District hopeful of kindergarten plan; Officials look to the government to start the all-day sessions
The Daily News (Nanaimo)
Jul 2 2009
By: Robert Barron

Officials in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith school district hope the government will foot the bill to introduce full-day kindergarten through an initiative endorsed this week by B.C. Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid.

Her commitment to all-day kindergarten, first proposed by Premier Gordon Campbell in his 2008 throne speech, comes on the heels of news that Ontario will work toward optional full-time classes for four- and five-year-olds in some areas of that province by 2010, at an estimated cost of up to $990 million per year.

When first discussed last year, B.C.'s Ministry of Education was considering instituting full-day kindergarten for five-year-olds as early as this September, with the possibility it could be expanded to include four-year-olds by 2010 and three-year-olds by 2012, but funding constraints have led to the project being postponed indefinitely.

The operating cost of full-day kindergarten in B.C. is estimated at $600 million per year, which would cover hiring more teachers and early childhood educators, but doesn't include the additional infrastructure costs.

Plans to expand kindergarten in B.C. and Ontario are in response to studies that show children between the ages of three and five are at an ideal age to begin learning and, according to some experts, knowledge gained in that period can influence a child's entire life.

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec are the only regions to run full-day programs for five-year-olds.

Going into her first cabinet meeting since replacing Shirley Bond as education minister earlier this month, MacDiamid said the "uncertain world economy" means she can't put a timeline on the kindergarten project, but "it's possible" it could be implemented by 2010.

"It's a priority," she said. "The all-day kindergarten, which will be optional, will happen, but not this September."

Nelson Allen, chairman of Nanaimo-Ladysmith's facilities planning committee, said the expected need for extra space in district schools once additional students enter the school system at an earlier age comprises a "huge piece" of the committee's long-term planning for the district as it prepared its facilities plan….

"I think it's best we get this straight now before any decisions are made around closing more schools," he said. "It would be a good way to make use of excess space we have in some of our schools, but the costs would be significant at a time when the government is running a deficit. However, it may be that the government will bite the bullet to see full-day kindergarten implemented in B.C."

Kip Wood, president of the Nanaimo District Teachers Association, said educators still have a lot of questions around having kids as young as three and four in schools full time, the effect on daycare programs and fears that already cash-strapped school districts will be expected to help cover the costs.

However, he said if the initiative is implemented properly it may have "more positive implications for education than negative ones."