Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Alberta Primetime: Full Day Kindergarten

Premier Alison Redford has followed through on her leadership campaign promise to return $107M in funding to education. Now she is working with Education Minister, Thomas Lukaszuk, to deliver on another campaign promise, full-day kindergarten for all.

Eryn Kelly, Co-President of the Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils, along with Cheryl Smith, Vice-President of the Alberta School Boards Association, and Cynthia Prasow, Instructor at the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Education, participated in an Alberta Primetime panel discussion around the provision of full-day kindergarten to all children in our province.

Panel Highlights:
•Full-day kindergarten offered in British Columbia and Ontario to all children
•In Alberta, full-day kindergarten is available to some, not all children
•Benefits: equity and fairness across province; greater potential for early intervention; improve grade 1 readiness; research shows improvement in literacy, language, social and emotional development - especially for “at risk” children; recognition of the important connection between early learning and later success
•Drawbacks: wide range of readiness for full-day program; availability of space; cost is projected at $200M; staffing pressures; bus ride times

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