now," she said.

"There won't be space in every school, so there will be partnerships that need to be developed and implemented. We would need some kind of accreditation so we are ensured those public dollars are supporting quality programming for accountability."

For young children like Cole, Cooper said the ideal program would be play-based to encourage social, emotional and intellectual growth as well as physical dexterity.

"You build on the interests of the children to create a love for learning and to stimulate brain development on all domains," she said.