Ontario formally announced the start to full-day kindergarten on Tuesday, indicating which schools will begin offering the program in September.

About 580 schools have been selected to offer full-day learning this fall; more schools will be added each year.

Click for a full list of schools offering the program in our region Although many schools will offer the program, parents will be given the choice as to whether they want to enroll their children in full-day learning, which will provide before- and after-school programming.

Premier Dalton McGuinty predicts the program will be offered in every Ontario school by September 2015 at an annual cost of $1.5 billion.

He says the program will give kids a better chance of finishing high school, getting a post-secondary education, and landing a good job. The government says full-day learning will also relieve pressure on busy parents.

"They will be able to find a full-day program for their four- and five-year-olds and they will be able to drop their children off in the morning early before they go to work and they'll be able to pick them up after school, after their extended day, in order that their child has an innovated learning experience for the whole day," said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne. Source...