The province is considering adding all day Kindergarten and pre-Kindergarten (ages 3 and 4) into the public school system. This will be a significant change that needs to be carefully considered...
Early Childhood is a critical period for social, physical and mental development and every child in BC should have access to care centers with professional highly trained and well paid Early Childhood Educators operating developmentally appropriate programs based on the solid body of relevant research. This task however is not presently within the funding base, skills or mandate of the public school system. The public schools and other ministries should support those who already deliver these services. This support can be the form of formal programs such as Strong Start or the ELF program but should also occur at the grass roots level by fostering relationships between the neighborhood schools and the local preschools. If we do move to a model where the pubic education system expands to all day kindergarten or pre kindergarten we need to ensure that the programs
Links:
Provincial Report on Early Childhood Education in Public Schools