Five-year-old Jonathan Burton loves going to his pre-kindergarten classes in a big kids’ school. But next year he won’t be able to continue to do so, because Island kindergarten programs are not part of the public school system. Guardian photo
Five-year-old Jonathan Burton is getting ready to start kindergarten in the fall. To help him prepare, his mother, Lisa Burton, placed him in a pre-kindergarten program this year.
Three days a week he puts on his backpack and proudly tells his mom, ‘Let’s go to school!’
Jonathan isn’t cutely mixing up his terminology here.
He really does go to school. His pre-kindergarten program is run in a classroom at Prince Street Elementary in Charlottetown.
Little Jonathan loves it there, Burton said.
“He likes the fact that they can go outside and play in a school playground, and he likes to be able to go to the library and pick out a book and say he picked it out himself.’’
This is exactly why she chose the Chances Smart Start program, she said.
“I wanted something in a school setting so he could be best readied for Grade 1.’’
But the native Newfoundlander was surprised to find her son will not have the opportunity to continue his early childhood education in a school setting.
That’s because Prince Edward Island is the only province in Canada that doesn’t offer kindergarten in the school system.
“I was hoping there was a kindergarten in the school, like we have back home,’’ Burton said. “Because then he’s around other children and when he starts Grade 1 it’s not too hard a transition.’’
Most Island kindergartens are in child care centres, church basements or community halls.
Burton said she feels moving Jonathan into a community kindergarten after having had the experience of being in a ‘big kid
school’ will be like a step backward for him.
“I don’t know how he’s going to react to that change,’’ she said. “I just wish he could continue in a school.’’
Lately, the state of P.E.I.’s kindergarten system has been a hotly debated topic at many levels — from parents chatting about it at children’s birthday parties to politicians in their provincial cabinet meetings.
The province’s recent changes to Grade 1 age of entry dates have strongly affected Island kindergartens, leaving them scrambling to accommodate as many as 250 newly eligible five-year-olds into their programs.
This unexpected cabinet decision has effectively shone a spotlight on the current kindergarten system.
Early childhood educators were left wondering why government would change the Grade 1 age of entry from Aug. 31 to Oct. 31 with no forewarning or consultation. It was especially frustrating to some who, only a few years ago, worked for many years lobbying government to push the age of entry back from its previous Jan. 31 date to the end of August.
Also, despite the ministerial change in Grade 1 eligibility, department officials urged parents to ‘stay the course’ and not take advantage of the new eligibility dates.
Since that announcement just over a week ago and the confusion that ensued, strong rumblings have begun in key stakeholder circles that more changes to kindergarten could be forthcoming — namely that kindergarten could be moved into the schools.
Currently, the province subsidizes most of P.E.I.’s community kindergarten spaces. Island kindergartens are offered in a variety of settings, but all follow a standardized curriculum developed and overseen by the Department of Education. This curriculum falls closely in line with the curriculums in other Atlantic provinces, which helps to standardize outcomes across the region.
Also, kindergarten on P.E.I. is a half-day program.
But if the P.E.I. Teachers’ Federation had its way, much of this would change.
The organization believes kindergarten should be part of the public school system and should be a full-day program. The federation has been lobbying government to make these changes, and even passed a resolution on the topic at a recent semi-annual meeting.
With standardized assessments having been recently introduced into Island schools, public school teachers are struggling to find ways to help their students reach better outcomes.
Teacher’s Federation president Phillis Horne said a lot of the research she’s seen shows students at the end of Grade 3 — and even up to the end of Grade 7 — perform better if they started in full day public kindergarten.
“If assessments are the way we’re going to go,’’ Horne said. “If the children are expected to reach certain outcomes in comparison to students in the rest of the Atlantic provinces, they should be given the same amount of time to prepare for it.’’
But Anne Miller, an early childhood educator who also works with the Early Childhood Development Association (ECDA), said all the research she’s seen shows just the opposite.
The association is strongly opposed to any move of kindergartens into the school system.
“Our approach is play based,’’ Miller said. “We play to deliver the curriculum. And we do guided reading and we do writing and math. All child development study will show that play is how a young child learns most effectively.’’
There are also many other advantages to having kindergartens in the community rather than in the schools, said the province’s senior director for education, Linda Lowther.
One is that they are currently offered in a variety of settings, so kindergarten programs tend to be in more communities.
“If I compare the number of kindergarten programs we have with the number of schools with Grade 1, there are nearly twice as many kindergartens as schools,’’ Lowther said. “So likely in a lot of cases kindergartens are in communities possibly closer to where parents are.’’
