The full-day learning kindergarten program is well under way in Ontario. Now, an affiliated extended learning program is coming to Elmira’s St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Elementary School in September as part of the Waterloo Catholic School Board’s extended day before and after school program.
Legislation requires all school boards to provide extended learning programs for children enrolled in full-day kindergarten as part of an attempt to seamlessly integrate children into early education through additional play-based learning. Though it is mandatory for schools to offer this option to parents, WCDSB chief managing officer John Shewchuk explained resources spent on the program are gauged according to the individual needs of Ontario schools and student requirements.
“Every school in Ontario will have the full-day kindergarten program by 2015. It is being rolled out in stages in all school boards over five years and this year happens to be St. Teresa’s turn, but the before- and after-school components will only be available where there is sufficient demand,” he explained.
This year provincial school boards are halfway to fully integrating full day kindergarten in Ontario and creating extended day programs is part of the process.
In St. Teresa’s case, the school is subject to WCDSB program policies but parents should be aware of various differences in extended learning programs as they vary by school board and the specific needs of individual institutions, although all such programs charge a fee.
Parents with children attending schools under the WCDSB will be paying a base fee of $22.50 per day if they wish their child to attend the before and after school program. Enrollment rates fluctuating annually and are set by local school boards on a cost recovery basis with subsidies available to low-income families.
The number of early childhood educators participating in extended-day programs will depend on the number of children enrolled. If more than 15 children from junior kindergarten to Grade 2 participate, an additional staff member will be called upon to assist early childhood educators in managing. A companion program for older students in grades three to eight will also be provided in schools with sufficient demand.
St. Teresa will have both morning and afternoon sessions available and parents can choose to have their children enrolled part time for one session or full time for both morning and afternoon sessions every day. The program runs in the morning from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and after-school from dismissal to 6 p.m. including PA days, March Break and holidays.
Detailed information about the WCDSB extended education program can be found at www.wcdsb.ca.
