ManitobaA year after a Winnipeg school division introduced full-day kindergarten, a recent survey has found that most parents and teachers overwhelmingly support the change.Survey of parents, teachers suggests full days had ‘very positive impact’: superintendentLauren Scott · CBC News · Posted: Sep 20, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours agoThe Louis Riel School Division in Winnipeg introduced full-time kindergarten for the 2024-25 academic year. (Josée Ducharme/Radio-Canada)A year after an east Winnipeg school division introduced full-day kindergarten, a recent survey suggests most parents and teachers overwhelmingly support the change.The Louis Riel School Division introduced full-time kindergarten for the 2024-25 academic year. This past spring, the division sent out a survey to teachers and parents of kindergarten students to gauge how students were adjusting.The division, which has nearly 1,100 kindergarten students, got responses from 60 teachers and 375 parents. Division superintendent Christian Michalik said the results suggest full classroom days have had a “very positive impact” on kindergarteners. “It’s about laying a strong foundation, and the evidence is indisputable. It lays that strong foundation,” Michalik said. Among the parents who responded, more than 80 per cent said they had very positive views on full-day kindergarten, with more than two-thirds saying it made their schedules easier. Nearly all parents — 98 per cent — said they saw growth in their children after attending kindergarten full time, according to the survey results.Ashley Meyer says her children Maisie, left, and Randy, right, had vastly different experiences during kindergarten. Maisie was among the first cohort of children to attend full-day kindergarten at Louis Riel School District schools. (Aly Tam Photography)Ashley Meyer was among the parents who responded to the survey. She says her six-year-old daughter, Maisie, has been excelling in school after she was among the first cohort of students to attend full-time kindergarten at Louis Riel’s Glenwood School last year. “Maisie thrived in a full-day kindergarten,” Meyer said. “It just led to more chances for her to have more time and opportunity to develop those social relationships, relationships with your teacher. “I couldn’t believe how far she came from the start of kindergarten to the end of kindergarten, where she’s already reading short paragraphs and stories.”Meyer said her daughter’s quick progress is a “stark difference” compared to her nine-year-old son, Randy, who is now in Grade 4. She said he struggled with half-day kindergarten, especially with the daily transition between part-time school and daycare while both Meyer and her husband were working full time.”It was a relief knowing that Maisie would be in school full time. It lowered our stress levels, knowing that daycare wouldn’t be such a hassle to find,” Meyer said. Christian Michalik, superintendent of the Louis Riel School Division, says universal full-time kindergarten is about ‘laying a strong foundation’ for children’s development. (Radio-Canada)Michalik said increased access to child care was “one of the most important changes in the lives of families” in the division.Three-quarters of Louis Riel kindergarten teachers who responded to the survey said full-time schooling improved students’ early literacy and numeracy skills. Xiaoxiao Du, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba’s faculty of education who specializes in language and literacy, said full-day kindergarten can offer more varied opportunities for children to expand their education, whether that’s learning through play and exploration, or reading and writing. Play is an important part of early childhood literacy, she said.”When children play with other kids, they are constantly problem-solving,” said Du. “Play literacy and social-emotional needs can also be enhanced when children attend full-day kindergarten.” Xiaoxiao Du is an assistant professor in the University of Manitoba’s faculty of education. She says she personally saw the benefits of full-day kindergarten in Ontario’s system. (University of Manitoba)Nearly two-thirds of teachers who responded to the Louis Riel survey said their students’ social-emotional skills improved.Du said her own children attended full-kindergarten in Ontario, a school schedule that allowed her to pursue her graduate studies. Adopting universal full-day kindergarten in 2024-25 cost Louis Riel more than $2.5 million. Michalik said it was an “important investment,” and hopes other school districts across the province will follow suit. While some Manitoba schools offer universal full-time kindergarten, the province is one of the few in Canada that does not offer it across the board. Meyer said she has friends and family with kindergarten-age children attending schools in other divisions. Many of them told her they wished their children had the same opportunities for full-time kindergarten that Maisie had, she said. “I think that it’s a great thing for our kids to be in school and have those full days available to them,” Meyer said. “I would definitely like to see it expanded across the province.”CBC News reached out to the Manitoba Teachers’ Society for comment, but staff were unavailable for an interview or statement.ABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Scott is a Winnipeg-based reporter with CBC Manitoba. They hold a master’s degree in computational and data journalism, and have previously worked for the Hamilton Spectator and The Canadian Press.
Strong support for full-time kindergarten after 1st year, Louis Riel School Division says
