Nova Scotia’s pre-primary education program is now in full swing with the all of the 52 classes set to be up and running by the end of the week.
But enrolment in Nova Scotia’s new program varies drastically between each of the province’s eight school boards.
For example, according to figures provided by the Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, the South Shore Regional School Board has only had 57 students enrolled in its program.
Those students will be divided between the board’s four pre-primary classrooms.
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According to the province, in total 827 four-year-olds have registered for classes in the province.
Pre-primary education is a “child-centered, play-based program” that the province says is meant to transition children into the public school system.
The program will operate during normal school hours for children who are at least four years of age by Dec. 31.
Education Minister Zach Churchill said the initial startup cost for the 52 classes is $6.5 million, or about $125,000 per class.
The breakdown by board is as follows:
- Strait Regional School Board – 112
- Cape Breton-Victoria Regional School Board – 100
- Chignecto-Central Regional School Board – 168
- Halifax Regional School Board – 220
- Annapolis Valley Regional School Board – 58
- Tri-County Regional School Board – 85
- Acadien Provincial School Board – 27
- South Shore Regional School Board – 57
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The Nova Scotia government created this map that indicates where the pre-primary classes will be offered.
Churchill has said that the next step is a consultation process later this fall with the private non-profit sector.
Those meetings will lay the groundwork for the second phase of the pre-primary rollout, which will tentatively see another 70 classes added to the system next September.
— with files from Jennifer Grudic