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School boards are asking the province that non-profit child cares be
allowed to run the before- and after-school part of the full-day
kindergarten program.
But the move is causing some concern for early childhood
education experts, who say the idea of the "seamless" day - a central
part of the full-day plan - will be lost if children and parents are
dealing with several different adults on a regular basis.
"There are a lot of bumps in this road, and I think it is not in
the spirit of which most of us in the early childhood field thought was
going to happen, and saw and understood the early learning plan as
being more comprehensive, more seamless and something that was going to
make families' lives easier," said Cheryl DeGras, manager of the early
learning centre at the University of Toronto. "I don't see that a
third-party arrangement will do that."
But some school boards are already "really struggling with the
transition to the full-day model" and need to focus on that, said
Catherine Fife, vice-president of the Ontario Public School Boards'
Association.
As well, she added, they haven't charged parents fees before and have no structure in place for that.
Many boards already have groups like the Y, or Boys and Girls'
Clubs, running child cares in their schools, so there's already an
established relationship there, she noted.
Boards fully support the vision of early learning adviser
Charles Pascal, she added, but in the interim, at least, need the help
of the non-profit groups.
...
"We supported the full-day program because we thought it would
diminish the amount of transitions children would have and families
would have in their lives," said DeGras.
With third-parties running care before and after, school would
be piecemeal work for early childhood educators and it might be
difficult to attract or keep staff, she added. Wages would also be
lower than if they were school board employees.
She suggested boards turn to municipalities, who run child-care services and have experience, for guidance and support.
Annie Kidder, of advocacy group People for Education, said the
province's "fragmented approach to implementation is jeopardizing its
own strategy" and said the recommendations for child-care during the
summer as well as care for those under 3, and 6 to 12 years old is
being ignored.
Michelle Despault, spokesperson for Education Minister Leona
Dombrowsky, said the full-day kindergarten bill is now before
committee, and that any amendments will be made in the coming weeks.
-reprinted from the Toronto Star