Wise choice
North Island Gazette/ BCLocalNews.com
January 19, 2010

When the world gives you lemons, it is best to make lemonade. In a way that is what the school board has done in deciding to fund all-day kindergarten for all North Island students.

The provincial government was only willing to provide the means to support half the children in the district, leaving school boards with the decision of who gets all day K and who doesn’t.

In School District 85, the board felt it was important to provide the opportunity for all students.

And they were right. Preschool and young children on the North Island have been identified more than once as vulnerable to underachievement in school. Programs like Strong Start and Stepping Stones have been part of the solution and all-day kindergarten will continue that focus and give students a better chance to succeed.

As well, the move is a boon to working parents who will pay less for childcare for their kindergarten-aged child.

But the district is financially strapped and faces significant budget cuts in the coming year. Hardly the time to take on funding 54 kindergarten students.

But it turns out it is possible because this district has multi-graded primary classes that include kindergarten students. Many feel multi-graded classrooms are not the best for students, but in this case it means kindergarten students have an opportunity to get a good start….