Full-day K: Are we ready? New kindergarten programs lauded, but childcare providers wonder what's on the horizon
Coquitlam NOW
By Jennifer McFee
September 8, 2010

Full-day kindergarten: take one.

This week marks a pivotal moment for both parents and the provincial government, as the first batch of full-day kindergarten students started school….

The full-day trend is proving popular with many working families, but it's not all fun and games for everyone involved. As young students fill seats in local classrooms, other spots are left vacant at daycares and childcare centres. Struggling to cope with the change, some childcare providers warn that vital before- and after-school programs could be at risk.

While full-day kindergarten is new to most B.C. families, the concept is a back-to-school routine for Nermin Elmestkawi, whose oldest daughter started full-day education when she was four years old at a private school in Egypt. Now a Tri-Cities resident, Elmestkawi accompanied her younger daughter, Nada, to her first day of full-day kindergarten….

"I think it's a wonderful program," she said as Nada examined shells and pinecones through a magnifying glass.

Other parents agreed, including Glenda Gimenez, whose son Joshua also started full-day kindergarten at Walton Elementary.

"I think it's great. They can get more experience. I have a daughter going into Grade 1 today too. She did the regular half-day kindergarten last year, but two hours a day wasn't enough," Gimenez said.

"I'm going back to school at Douglas College, so that gives me more time for it. I'm excited."…

District 43 assistant superintendent Maureen Dockendorf said the response to full-day kindergarten has been overwhelmingly positive so far, although some parents are concerned that the six-hour day might be too long for their child….

Families can also opt to skip out on kindergarten entirely, since kids aren't mandated to be in school until Grade 1, she added….

Not everyone, however, is enthusiastic about the onset of full-day kindergarten.

For many childcare providers, the switch to longer school hours creates concerns about staff retention, revenue loss and program structure.

Lynne Murray…, said she feels fortunate that the schools near her two Coquitlam locations are still offering half-day kindergarten. She's already worried about how she'll recruit staff next year when most shifts will be split between before- and after-school care. If she can't keep her staff, she'll need to reduce the number of childcare spaces available.

"We're losing government support at the level of kindergarten because they do support childcare programs that are licensed and meet the requirements," Murray said.

"We're also losing parent fees. And we're going to have to be paying our staff more to entice them into working split shifts."…

MacDiarmid, however, noted that provincial investment may expand to include younger children in the future. "We know students who do better in school are much more likely to thrive in the adult world. They're much more likely to be employed. They'll have a better quality of life. They're less likely to require health services. So there's a myriad of reasons to invest here."

But for Barb Badiani, administrator…., communication has been lacking.

"We're really impacted by this. We've not even been approached or asked to see what roles do we play," Badiani said.

"Right now, we're trying to figure out how we're going to maintain our centre next year. If we're to maintain it, we definitely have to change our programs because we won't be able to sustain enrolment."

When full-day kindergarten starts at the nearby school next year, Badiani expects to see enrolment plummet.

"We have capacity of 80 students. Out of that, we're probably going to lose a good two-thirds. ... It's free across the street at the elementary school, so we're going to lose a large portion of our kids," she said.

… childcare provider Wendy Cooper is trying to find ways to adapt.

"Operators can't afford to keep paying their overhead, which doesn't change. Just because you're losing a whole program of kids doesn't mean your overhead changes," said Cooper, owner and operator….

"We've adjusted our fees for every family and lowered our capacity for school-aged care. So we have less spaces for the before- and after-school, and it's a higher cost for everybody."

Cooper has already noticed a registration decline for five-year-olds, although she said fluctuations can sometimes be cyclical. "We had 25 kindergartners midday this past year. Next year we have six," she said, adding more consideration needs to be given to the system that existed before full-day kindergarten.

"The childcare system in this province has been historically quite fragile, and this just further exacerbates the fragility of the childcare system," she said. "If they're going to continue to march down the road .... [to] the education system taking on four- and three-year-olds, I think we need to take a hard look at what is going to happen to our childcare system. I think it will be just eroded, and there may not be any childcare system left to take up the slack for before- and after-school care."