While schools are on the chopping block and jobs of teachers and support staff hang in the balance, one thing that is going ahead is all-day Kindergarten programming.
This move was insisted upon by the provincial government, part of a larger plan to boost student success in the years ahead while at the same time reduce the number of students who fall through the social cracks by better preparing them earlier in life for the expectations of school.
Some of that is already happening in School District 57, and this coming year the phase-in of the regime will boost it past the halfway mark.
"What we know is we currently have 105 that are already participating in all-day Kindergarten and we will have 449 additional students added in September, out of the anticipated 900 Kindergarten students that we have in the district," said superintendent of schools Brian Pepper. "The estimated staffing costs for that is $1.2 million.
Due to the dialogue over which schools in the district may or may not be closed or altered in programming, Pepper said he could not accurately specify which of those students would fall under the full-day program in September and which would still have another year of half-day programming.
"I was delighted that the ministry rolled it out by number and not by school," he said. "It allows the district to have flexibility with regard to locations. I am thankful and appreciative that the ministry has recognized the importance of all-day Kindergarten, this is very good news."
It wasn't news from the province that came without some strings attached however. Although a financial commitment has been made by the Ministry of Education to pay the literal cost of teachers for these additional hours of Kindergarten, no money is coming for underlying costs, said trustees at a recent meeting of the board of education, prompting trustee Sharel Warrington to say, "Here's another example of how 'fully funded' doesn't mean 'fully funded.' We are given the impression money is coming but the money doesn't appear."
With calculations still to be made, pending the decisions on school closures over the next two months - and the final district budget which has to be largely drafted by the end of May to adhere to collective agreements with staff, and turned in to the ministry by June - the actual impact on the local education budget is not yet known.
Kindergarten registration would normally be underway by late January or February but the district has served notice that registration day has been postponed until later in the spring. Dates will be publicized via their webpage and media (including The Citizen) as soon as dates are determined.