This offers parents a diversity of choice in selecting a centre, Lowther added.
The maintaining of parental choice is one of the main reasons the ECDA believes the system should stay out of schools.
“Some parents want it in a different kind of setting,’’ Miller said. “They might want it in the bottom of the Zion Presbyterian Church. They might want it in a community centre.’’
Miller, however, is one of about 30 per cent of Island kindergarten operators who run their programs in a public school. Miller’s kindergarten is located in Souris Consolidated School.
And although she maintains Island kindergartens should remain community-based, being in a school does have its perks, she said.
“I think that I’m lucky to be in a school. But for many, that’s not where they want their early childhood centre,’’ Miller said. “But it certainly does afford me some things I might not have if I was across the street.’’
Erin Wall is another early childhood educator who teaches kindergarten in a school. The Belfast Kindergarten has been located in a classroom at Belfast Consolidated since the early ‘80s.
“Because we’re in the school system we have access to everything in the school — we have access to the school library, we have access to the gym, we have access to the lunch program.’’
But the main thing Wall loves about being in the community’s elementary school is the close dialogue she has with her students’ Grade 1 teacher.
She previously taught kindergarten in a Charlottetown centre where she didn’t have the same opportunity for close interaction with the Grade 1 teachers.
Her five-year-old students even ride on the school bus every day.
“I think that’s the parents’ favourite part of Belfast Kindergarten,’’ Wall said. “We’re so lucky. We have access to so many awesome things that you wish everybody else was lucky enough to have.’’
She said she believes all kindergartens should be in schools.
But if all Island kindergartens were to move into the public school system, it could mean a lot of early childhood educators losing their jobs, Miller said.
If such a move were to happen, kindergarten teachers would likely be grandfathered into the public school system, but they’d also likely be given a certain number of years to get their education degrees — as public school teachers are required to have, Miller added.
In New Brunswick when kindergarten was brought into the school system, the kindergarten teachers were given six years to get their degrees.
“That meant that they still worked full-time in the field and went to night classes for six years,’’ she said.
For many, this option was too much for them to continue as educators, Miller said.
For these and many other reasons, the ECDA supports only a community-based kindergarten system.
“We’ve been delivering the community-based system across P.E.I. for more than 34 years. We believe that what we’re providing is best,’’ said EDCA chair Sonya Corrigan.
Of course, little Jonathan Burton is blissfully unaware of all this. He just enjoys going to the big kids’ school.
“Jonathan is luckier than most, because now he has been into a bigger school,’’ his mom said. “But I really wish kindergarten was also in the school. Because he really enjoys this.’’
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Mr Cranky from Charlottetown, PEI writes: I just hope that when he's finished kindergarten, he knows the different between THEIR, THERE and THEY'RE, TO and TOO, YOUR and YOU'RE, THEN and THAN, etc....which would be much better than your average island adult.
I love to see kids learning earlier. If I had my way, I would have much preferred home schooling than grades 7-12. I can think of maybe 3 teachers out of dozens that weren't totally inept.
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Sally D from PEI writes: I have to say the same. I think the old one room school houses provided a community based education which beats whatever they are doing in the Senior highs today. The high school system is a complete disaster with far too many kids dropping out or graduating with out a basic education. The teachers and administrators simply DON T CARE! I don't know how we arrived at this dismal point. I do know, that todays youth are really being sold down the river with this present model. The kids that are in the top 25 per cent would do well pretty much anywhere. The rest of the kids are failing and under achieving. A full public enquiry is needed to get to the bottom of this mess.
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Robert Paterson from Charlottetown, PEI writes: Yes - as Teresa and the two commentators show above the entire system is a mess with very very poor outcomes for most children.
Merely trying to reconcile all the opposing stakeholders makes it more complex. What on earth a teaching degree has to do with anything I just don't know - its just a guild barrier to entry.
Now is the time to step back and look at the entire system - put the child and parent in the centre and then we will find out how the organizations and the staff fit.
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Harold from PEI writes: Sally you are SIMPLY IGNORANT! To say that teachers and administrators simply DON'T CARE . The present model could no doubt use some adjusting. That doesn't mean teachers and admin do not care. Such as statement immediately invalidates anything else you have said. The same came also be said for the comments made by Mr. Cranky pants. There are good and bad people in all professions, including teaching. Fortunately most teachers care very much for their students and the job they do and are not at all “inept”. I’m sure they appreciate the lovely accolades from the two of you. Then again if they were in it expecting pats on the back from folks like you they probably wouldn’t be teachers to begin with.
