Eleven daycares on Prince Edward Island will shut their doors for good this week as part of the provincial government's reorganization of child care and kindergarten.
Starting in September, kindergarten programs, now run by child-care centres, will become part of the public school system.
Officials say the new system will be more consistent, with a set curriculum, regulated fees for parents and higher wages for staff.
The province spent about $263,000 on buyout packages for early childhood educators to accommodate the reduced demand at child care centres.
The Just for Fun Play N' Learn Child Care Centre in Winsloe is one of the centres that will close Friday. It's been operating out of the Winsloe United Church for 13 years.
"It's going to be a tearful goodbye on Friday for sure," said Lori Doucette, an early childhood educator at the centre. "It's going to be the kids that we miss, not so much buildings. It's going to be the families."
Dotty Corcoran, the centre's director, said it's hard to say goodbye but that she's happy about the overall changes.
She is moving on to teach kindergarten at a school while other staff are moving on to various child care jobs.
via www.cbc.ca
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