Full-time kindergarten is coming to some St. Albert schools next fall, but an absence of provincial funding means access will cost about $300 a month.
Both the Catholic and Protestant jurisdictions will be offering the program as an option at select schools.
“There just seems to be an interest in the community of St. Albert,” said Catholic division superintendent David Keohane.
The full-day program would enhance what’s already covered in the curriculum and wouldn’t give students an unfair head start, he said. He isn’t thrilled about charging parents but said there’s no other way because the province only funds half-day kindergarten.
“That’s never a preferred route but we have to pay for the program somehow,” he said.
The Catholic division is taking registrations at three of its elementary schools — Neil M. Ross, Bertha Kennedy and Albert Lacombe.
The Protestant school district is looking to offer full-day kindergarten at E.S. Gish. Superintendent Barry Wowk said he’s always been a believer in half-day kindergarten and doesn’t think it’s necessary to rush kids into a full-day structure. However, mounting evidence suggests there are benefits for children in all-day kindergarten.
“Because I don’t have the right answer, I believe parents should have the option to make the choice,” he said. “We’re not trying to get into the daycare business, we’re just trying to give our parents some options.”
It’s registration season at local schools. Gish has four children registered for full-time kindergarten, said principal Duncan Knoll, who stressed that half-days are still available for those who prefer it or who can’t afford the user fees.
“It’s an effort to be progressive and to honour parent choice,” he said.
In the Catholic division, a critical mass of interest is centred on Neil M. Ross school. A sign out front and a newspaper ad have already attracted enough registrations to fill more than one class.
“Within four hours of talking about it we had people phoning us,” said principal Sandy Cimino. “It filled up really fast.”
At Albert Lacombe school, parents are evenly split between the new kindergarten program and the traditional half days, said vice-principal Gina Anstruther.
“There’s certainly interest from parents to have a teacher in front of their kids for a full day as opposed to having to move them from a school situation to a daycare situation,” she said.
“If their work day fits with the school day, it has the potential to save the parents some money because it is less expensive than child care.”
St. Albert mother Patricia Palmer will opt for the full-time kindergarten because she feels her daughter can handle it and it will allow a return to full-time work rather than part-time. The fee doesn’t bother her.
“Compared to daycare, it’s very reasonable,” she said.
Unlike some provinces, such as Ontario, Alberta doesn’t fund full-time kindergarten. This was often an issue raised by former St. Albert MLA Jack Flaherty, who was the Alberta Liberals’ education critic when he held office from 2004 to 2008. He thinks the province should cut standardized testing at the Grade 3 level to pay for full-time kindergarten.
“It really helps identify learning problems for kids,” Flaherty said.
Alberta Education spokesperson Kathy Telfer said the province has no plans to increase kindergarten funding above the current half-day level.
“In this fiscal environment, we do not have additional dollars for new programs,” she said.
