….Despite an announcement in the throne speech, Hyer is still concerned about the overall cost of implementing full days throughout the district’s 11 elementary schools. They will receive funding for each student, she said, but there are other costs associated with the transition.

“One reason we didn’t put it in one of our schools is that the space we have would have do be renovated,” Hyer said.

That, along with costs for learning resources and professional development for the teachers, helping them adjust to the differences between full and half-day classes while keeping the focus on purposeful play throughout the day for the children.

…. “At Queen’s Park, we’re ecstatic about it. As a community school, we feel it’s a natural progression. We already have a StrongStart centre, we have the after-school program,” she said. “It’s a natural place to have kindergarten going to the full-day program,” she said.

…. The greatest challenge for the teachers, she thinks, may be in supporting the uniqueness of kindergarten and making sure that doesn’t disappear.

“To me that would be very sad,” she said. “My fear is that once we’re full day, people will start to think of it more as a Grade 1 class.”….

One benefit is fewer transitions for the children, who previously might have been moving from home to daycare to kindergarten and back again.

Hamilton agrees, adding that the children will now feel more included in the school life by being there the same times as other students. She’s looking forward to having more time with the children….

In selecting the schools, a number of factors were taken into consideration, including student vulnerability levels in schools, geography, availability of space and access to child care services before and after school.