This article appeared in the Calgary Herald on the 25th June and is reprinted here because of its relevance to our commitment to embed a quality preschool programme into our daycare schedule:
More than a quarter of Alberta kids face ‘great difficulty’ when starting kindergarten
A sweeping study of thousands of Calgary and Alberta kindergarten children is unmasking some hard truths that could have major public policy implications for schools, the city and the province.
In Alberta, 27 per cent of kids entering the school system in kindergarten suffer “great difficulty” in one of five areas of development — a rate slightly worse than the Canadian average — according to early results from a massive five-year project being conducted by Alberta Education.
It’s a mediocre showing that Susan Lynch, director of the Early Child Development Mapping Initiative, calls disappointing in a province famous for prosperity, decent education levels and a large number of young families.
If a quarter of young children are struggling, she warned, there’s “work to do around here.”
