Decision time on kindergarten
Victoria Times Colonist
February 4, 2009

EDITORIAL

Premier Gordon Campbell's gloomy financial update yesterday likely sheds light on the lagging progress on full-day kindergarten in B.C. The government promised last February to look at offering full-day kindergarten to all five-year-olds. It would also consider giving the parents the option of day-long kindergarten for four-year-olds by 2010 and for three-year-olds by 2012, the throne speech promised.

It was, in fairness, not a commitment to go ahead.

But Education Minister Shirley Bond's comments were supportive. …

Parents -- especially working parents or those who believed their children would benefit significantly from the program -- were encouraged and hopeful. Many took the timeline set out in the throne speech as an indication that full-day kindergarten would be available this September.

Progress has been slow. The Early Childhood Learning Agency didn't submit its report on the proposals by the end of the year as planned. ….

The decision deserves careful consideration. The costs are significant -- perhaps $400 million a year if kindergarten access were extended to three-year-olds. And there is legitimate debate about the educational benefits of structured school programs for younger children.

But the advantages are also enormous, as Bond, a former school trustee, has noted. Quality early education benefits almost all children, but especially the disadvantaged. It's estimated that one in five students starts Grade 1 ill-equipped for the immediate challenges. Early childhood education gives those children a fair chance to make the most of their talents and interests.

The government has made a start. About 15 per cent of the 35,000 kindergarten students now attend full days, mainly under programs aimed at First Nations, children learning English as a second language and the disadvantaged…

It's important that a decision be made quickly. The announcement a year ago raised the hopes of many parents. It also plunged school boards and child-care providers into uncertainty -- no one will expand a child-care centre until it is clear what role the school system is taking on.

The value of full-day kindergarten and early childhood programs has been proven. The investment in the lives of children, and the future of the province, would make good sense even in tight economic times.