Centretown’s Cambridge Street Public School will be one of almost 600 schools across the province to have the first full-day program for four and five year olds in September, the Ontario Ministry of Education announced today.
The new program, which is scheduled to be implemented across the province by 2015-16, will allow up to 35,000 of Ontario’s youngest students to attend school for a full day this year.
“Full-day learning for our four- and five-year-old kids will better prepare them for Grade 1,” said Premier Dalton McGuinty on the ministry’s website. “That gives them a better chance of finishing high school, going on to post-secondary education and getting a good job. And that's in everyone’s interest.”
According to the ministry’s website, the benefits of the program will include integrated learning for young students, plus make life easier for parents. The ministry also says this is part of its education plan, which has reduced class sizes and raised the province’s graduation rate by nine percentage points.
A list of the schools that will have the program can be found at www.ontario.ca/earlylearning.