Ontario’s full-day kindergarten program is in a class by itself.With a full-time teacher and full-time early childhood educator working together, it provides a unique staffing model and two-year curriculum for the province’s 4- and 5-year-olds. But now, the Ford government is eyeing potential changes, raising concerns among experts who say the program — while costly, at $1.5 billion a year — is worth the price.“It would be extremely disruptive to change the model — disruption for education, for children, for families,” said Rachel Langford, a professor in the school of early childhood studies at Ryerson University.The staffing, which has been in place since full-day kindergarten was rolled out almost a decade ago, has made Ontario “a leader, a visionary in this regard, and that, from our perspective, is very positive,” said Langford, who at one time was a kindergarten teacher. Other provinces with full-day kindergarten typically use a teacher-only model.Late last month, Education Minister Lisa Thompson launched consultations, asking unions and trustee associations about the “implications of the present two-educator model” for students, working conditions as well as “value for money” — and whether other options are available — as the government faces a deficit of up to $14.5 billion.Last month, she and Premier Doug Ford caused an uproar after they wouldn’t commit to keeping full-day kindergarten. They later backtracked, affirming they would continue with what they referred to as “full-day learning.”The full-day program was introduced by the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty. The original report on its design had recommended teachers work a half-day, with early childhood educators (ECEs) covering the rest of the school day as well as after-hours care.However McGuinty — in a move to please the teacher unions — opted for one full-time teacher a ...
|
