N.L.'s pre-kindergarten pilot program falling short, so far

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador has, so far, fallen shorton its promise to have a pre-kindergarten pilotprogram in place at 35 schools in 28 communities across the province.

Thegoal of the pilot, created by $347 million in federal funding and announced in May 2022, was to have600 more child-care spaces opened up as parents struggled to find placements for their preschool-aged children.

The goal is afullyimplemented program by 2025-26 with about 3,100 regulated spacesin N.L. Those spaces are supposed to beoperated by non-profit organizations and not the school district.

The pilot began in September 2022.

CBC News has asked for aninterview with newly minted Education MinisterKrista Lynn Howell multiple times since July 7. The Department of Education instead emailed a statement Tuesday, saying the minister is unavailable for the remainder of the week.

"The pre-kindergarten pilot program has been under a continuous evaluation since it began in September 2022. Following the conclusion of the pilot program, the Department of Education will evaluate the program in its entirety in preparation for it to continue," the department's statement reads.

"Pre-kindergarten programs are operating on school-based sites. Additional components,such as enhanced transition and school readiness activities,which can be found in a junior kindergarten curriculum, will be incorporated into the pre-[kindergarten]program.This program has the added benefit of being available to families year round, which is important for continuity of care."

Right now, there are only 13 licensed sites in Newfoundland and Labrador for the pre-kindergarten program:

1. East Point Elementary.
2. Elizabeth Park Elementary.
3. Elwood Elementary.
4. Gander Academy.
5. Bay Roberts Primary.
6. Paradise Elementary.
7. Bishop Abraham Elementary.
8. Persalvic Elementary.
9. Lewisporte Academy.
10. Woodland Primary.
11. Eastside Elementary.
12. Donald C Jamieson Academy.
13. Admiral's Academy.

The department said it "anticipates additional sites to be added soon" but offered no further details.

At the time of the province's announcement,David Philpott, a retired Memorial University professor in education and longtime advocate for improvingthe province's daycare system, shared his concerns.

Among them is a shortage of the early childhood educators needed for the expansion of the industry under the pilot.

Philpottwas also part of a group thatpitched a similar idea in 2010, and in 2017 he sat on theprovince's education task force, where heonce again pitched the strategy.

In a March funding announcement, the federal and provincial governments earmarked aone-time investment of$6.5 million that includedan expected wage increase for ECEs by Jan. 1 and 700 additional seats in post-secondary early learning and child-care programs.The province's goal is toincrease fully certified ECEsworking in the sector byat least 60 per cent by 2025-26.

Still, parents continue tostruggle tofind daycarespace for their children.

On Friday, the advocacy groupJimmy Pratt Foundation released its own report, which proposes five ways in which government can increase the number of available child-care spaces in the province within a matter of months.

The foundation saiddemand for daycare spots have spiked since $10-a-day child care was implemented at the beginning of 2023.

About 75 per cent of children in Newfoundland and Labrador live in a child-care desert an area where are there are more than three children for every available licensed space according to the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

The report also says a new wage grid is necessary for ECEsand junior kindergarten programs should be co-taught by ECEs and a teacher within the school system. That would give ECEs a unionized position and benefits.

The report also recommends having the public sector drive theexpansion ofchild-care spaces instead ofthe for-profit or non-profit sectors.

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