Full Day Learning, the biggest change in early childhood education in a generation, is now a reality in Ontario.

This past September, almost 600 schools began to offer the province’s new full day program. Core to its success is a common shared vision and effective team approach where the combined expertise of early childhood educators and teachers provides an optimal learning environment for four and five year old children.

What occurs over the next year will be determined by the knowledge that early childhood educators and
teachers bring to the program – with leadership from principals, school boards and the provincial government. Supportive leadership and willingness to identify and address challenges with open communication and understanding among all who are involved in shaping
this new reality is key to positive change.

In order to fully inform school board staff, parents and the public, the Association of Early Childhood
Educators Ontario (AECEO), and our sister organization, L’Association francophone à l’éducation des services à l’enfance de l’Ontario (L’AFESEO), have been working together to create public education, to
facilitate professional development for joint early years staff teams and to support leadership development in the early years profession. Over the summer the AECEO delivered the first series of institutes entitled Early Learning Partnerships: ECEs in the early learning program across Ontario. These institutes provided an opportunity for DECEs and Kindergarten teachers to
develop leadership and capacity building.

These facilitated discussions demonstrated through research and policy how strategies for curriculum
planning, team building and working together can be developed within the early learning community. The
Atkinson Centre for Society and Child Development at the University of Toronto is also an active collaborator in this project and shared Lessons from Toronto First Duty as part of the presentation.

Institutes have been delivered to the following regions: Sudbury, Simcoe County, York, Durham,
Niagara, and Halton. Participants also included municipal representatives and various school board
staff. The AECEO continues to receive requests from communities across Ontario for this institute and so far plans are underway to deliver in Waterloo/Wellington, Kingston, and Windsor.

Another planned initiative to help support leadership and capacity building is the development of a website that will include materials and resources on the role of early childhood education and practice in the province’s early learning strategy. A special Parent Education section will also be included to inform
and educate the public on the role of early childhood educators in the Early Learning Program.

Next year’s annual conference will highlight our work around this initiative with a focus on leadership training.

Early Childhood Educators & Your Child Parent Brochure
In our effort to support a better understanding of the role of early childhood educators among parents and the general public the AECEO developed a primer entitled “Early Childhood Educators & Your Child”. Funded through the Trillium Foundation the primer is meant to give a general understanding of what is an ECE professional and the important role they play in full day kindergarten. more...