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HH O'connor from PE writes: It is indeed ignorant for Sally to write off the entire education system and to imply teachers and administrators don't care. There are a great deal of highly motivated and qualified individuals in this largely thankless profession. I have always had a deep respect for anyone who chooses to teach.
Today's generation is smarter than the previous as that generation was to their predecessors. The rate of technological improvement has increased more dramatically over the last 20 years than at any time in history and the same was true of the previous 20 years.
The purpose of the education system is not to upload the whole of today's knowledge into the brain of your precious little snowflake. The education system is there to provide a solid environment to learn. That applies to academics, social learning and practical skills.
What we frequently forget is that learning starts at home. If parents confuse their to's and too's so will the child. If the parents don't have a passion for learning neither will the child.
There will always be bad seeds, and dropouts and lost souls but most of them will eventually find their way in the world. We can't force them to we can only give them the chance. If you truly think that today's generation is wasted you should spend some time with today's generation. I've always felt that this quote sums it up nicely, not to mentions sound vaguely like the poo pooh's that spend their time trashing the generation that is about to inherit the planet from us and will no doubt do much better by it than we did
The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers.
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M from PE writes: “We’ve been delivering the community-based system across P.E.I. for more than 34 years. We believe that what we’re providing is best,’’ said EDCA chair Sonya Corrigan...Beleive what they provide is best??? Then why is PEI ranking last or next to last in every measure of education in the country???
Every province in the country except this one has Kindergarten as part of the school system and regulated by the provincial education department. In Ontario children start school a full 2 years before they do here. I think the results speak for themselves. When Anne Miller, who also works with the Early Childhood Development Association (ECDA), says the the research shows the opposite, I'd like to know just what research she's looking at. Everywhere else kindergarten is taught by trained teachers, not early childhood educators and I think we've seen the results. And before anyone jumps all over it, that's nothing against ECE's. They do a great job but they are not trained teachers. If we are going to be at least on par with the rest of the country we need to start having teachers teach kindergarten and the kindergarten needs to be delivered in schools by the education department.
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Leroy Jones from East Point, PEI writes: Good lord, is Teresa Wright getting paid by the word? My reading comprehension is not that great, so I need the reporter to get to the point a little quicker. Having said that, PEI is a backwater for not having an integrated kindergarten system - the entire education system is far below the national average, and this is just another place where we fall short.
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mm from Montage, PEI writes: I think we've become too heavily reliant on others to care for our children. I have two grown children who never attended kindergarten and managed to make it all the way to grade 12 graduation without any setbacks. My 3 year old may not attend kindergarten until she is almost 6 years of age (her Birthday is November) and will be starting grade one at age 7. I feel if we are spending the time with our children that we should be, my daughter will be more than ready for grade one (without the benefit of kindergarten) at age 7.
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So blessed from PE writes: I'm from the States where I attended Kindergarten in a regular school and for my whole life thought that was just the way it was . When I moved to PEI, I couldn't believe Kindergarten was optional and that it wasn't even in schools.
We are truly blessed to have our child in Grace Christian School where the Kindergarten is full day and in the same building as the rest of the grades. My child gets to see the grade 1 classroom across the hall and also gets to know the all the teachers so her transition to grade 1 is made so much easier!
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Andy from Toronto, Ontario writes: No kindergarten! No learing until first grade. How incredibly primitive that the first most curious years of a child's life are wasted.
No academics later on can possibly make up. And I am not talking rote learning, but the creativity and socialization that stars early or does not start at all.
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happy with immanuel from PEI writes: My son is currently enrolled at Immanuel Christian School in their kindergarten program. I choose this school because Kindergarten is run as an integral part of the whole school. It is also a full day program, which suits my needs and in my mind better prepares my son for grade one.
