Spring Break Update: All Day K and Declining Dollars
The Local (Sunshine Coast)
March 19, 2009
By Silas White, Sunshine Coast School Trustee [Chair]

On Feb 27, Asst Superintendent Tom Herrick, trustee Lori Fielding and Dave Mewhort and I attended an address by Shirley Bond, Minister of Education… Bond announced that due to the present economic climate, a lack of space, and a shortage of qualified teachers, the provincial government’s expansion of K-12 education to all day kindergarten has been delayed.  The report the government prepared ..initially promised for release late last year, will be available by the end of March.  Bond continued to mention optional kindergarten for 4 year olds as a further possibility, but did not mention 3 year olds, another topic of the report.

It is worth noting that in the U.S. President Obama is responding to the economic situation by investing in (rather than holding back on) early childhood education – to the tune of $5 billion so far….

In the provincial election campaign, it will be interesting to see what both major parties  in BC say about their immediate plans of action on early childhood education.