Full-Day Kindergarten for Children Who Come to the Classroom at a Disadvantage

The Cause

Kindergarten is the foundation of a child, during which time teachers and educational staff have the opportunity to instill a sense of confidence and love of learning.

We know that a number of students are arriving in the Kindergarten classroom with critical gaps in their social, emotional, language and academic readiness.

Some children may be academically at risk because of backgrounds where they are living in poverty; living with multiple challenges and barriers; and/or have limited English language skills or don't speak any English because they are recent immigrants or refugees.

Full-day Kindergarten gives students the gift of time and extra support so they can catch up, and enter grade one ready to learn!

Without government funding, full-day Kindergarten is entirely donor supported. Each year, we need to raise over $400,000 to support our full-day Kindergarten classes.

Unfortunately, due to the impacts of COVID-19, we have fallen short of our fundraising goal for the upcoming school year.

We know that a full-day of learning for children who need it most is the best way to address future educational challenges. Please help the next class succeed in learning and in life!

Who Will it Benefit?

Each year, we directly support about 160 children through our full-day Kindergarten programs at six Edmonton schools. This results in a high-impact difference in the lives of these little learners.

The schools we support rank higher on the Social Vulnerability Index, which means that their students may have a higher-need for support.

Many of these students are coming to the classroom at a disadvantage - some may face language barriers, some may have learning challenges, some will have been coded as needing extra support and many live in poverty.

By providing the gift of extra time and support during this foundational learning time, we know that these young students are more likely to develop a love of learning, complete their education and live fulfilling lives.