Schools nearly set for all-day kindergarten
The Nanaimo Daily News
By Robert Barron
August 18, 2010

With just three weeks to go before the new school year begins, the 18 elementary schools in the Nanaimo-Ladysmith district that will offer all-day kindergarten for the first time are almost ready for their new full-time students.

Assistant superintendent Chris Southwick, responsible for implementing the new program in the district, said workers are in the process of moving in appropriate furniture and other material for the kindergarten classrooms….

About 500 of approximately 900 students starting kindergarten this year will be going to school for the full day instead of the traditional half-day program that has been offered across most of the province for decades.

The government decided to expand the province's kindergarten programs in 2008 after research suggested there are windows of opportunity when children are especially receptive to experiences that can shape their entire lives.

Southwick said that while space for the program is not a concern this year, she expects "big changes," possibly requiring significant capital funding from the government, may be needed next year to expand the full-day kindergarten program to all the district's elementary schools.

"The government has said that it will not allow any capital costs to be incurred this year in the first phase of introducing the program province wide, but we'll need to start talking now about what will be needed in Nanaimo-Ladysmith next year to be prepared," she said.