Full-day kindergarten improving reading ability of Saskatoon kids

Kenso Ahenakew is a ball of energy.

While most of the seven-year-old boy’s free time this summer was spent jumping on the trampoline in his backyard, he’s also made time for one of his new favourite pastimes.

“I love reading!” he said in an interview with 650 CKOM.

Reading wasn’t always an activity Ahenakew was excited about.

His mother Angel Ahenakew says before starting full-day kindergarten, Ahenakew struggled with literacy.

“He was held back a year,” she said. “So the fact that he was able to go to school all day… it was scary for him at first, and for us. But it really pushed him to grow and be more confident.”

Kenso Ahenakew’s mother said his enrollment in a full-day Kindergarten program at a Saskatoon public school has made a huge difference in his reading abilities. (Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation/YouTube)

Full-day kindergarten in currently available in 25 schools throughout Saskatoon. The classes run five days a week.

Funding for the programming is provided by the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation. The money was raised as part of the Early Learning Equal Start campaign, which raised $20 million for education initiatives in Saskatoon.

While more than 750 learners have already benefited, Zeba Ahmad, CEO of the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation, says she would like to see the program become accessible to every child in the province.

“In Saskatchewan we do not have publicly funded full-day every day kindergarten,” she said. “We are one of the only provinces that does not fund it.”

Saskatchewan has the third lowest literacy rates in Canada.

Ahmad said full-day kindergarten programming has been proven to improve literacy rates in children, and research has shown that a child who isn’t reading at grade level by Grade 3 is four times less likely to graduate.

“In Saskatchewan, 30 per cent of kids do not reach Grade 3 reading in Grade 3,” she said.

She believes providing additional school programming to kindergarteners will greatly improve the province’s graduation rates.

“Investing in those early years is critical if we want kids to graduate, and if we want them to enter the work force,” Ahmad said.

Zeba Ahmad, CEO of the Saskatoon Public Schools Foundation, said she would like to see full-day every day Kindergarten programming become publicly funded in Saskatchewan. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Angel Ahenakew says while her son is nowhere near graduating, she has already seen his reading abilities improve by leaps and bounds thanks to full-day everyday kindergarten.

“He’s in advanced reading right now, actually!” she said proudly. “He reads 71 words per minute. He’s definitely improved as far as his vocabulary, speaking for himself, asking for things on his own, and things like that.”

She said, that along with an increase in literacy skills, his attitude around reading has also completely changed.

“He likes reading. It’s something that he likes doing,” she said. “He likes choosing new books, and he gets excited when it’s library day and he gets to bring new books home.”

Ahenakew sat in his backyard turning through the pages of his latest read, a soft smile spreading on his face as he listened to his mom’s praise.

He said in the future, he plans to put his new reading skills to good use.

“I want to be a teacher when I grow up,” he said.

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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct an error in Ahmad’s title.