Jr kindergarten roll-out continues to perplex
Scant details offered on program in disappointing meeting with GNWT says Inuvik district education chair
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, December 22, 2016
INUVIK
Inuvik District Education Authority board chair Lesa Semmler remains dissatisfied with the proposed implementation of junior kindergarten, despite recent meetings with the GNWT.
Inuvik District Education Authority chair Lesa Semmler said she was not satisfied by the government's answers on junior kindergarten after meetings in Yellowknife. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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"Not enough money, more students," she said simply at a board meeting earlier this month.
"No one's ever going to be satisfied."
She met with Education Minister Alfred Moses and then represented the Beaufort Delta Education Council in meetings with other education professionals and government ministers.
"When I left, I didn't feel very good about (the meeting with Moses) because I didn't get any answers," she said.
A news release from the group meetings stated that Moses informed board chairs of the GNWT's fiscal realities and that the government is currently in a period of reductions.
"Board chairs were concerned by the prospect of further reductions occurring at the same time as they are being asked to implement JK, which they said will result in some additional costs, including busing," states the release.
The total cost of the junior kindergarten roll-out will be approximately $5 million.
Moses announced the GNWT would be investing $2 million towards the cost of JK, while the district education boards will have to find $3 million from their current K-12 funding to allocate toward the program.
In a phone interview with The Drum, Moses said that currently 19 communities in the territory are running junior kindergarten successfully within existing funding.
"Currently, it's working really well," he said.
Another concern Inuvik District Education Authority members expressed was the safety of having young children in East Three School.
"It's like you're adding 60 high-needs students to our school," said Semmler.
Moses said safety shouldn't be an issue.
"All schools have a safety plan in place and we're continuing to dialogue with all the school boards to ensure the transition goes over smoothly," he said.
One question that was not clear among district board members was exactly how late-year birthdates would affect junior kindergarten enrolment.
The Inuvik education board expressed worry about the safety of three year olds entering the school.
A representative from ECE told The Drum that children must be four years old as of Dec. 31 of the academic year to be eligible for junior kindergarten.
A child turning four in November 2017, for example, would be able to enrol for the September 2017 start, meaning some three-year-olds could be part of the program.
The board is hoping to host a public meeting with parents and MLAs invited to discuss junior kindergarten early in the new year.
