Kindergarten students at two new Lethbridge schools will start full-time studies in September.
Holy Spirit School Division is introducing the program for the first time in its history.
The Children of St. Martha Elementary School and Saint Paul Elementary School will be part of the pilot project.
Full-time kindergarten isn’t actually standard in Alberta, the provincial government only funds half-days.
The bump to full-day studies is costing Holy Spirit more than $100,000 per class.
However, Smeaton says the results are worth the hefty bill.
“When we look at a full-day, every-day program, we really believe that the investment in this — although costly at the beginning — will certainly serve the students, the school and realistically, the community much better.”
Holy Spirit isn’t the first local school district to adopt the system. School District 51 introduced full-day kindergarten at Westminster Elementary School in 2015.
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The district also has plans to expand its full-day programs, including at Senator Buchanan Elementary School, next fall.
However, Morag Asquith, the associate superintendent to instructional services for School District 51, says financial constraints are still an issue.
“It’s a very expensive program,” Asquith says. “We understand the benefits but we also understand that we have financial sustainability to think about. Until Alberta education and the government can fund us for all of our schools to have that, we’ll continue to do a year-by-year evaluation and review the process.”
Full-time kindergarten is standard in both British Columbia and Ontario.
Studies from Queen’s and McMaster universities suggest the full-time studies provide benefits.
“There’s good research out there that’s suggesting that if you slow down the learning a little bit, give the kids a rich, play-based environment, the learning is going to be increased,” Smeaton says.
As of now, Palliser Regional Schools is the only local school district that isn’t announcing plans for full-time kindergarten.
Open houses for the Holy Spirit programs are set to take place on May 9 and 10.
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