Mike W. Bryant
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 12/02) - Yellowknife Catholic Schools will join two other school districts in bucking the NWT Education Act by instituting a full-day kindergarten program next year.

Superintendent Kern Von Hagen said the district decided to go with full day classes, in addition to its already existing half-time program, to provide an alternative for children who may actually fare better starting out in full day kindergarten classes.

"Some are more ready than others at the social, physical, and mental level," said Von Hagen. "We are excited to do this because we believe, pedagogically, this is sound."

The district wants to give children entering the school system a head start on developing language and literacy skills.

The full-day program will be offered in English at Weledeh Catholic school, and French and English at Ecole St. Joseph.

While Von Hagen maintained that the full-day program may prove invaluable for some students, it may not work well for others.

Hence, the decision to maintain both programs.

"Research suggests there is no difference between the two," said Von Hagen, meaning students in half-day classes usually do not take long to catch up to their full-day counterparts.

"The half and full-day allow us to match a program with their development level."

This, said Von Hagen, is what they've learned from other school boards in Canada and the U.S. who run full-day kindergarten classes.

Because offering full-day kindergarten classes contravenes the NWT Education Act, YCS will have to fork out the extra money to provide them themselves.

Von Hagen said 1.5 positions will be added to the pay roll at a cost of between $140,000 to $150,000. He said YCS will operate on a first-come, first-served basis. The district will maintain its 24 students per class policy, with the right to reserve eight spots to ensure classes are gender balanced.

The indication from Education, Culture, and Employment, said Von Hagen, is that they see nothing wrong in school boards offering full-day kindergarten classes, but are wary lest it should lead to a mad dash from others seeking extra funding to provide them.

"They like it, but they can't officially come out and say it," said Von Hagen.

An added bonus for parents is that less money will have to be spent on paying for day care services once a child enters kindergarten age, Von Hagen acknowledged.

The Beaufort-Delta Council and the Commission Scolaire Francophone de Division are the only school districts in the NWT that currently offer full-day kindergarten classes.

James Anderson, director for the Beaufort-Delta Divisional Educational Council, agreed that parents are happier not having to send their children to day cares when not in kindergarten classes during the day.

But then again, not everything is about money.

"They have full care for their children, but they are also getting the most out of their schools," said Anderson.

Like Von Hagen, Anderson said he has spoken with ECE minister Jake Ootes, saying he was supportive of their full-day kindergarten program.

Ootes, however, was out of town and could not be reached for comment, nor could any ECE officials be reached by deadline.

ECE spokesperson Janet Leader did say the department would be discussing full-day kindergartens "next week." For now, YCS is content to prepare themselves for next year.

"It's something we're looking forward to," said Weledeh Catholic school kindergarten teacher Teresa Lachowski, who will teach the full-day class next year. "It's exciting."

YCS is holding parent information sessions April 16-19 and April 22-23.