Phased-in all-day-K coming despite economy
The Province
Oct 4 2009
By: Michael Smyth

Despite the tough economic times and Victoria's empty bank account, the government insists it will still bring in all-day kindergarten in B.C., starting next fall.

But not all at once. All-day-K will be phased in over two years, with half of the province's 40,000 eligible kids enrolling in all-day kindergarten in September 2010. The rest will catch up in 2011.

Why isn't the government introducing all-day kindergarten everywhere at the same time? Because many schools are short of teachers and classroom space, so they'll need additional time to get ready, explains Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid. "Other schools have the space and are ready to go -- so phasing it in is quite sensible," she told me.

But that leaves the government in a sticky situation: Which schools will get all-day kindergarten first? If you have a four-year-old at home right now, who will turn kindergarten age next year, you could save big child-care bucks if your school goes to the front of the line.

MacDiarmid is already hearing the rumblings. "I immediately had people contacting me, asking which schools will qualify," she said, revealing the government released the eligibility criteria to school districts last week. They include availability of teachers, classroom space and "reaching children from neighbourhoods with high levels of child vulnerability first." While disadvantaged kids get an edge in the all-day-kindergarten lottery, the government will also extend funding for all-day-K to privileged private schools. But although many independent schools already offer all-day kindergarten, MacDiarmid said only half will initially receive the extra funding, in line with the public system. That still leaves her open to criticism: Many private schools will get the extra kindergarten bucks next year, while many public schools will not.

"There will always be criticism, but people are generally very supportive of this," she said, adding the government is determined to deliver the $151-million program despite the budget crisis….