Full-Day Kindergarten: Moving Forward Together - Transcript

I'm Sam Hammond, president of the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario.

On October 27, the government announced that it was going ahead with full-day kindergarten.  This is great news, for children, parents, and for Ontario. 

Investing in early learning is so very important.  We congratulate the government for moving forward with this program.

The Early Learning Program will be phased in over the next five years beginning in September 2010.

Thirty-five thousand spaces will be added next year.  School boards will identify potential sites for these new spaces by the end of this November.

By 2015 full day kindergarten will be available at all publicly funded elementary schools across the province.

The new kindergarten classrooms will be staffed by a certified teacher and an early childhood educator. 

Teachers are trained to develop and deliver a play based curriculum.  They know how to assess children's learning, and to prepare them for the rest of their schooling.

By pairing a certified teacher with a trained early childhood educator we ensure that children will get the best possible start on their journey in school. 

One exciting new component  is wrap-around child care from 7:30 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. This program, which will be funded by parent fees, must be offered by boards if enough parents want it.

Existing kindergarten programs will remain capped at 20 students; but the new classrooms will have 26.  The province and school boards are already working to find the space for the additional classes.

Certainly, there will be challenges; yet, teachers are excited about the possibilities that full day kindergarten programs offer. 

Our members are looking forward to working with early childhood educators, district school boards, and the Ministry to make early learning the best it can be.