TORONTO - Ontario's Liberals are promising a voluntary summer program to help kids in Grade 1 through Grade 3 get ready for the school year, the latest in a series of education announcements in the week leading up to the start of the election campaign.
The two-week program will cost an additional $9 million and be available in all school boards but is really meant to help students struggling with math, reading and writing stay engaged throughout the summer.
The announcement is the third education promise made by the Liberals this week.
The Progressive Conservatives and New Democrats have been much more focused on pocketbook issues, but Education Minister Leona Dombrowsky said Wednesday the Liberal promises are no different.
"I know many families who have gone out and they have, from their own funds, engaged teachers or tutors to help their kids do better with their studies," she said.
"We are providing this program free of charge."
The plan expands on a pilot program already underway in some schools, but its budget will now increase to $12 million from the current $3 million.
About 250 schools will now be eligible with 7,500 spaces, but it will be up to schools boards to decide where to offer it.
The Liberals announced a plan to double free online math tutoring on Tuesday, a day after the Education Quality and Accountability Office reported Grades 3, 6 and 9 students were lagging behind in math.
They have also promised to extend teachers college to two years if they remain in power after the Oct. 6 election.
