Full-Day-Every-Day Kindergarten is Coming to Ontario

Yesterday, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty named almost 600 elementary schools across Ontario that will be in the first wave to provide a full school day for kindergarten children. It turns out that my children’s school is on the list.

I have been paying particular attention to this issue because my third child, my baby girl, is set to start Junior Kindergarten (JK) this September. I’m really quite pleased with the fact that my child will be in one of the pilot schools. I should add the caveat here that she will be four-and-a-half years old when September hits. If she were born later, I would probably feel less confident about her stamina for coping with that much school. Given her age, and the fact that she is already somewhat used to a structured day thanks to attending preschool three full days a week, I think her transition to all day, every day will be fairly smooth.

When my older two children attended JK their schedule was half a day, every day, which basically amounted to just over two hours per day. In all honesty, I found that to be a pain in the rear end. It felt like you dropped your child off, got one or two things accomplished, and then turned around to do pick up again. It wasn’t a big deal for me, as I was self-employed, working from home. But I always wondered about the parents who worked full-time. What did they do? Who managed drop off and pick up for them? I know several who didn’t bother enrolling their children in JK. They simply kept their kids with the daycare arrangement they already had in place, paying the fees so their children could spend a seamless day at one facility.

That’s what I like about this all day kindergarten program. Apparently the plan is to add affordable before- and after-school care, if parent demand warrants it. Okay, granted I will believe that one when I see it, but I applaud the concept. Even with my big kids in school full days, they don’t start until 9:10 a.m. and school lets out at 3:30 p.m. How do parents who work outside the home do it? How do they get their kids safely to school and still make it to work on time? Who watches the kids after school? Of course parents are dealing with it now, as they have no choice. Many use a patchwork of support from various caregivers to get kids where they need to be, ensuring they are safe and supervised. I suspect many parents would prefer to drop their kids at one location and know they are there for the day, until they return to pick them up.

So, what about the price tag of this endeavour? The program is reportedly going to be phased in over 5 years and will cost $1.5 billion per year when it’s running at full steam. Some would argue that this is not a warranted expense in the current economic climate. Granted, it is a lot of money. Honestly, though, when I think of the recent Ontario Auditor General’s annual report that uncovered millions of taxpayer dollars wasted, two things come to mind:

1) If the province managed the budget more judiciously, there would be less waste, freeing up money for more programs.

2)  Research has shown that children under six benefit from intellectual stimulation and learning.  I would much prefer to see my tax dollars at work in the schools, helping children and families, than in programs that hemorrhage funds to consultants without any tangible returns.

I’m not expecting that this full-day kindergarten program will be perfect. Will a full day of school be too much for some kids? Probably. Participation is optional, though, as school is not mandatory for children in Ontario until the age of 6. If parents don’t think their kids will cope well with the full day, they have the option to shorten their day, homeschool or stick with their current childcare arrangement. I intend to see how my daughter does with the five-day schedule and adjust from there, if necessary.

Is accessibility to the program an issue? Again, probably. I suspect our school was chosen for a mix of economic and practical reasons. A recent addition to the school means there is room to accommodate the increased numbers of students this program will bring each day. Some schools won’t have the room or the capital to complete renovations that will make room for an increase in four- and five-year-olds. I’m not sure if the province has a plan in place to help these schools, but I certainly hope that, if the pilot program is a success, all kids will be granted access.

I’m fairly certain that no government-implemented program is going to be without flaws. There are many programs that I don’t support, but this is not one of them. I’m pleased that my child will be involved in the initial roll-out of full time kindergarten and I’m hopeful that the program will be managed well so that I’m not eating these words next year when the next Auditor General’s annual report comes out.

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This is an original Canada Moms Blog post.