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Proud to be an ECE Luv PEI from PEI writes: We moved from Ontario to the Island just 7 years ago. My son at the time had just started french pre-k (in Ontario) which was in the school and was a full day program. He was turning 4 in October which meant he started this program at the age of 3. On his first day, he was sent to the ... can you believe this ... principal's office ! Another older kid had come up behind him, grabbed him and scared him ... my son reacted and bit the kid back, and ended up in the office. After that, things went down hill ... he started having bathroom accidents at school (I had to leave work to go change him at the school as the teacher would not touch him) ... he had homework (at the age of 3 (do you think these children are still going to be as interested in school when they start doing homework at this age???) ... and was not his happy old self. He began showing signs of ... get this ... STRESS ! Yes, believe it or not, stress. Is this acceptable for a 3-4 yr old ? Well, after 2 mths of this, we moved to the Island ... how happy was I to enroll my son in a half day kindergarden that was not in the school system. The educator who tought him was kind, caring, and motivated him to learn ... she did this through play. I could not believe the differnece I saw in my son ... he was more confident (being one of the older kids in the center), more relaxed, and actually sad if he was sick and couldn't attend the program ! This educator had given back the joy of learning to my son ! How happy was I as a mother ! I must now tell you that since all of this happened, I have gone back to school to get my certificate in early childhood education and now teach kindergarden in the same centre my son attended all those years ago. I am proud when the children show up in my classroom with a smile on their faces because they are happy to be there. It fills me with pride when parents tell me how much their child enjoys my program and notice all the new skills, like reading and writting, that their children are demonstrating at home. I will also mention that being a kindergarden educator I see what these children go through at the end of the kindergarden year ... when they realise that in a few months they are off to the big school. Many start having belly aches, or bathroom 'accidents ... all the signs that remind me all too well of my son's ordeal. I have begun working with the grade one teacher at the other end of the building (we are in same building but my kindergarden is run by an early childhood centre and not the school) to start activities with the grade one class as early as in January. I am seeing a huge difference in how the kids are adapting better and quicker to the change. I believe it is because they are SLOWLY immersed into the school system. Why can we not all work together ? Educators and teachers ? Yes, I agree, kindergarden needs to be a full day program ... but within an early childhood centre ! Communication needs to be opened between kindergarden educators and grade one teachers ... visits between classes should be organised ... we all need to work together ... as a team !
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mitzie gallant from ch'town, pe writes: You certainly said it,,, Proud to be an ECE. I also teach kindergarten and the amount of feed back that has been going on here is truly unreal, Yes i understand what everyone is saying ,,, but i worked my butt off throuhg college and have taken special curriculum courses to ensure that i can teach kindergarten. So to the many of you that keep dissing ece's and saying no it should be trained and qualified teachers, please do not think we havent worked our butts off to do what we do.
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Pei Resident from PEI writes: I believe that kindergartens in child care centres are perfectly fine. They learn a lot. To the kindergartens on Prince Edward Island and ECE's you are doing a great job at what you do.:)
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Tracey A. from Ottawa/PEI writes: Proud to be an ECE...you have just hit the nail on the head! why are we institutionializing our children at the tender age of 4???!! let's let kids be kids!
I live in Ontario and I feel very pressued to put my child in JK but I am not sure it is the right decision. Studies in early childhood developmetn show that pre-school children learn best through play and when not pressued to do so for EXTERNAL reasons such as grades or other rewards, but because they love what they are doing.
Bottom line, let's face it, kids are NOT being taught calculus or trigonometry in Kindergarten. They are being taught very basic academic things like letters, number colors etc and an ECE is just as qualified to teach that as a B.Ed. The most important things you learn in kindergarten are social things, such as sharing, not hitting and how to behave in a group etc. An ECE is trained specifically in the social and psychological development of children this age!? Most B Eds are not.
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PEI Resident from PEi writes: Tracy A. you couldn't have said it any better:) Thank you
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PEI Resident from PEI writes: Thank you Tracy A, you couldn't have said it any better than that.. Thanks. Best way for children to learn is through play.
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Islander from pei writes: I sent our children to Grace Christian Kindergarten. They played, they were social. They learned to read and write.
It was a great all around start for them - yes, we paid for it, yes, it was worth it.
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p.e.i. raised from ontario writes: Thank you for a very interesting article. My 5 year old is attending a full day French public school kindergarten. She loves it and hasn't been sick all year. The schoolbus picks her up from our door. We love her program. She's learning through play and is a creative, social girl, and she also has access to the continuity of having the same school and friends for grade one. Two other benefits: she is assured a place without waiting lists, and we don't pay the extremely high costs of private day care. So it works well for us.
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J R from PE writes: Kindergarten can be a wonderful transition point for children to adjust and work their way into the regular school system. My son goes to the Kindergarten program in Souris, and the work that they do there is absolutely amazing. It's wonderful that it is located in the school, allowing the children access to the gym, lunchroom and access to local amenities for learning purposes. And the lower student to teacher ratio is nicer for the young children. It allows them more one on one time, enhancing the learning experience at this level. I'm not from PEI and I have seen Kindergartens in other places. I would prefer to see my son in a classroom with 20 kids and 3 early childhood educators than a room of 30 kids just getting used to being in a classroom situation and one teacher. I do agree that Kindergartens should be located in schools, but with more than one teacher available to the kids. I also agree that children will find learning more enjoyable with play and fun involved than sitting at a desk most of the day. And people should remember that these teachers are not the only people who should be responsible for the education of their children. Learning should also begin, and continue, at home.
