The TDSB Is Concerned About The 'Developmental Needs' Of New Kindergarteners & Here's Why

The Toronto District School Board is asking the government to provide an early childhood educator in every Kindergarten classroom.

On March 23, Chair of the TDSB, Alexander Brown, wrote a letter to Education Minister Stephen Lecce about needing more help in the classrooms due to concerns of "extraordinary developmental needs" of incoming Kindergarten students.

"New students entering Junior Kindergarten in the 2022-23 school year will have spent the vast majority of their existence living through the COVID-19 pandemic," Brown wrote.

He noted that the development of early childhood depends on the experiences that children have, which includes social interactions that help stimulate and shape their brains early on.

"Because of the pandemic, opportunities for social experience have been limited due to closed childcare services, community centres, playgrounds, social distancing and other factors," reads the letter.

Community public services that are needed to support families and babies have also been delayed, he expressed, due to redeployment for COVID-19 work, and has limited the understanding of the current development of young kids.

"There is also limited existing data on COVID-19 pandemic impacts on infants and young children, yet one small New York study indicates slight neurodevelopmental delays on children born during the pandemic," he stated.

The study, which was backed by the National Institutes of Health, explored the effects of COVID-19 on infants during pregnancy and found that children born during the pandemic may need to be looked after for a longer period of time to see if there are any lags in their growth, like with their motor and social skills.

Brown also expressed that under the current class size regulation, Kindergarten classes with less than 15 students aren't required to have an early childhood educator.

According to the Ontario government, early childhood educators have the assessment and observations skills that create a learning environment in early childhood development.

They also noted that "they bring focus on age-appropriate program planning that promotes each child’s physical, cognitive, language, emotional, social and creative development and well-being."

"I am seeking assistance from your government to help these new students develop a strong foundation for learning in Grade 1 by providing an early childhood educator in every Kindergarten classroom," said Brown.

The government's response to the letter

"Ontario is one of the few provinces in Canada offering all-day junior and senior kindergarten for families. To support the hiring of roughly 3,000 additional staff — including educators, ECEs and EAs — the government announced over $300 million for the coming school year," a spokesperson for the Ministry's office told Narcity via email.

"This will enable higher levels of staffing, along with the largest tutoring expansion and mental health funding in Ontario history, to better support students as we work to get them back on track."

Back in February, Minister Lecce introduced Ontario's Learning Recovery Action Plan, which outlined $304 million in funding for time-limited addition staffing support for schools, which will go towards the hiring of 3,000 front-line staff.

This includes early childhood educators, teachers, and education workers to help with the learning recovery of students as a result of the pandemic.