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Charles Pascal submitted his report on June 15. Throughout the summer and now, the Provincial government is reviewing the report and thinking about it's implementation. As you know from the bulletins, the report is a sweeping change in early learning and child care for children from infancy to age 12.

However, one aspect of the report is getting way more discussion than the rest - that would be the recommendation of a blended staffing model for the full-day learning for 4 and 5 year olds.  So, I wrote the following letter.

Re: Both Roles are Needed to Deliver High-Quality Early Education to Children
 
Rachel Langford comments that the recent report on Early Learning is an "enormous opportunity to get it right" and provide our children with high quality early learning. However, she focused only on the part of the program that deals with full-day learning for 4 and 5 year old children. Other recommendations include offering parents a one-stop opportunity for licenced child care and home child care, family resource programs and help for children with special needs. Funding from children who are in a the full-day learning program will move to children from infants to 4 years old and can be used to lower parent fees, raise wages of child care staff and expand access. The report proposes affordable after school and summer programs for children from 6 - 12. If the McGuinty government is going to really get it right, then they need to commit to funding and implementing the whole report so that all children from infants to 12 years old can benefit from high quality early education.
 
Andrea Calver
Ontario Coalition for Better Child Care

Here is a summary of the recent Toronto Star Coverage of the issue of teachers and ECE's in the Toronto Star.

August 26: Profile of Sam Hammond, new President of ETFO, please click here.

"We think there are a lot of good points to this idea and we would love to have (early childhood) workers alongside full-time teachers. They bring a special set of expertise," said Hammond in an interview Friday, his first full day on the job.

Teachers and early educators can be classroom partners, by Rachel Langford, August 25

Fighting over the kids, Toronto Star Editorial, August 21

Full-Day Learning is Not Full-Day Kindergarten, AECEO Press Release, August 20

All-day kindergarten should mean all-day teachers: teachers' union, Toronto Star, August 17