INUVIK
Junior kindergarten is scheduled to begin in 2017-18 but that sums up most of the information the Inuvik District Education Authority has on the subject.

Lesa Semmler, chair of the Inuvik District Education Authority, talks about the coming rollout of junior kindergarten and the challenges it presents at an IDEA meeting Wednesday, Nov. 2. Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo

"We've had no communication other than what's been in the media," said Lesa Semmler, chair of IDEA, at a meeting Wednesday, Nov. 2.

"We've had no talks of money, how we're going to be supported financially. We've had no discussion," Semmler said. "That continues to be a struggle."

Kindergarten can't have 30 students and one teacher, she added.

"There needs to be support in that classroom," said Semmler. "Now we're putting in junior kindergarten, and we're going to have three-year-olds in our school with a teacher but no early childhood worker."

On average, about 60 students come in each year to kindergarten at East Three Elementary School, meaning a similar number would be coming into junior kindergarten.

"We're struggling with how we're going to support these teachers," said Semmler. "Before we roll this out, we want to make sure as a board that we can support this in our school."

Chris Gilmour, acting superintendent of the Beaufort Delta Education Council, said instructional hours for junior kindergarten will be the same as for kindergarten, meaning a maximum six hours per day, with educational authorities in charge of how it is scheduled, either in half-day or full-day programming.

Parents will have the option to enroll their child in half-day programming even if full-day programming is available, he added.

Gilmour described junior kindergarten as following a holistic approach to early learning, building on natural curiosity in students and creating a play-based experience that focuses on family, community and culture.

"We don't have any indication from (the Department of Education, Culture and Employment) yet what the funding is going to look like," said Gilmour.

"They have not told us about that."

In the coming months, Gilmour and other education representatives will be travelling to Yellowknife to discuss the issue more thoroughly.

Gilmour said Semmler's concerns would be among the items brought forward.

"There's no final word on all of this," he said.

The territorial government plans to expand junior kindergarten to all 33 communities next school year, up from 16 communities.

In August, Education, Culture and Employment Minister Alfred Moses told NWT News/North that his department was still in the process of determining how funding will work for junior kindergarten.

He said answers to those questions would be decided after an additional round of consultations with schools, daycares and other early education providers set to begin this past September.

Nobody from the department of education was available to respond to Gilmour's and Semmler's comments before press time.

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