Developing pre-K learning

Dollard des Ormeaux mother Kim Samaan has no misgivings about sending her youngest to the Lester B. Pearson School Board’s pre-kindergarten program for four-year-olds.

Her son Dylan is taking pre-K at Thornadale School in Pierrefonds, one of three regional schools that currently has the program, the others are in Hudson and in LaSalle. Pearson officials are expanding the program next fall to Bishop Whelan Elementary in Dorval and Greendale School in Pierrefonds.

Dylan is in school five days a week for half-day afternoon classes with teacher Yara Camel-Toueg where his mom also volunteers and helps other students with craft activities.

Samaan, who has two older children currently attending Herbert Purcell School in Dollard, believes the pre-K class will help prepare Dylan for kindergarten next fall as it’s a “little step” into a school milieu. “His birthday is in August so he’ll be one of the younger ones (in kindergarten), so I though being in an elementary school environment would be a really good experience,” she said, adding she also appreciates the bilingual aspect of the pre-K program. “This is a little more educational (than most pre-schools) without being too strict,” she continued. “I didn’t want him to come back with homework and what not, but it’s a little more structured which he will benefit from. It’s also still half a day, which I like.”

Samaan said pre-K has been a positive experience since the fall and recommends other parents look into it.

Camel-Toueg, who has been an educator for 15 years, said the main thrust of her teaching is socialization and helping prepare her class of four-year-olds for the rigours of kindergarten. She has 11 students in one class and 13 in the other. “My biggest job is the social aspect,” she said last Thursday afternoon, soon after going over the months and alphabet with about six students in her class while others worked on a snowman made with socks and dry grains. “Though there is an academic part that comes in, it’s presented in a pleasant way.”

Introducing her students to French is another key pedagogical goal. “By the end of the year, it’s surprising to see how many words they learn. They’re not as scared of the French language when they get to kindergarten.”

The pre-K students also use some mini-laptops after the Pearson board struck a deal with a manufacturer last year. “They develop their motor skills using the mouse,” Camel-Toueg said, adding almost all of her students had access to a computer at home. With the program now in its second year, she has come to realize that half-day classes are a perfect fit for four-year-olds. “The expectations are lower. It’s what a four-year-old can handle,” she said.

Thornadale principal Michelle Potter is convinced the pre-K program is beneficial. “The parents are happy and so are the kids,” she said. “It’s a great program that gets them ready for kindergarten so their teachers there don’t spend all of September getting them into a routine.”

As the Pearson board is not receiving any direct provincially funding for its program, parents who wish to enrol their children must pay a fee of $1,000 per child, to be paid over 10 months. “The government is still not very receptive to our initiative, which is standard in other provinces and in about 39 (U.S.) states,” Pearson chairman Marcus Tabachnick said bluntly. “We still have our work to do with the government and convince them it’s worth funding.”

Quebec’s Education Ministry subsidizes some similar programs but only in “underprivileged” areas of Montreal. Tabachnick hopes this will change. “The government funds it for about 80 schools in downtown Montreal in economically disadvantaged areas,” he said, adding a pre-K program will pay dividends for society down the road if funded more widely. “Less support services will need funding down the road since we can detect any developmental or learning problems at a younger age,” he said. “The benefits are there, no one can question that.”

To further bolster their position, the Pearson board has enlisted Concordia University to research their pre-K program. “They will follow the kids in the program to see if they are better prepared,” Tabachnick said.

Camel-Toueg said it would be ideal if all public schools, English and French, could offer the program. “I’ve seen a difference in the kids from last year’s (pre-K) class,” she said. “They have more confidence this year in kindergarten. They know the school environment and have overcome little scares.”

Thorndale is considering offering day-care for one of its pre-K classes next year if enough parents are interested. However, day-care services for pre-K students are so far not being offered at other schools participating in the program, Tabachnick said. “We’re looking at possibly offering full-day service but we’re not there yet.”

Registration dates for Pearson’s "kindergarten for four year olds" program is coming up in early February. For more information, check www2.lbpsb.qc.ca.