Excerpts
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In many before- and after-school care programs, children have to transition to either a different space in school or a different building that can be located blocks away. But children in Seamless Day Kindergarten remain in the same familiar kindergarten classroom for the whole day.
The presence of an early childhood educator in the kindergarten classroom before, during and after school makes for an easier or “seamless” transition for kids than relocating to and from separate school and child-care spaces, said Emily Mlieczko, executive director of the Early Childhood Educators of BC.
“They get information that transfers across the full day, which is very good for children,” said Mlieczko, adding that having both a teacher and an early childhood educator in the classroom helps incorporate both the B.C. curriculum and the B.C. Early Learning Framework. “Two key documents that keep the child’s interest at the heart of the matter. So looking at children’s overall development, their social cues, their connection to each other.”
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How the program works
Parents like Plett pay $10 a day for the before- and after-school care portion in the New Westminster school district, a total of $200 a month, for Seamless Day Kindergarten.
According to a district report included in the agenda for its Jan. 27 board meeting, the district receives $110,800 annually from the province and $117,600 a year from parents’ fees to run the Seamless Day program.
But while the province passed legislation last year that made it easier for school districts to open their own on-site before- and after-school child care, the district’s report says they are still waiting to find out from the province what the regulations will be, including what fees they can charge and the size requirements of child-care spaces.
In the meantime, the district is proposing an expansion of its existing partnership with the Westminster Children’s After School Society, which has been running Kids Korner, a before- and after-school child-care program for 30 students in grade 2 to age 12 at École Qayqayt Elementary since 2014.
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