Kindergarten schedule changing in Steinbach

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This article was published 08/03/2017 (2599 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hanover School Division trustees voted unanimously on Tuesday night to change the kindergarten class schedule for schools in the Steinbach catchment area starting next school year.

Class scheduling at Elmdale, Southwood, and Woodlawn schools will change from the existing half day (every day) class schedule, to a full day (alternate day) class schedule.

Schools within the catchment areas of Blumenort, Bothwell, Kleefeld, Landmark, and Mitchell will continue with the existing format of half day (every day) kindergarten classes.

The decision was the result an online survey at the beginning of February, which gauged interest of parents who were registering students for kindergarten or currently have students enrolled at that grade level.

The division said a total of 478 households participated in the survey, including 249 households within the Steinbach catchment area.

In Steinbach, 59 percent of respondents preferred a change to the new format, 36 percent liked the current schedule, and five percent indicating no preference.

“We’re being responsive to the voice that we’re getting from the community,” said HSD superintendent Randy Dueck, who told trustees that the division may, in three or four years, look to survey communities again and get a sense if needs have changed.

Parents in Steinbach were previously surveyed about five or six years ago, Dueck noted, but no change was made at that time.

He noted that any cost savings were essentially neutral between the two types of schedules. The division saves transportation expenses through full day kindergarten but also is required to fund additional prep periods for teachers as a result.

Feedback from Blumenort, Bothwell, Kleefeld, Landmark and Mitchell catchments did not reflect a strong majority desire for a schedule change.

Schools in Grunthal and Niverville already operate on a full day kindergarten schedule, a format which has received positive feedback from parents. That said, Dueck indicated that there are arguments that both scheduling options have educational value.