Big demand for cut pre-Primary program

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

Dwight Ross principal Barry Squires was sorry to learn of the demise of Nova Scotia’s short-lived pre-Primary education program.

The pilot program, in the midst of its third year at the Greenwood elementary school, has been yielding good results, says Squires, noting children who have gone through the program in the first two years have had success in making the transition to Primary. Having the ECE-run program on-site has also allowed staff an additional year to get resource supports in place for students with speech and learning issues.

The program, also offered locally at Gaspereau Elementary School, also appears to have been valued by the community, adds Squires.

“We have 18 in this year’s class and some 50 children on the waiting list,” explained Squires “and that’s pretty much how it’s been since day one.”

The pre-Primary pilot kicked off in the 2005-06 year at 19 schools in the province as part of the provincial “Learning for Life” education plan. Despite its reported success, the Department of Education announced February 22 it was forced to cut the program to make way for a change to the entry age of Primary students. Beginning in the 2008/ 09 school year, children who turn 5 on or before December 31 may start Primary.

Close to 85 per cent of Dwight Ross students are connected with CFB Greenwood in some way, and Squires says the change in the Primary enrolment age will be welcomed by military families. While he can appreciate the financial considerations that were part of the decision to cancel the pre-Primary initiative, he has none-the-less contacted the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board to express “how the pilot program made a big difference for our school community.” He is hopeful data collected in the program will encourage the government to think about re-introducing pre-Primary in future.

Kings West MLA Leo Glavine is not happy about the cancellation of the program. As Liberal education critic, he has been urging the government since fall to expand its early education program. Calling the initiative “necessary and positive,” he said cancelling the pilot amounts to abandoning key principles of the government’s early education strategy.

“In Nova Scotia, we already have what is considered a relatively weak early childhood education program in comparison to other jurisdictions. With the cancellation of the pre-

Primary program, that gap will only continue to grow.”