First day is big day: District has waiting lists for full-day kindergarten
The [Westminster] Record
August 25, 2010

Five-year-old Jonathan Corbett's trek to kindergarten this fall won't just be a personal milestone, it's also a landmark year for public education in this province….

"Full-day kindergarten is probably one of the most important social policy initiatives that government has introduced over the past 30 years," superintendent John Woudzia told The Record earlier this year.

Jonathan's mom, Heather Corbett, said her son is prepared for the full-day experience.

"Jonathan is definitely ready because he's been at ..(preschool) for two years. He's been going five days a week, so he's ready," she said.

But Corbett said full-day kindergarten might be a challenge for children who've had no classroom time.

"I definitely feel for parents whose kids haven't had any preschool at all. I think it will be a long day (for them)," she said.

Local parents, for the most part, are embracing the full-day option.

Sandra Pace, the district's director of instruction, wrote in an e-mail to The Record that there was "substantial" interest in having full-day kindergarten and there are currently waiting lists at the four local schools that offer it….

As for whether the province will continue to offer half-day kindergarten next year, Pace wrote, "It is unclear that the province will fund anything but full-time K in September 2011 and beyond. That would be key to offering it. We anticipate offering only full-time Ks, but that will depend on the ministry's decisions. There may continue to be a small demand for half-time K."…

While many parents welcome the idea of full-day kindergarten, they might not like that the modular classrooms, which are similar to portables, will take up space on already crowded school grounds….