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SW from PEI writes: In 1956 I attended a school run kindergarten at Prince Street Shool. It was the first year for the program in that school. I remember very little of what went on but it seemed to be much like the Grade 1 class room setting I attended the following year.
I believe that kindergarten should be fully integrated into the school system with teachers fully trained in early childhood education at the highest level possible presenting a curriculum designed for the transition from childhood play to classroom learning. This is a tall order to fill but what could be more important that the education of future generations? A two year kindergarten program would likely be needed.
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still being taught as a grandma from up west, pei writes: i feel the need to come to the defense of teachers .I know that some definitely are better than others , it is the same in all walks of life. The other cay as we sat in church waiting for mass to start my 8 year old grandson said grandma my teacher ,mr noble is awesome now this he stated without us even discussing school or teachers and one day as we talked about his kindergarten teacher miss doyle (now mrs arsenault) we were saying how special she in ,he then looked at me and said but grandma all teachers are special ...we have a lot to learn as adults , especially how we label people when making comments...
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KTD from PEI writes: Has it not occurred to anyone that parents should be heavily involved in their child's education? Set aside time every day to teach your child beyond the curriculum. Tie math, reading, grammar into every day, and make games out of learning. My parents did this with myself and my siblings, and we grew into well-educated adults who simply breezed through public schools.
If parents take an active role in their childrens' education instead of relying completely on the educators to do it, then maybe kids will be better off. I hate seeing people just throw their kids into school and thinking that is enough. Teaching your child that they can just blame the system if they get bad grades ( I wasn't prepared! I had bad teachers! ) is not going to help anyone. Be proactive, be involved, and don't let your kids down.
It's a parent's responsibility to ensure their child(ren) is/are prepared for the real world. If you aren't satisfied with how the schools are doing it, DO IT YOURSELF!
I don't mean homeschool, since that isn't a financial possibility for most. Just make education part of your life instead of letting your child(ren) veg when they aren't at school.
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Gail Rhyno from Charlottetown, PE writes: Great article. My son was in Jonathan's class so it could have been me speaking there in place of his mom. He was so used to his own school and everything in it, even participating in some school events like Holiday concerts. Now he will have to go to Kindergarten somewhere else and then transition back. Too bad.
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CFA from PE writes: When my child started kindergarten, living in rural Ontario, she had to take a bus to school. Kindergarten was all day every other day. There were so many children that this small rural school had 3 classes, each having 30+ students. Parents were always welcome in the class to not only help the teacher but to see just what your child was learning. The school had a program where students in grades 7 and 8 could volunteer to help the kindergarten teachers. These students would arrive a few minutes before the bell for recess and lunch and help dress kids for outdoor activities or help them with their lunches. There was a separate play area for the younger students (K - Gr 2) and all the kids enjoyed playing with each other. My daughter loved it. Then a job transfer meant we left rural Ontario and moved to an urban centre where the kindergarten class was a half day every day. Everything was rushed. No students arrived to help with winter coats etc when recess came along. No separate area for the younger students to play together. Lunchtime meant leaving school as the next class would be coming in soon. It was a relief when she started grade 1 and was back to a full day in school.
Kindergarten is an essential component of learning. It is best accomplished in a school setting. The education system here has to catch up. The sooner kindergarten becomes part of the education system the better for the children of PEI. lf and when this happens, the results will speak for themselves. Change is slow to happen as long as Islanders refuse to demand it. It is always hopeful though that educational changes will happen sooner, rather than later. Who knows, maybe once Kindergarten has been part of the educational system for a generation or two, JK will be introduced.
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Proud to be an ECE Luv PEI from PEI writes: Is kindergarden being a part of the school system what is best for the children or is it that parents find it more convenient time wise and financially? Do we want to burden our children with homework, testing, etc ... Would it not be better for children to feel free ... to learn through play ... to feel like a kid as long as possible? Are we trying to make our children grow up too fast? Are we really raising children that are much smarter because they started school younger or by doing this are we actually raising children who burn out faster as adults? Let kids be kids and enjoy a brief stress free moment in their lives before they have to grow up ... they are learning just as much in kindergarden now through play without feeling the pressures of homework, testing, .... What is easier for the parent is not always what is best for the child. Want to make a difference? Ask that kindergardens be full day programs within early childhood centres!
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