The English Montreal School Board (EMSB) will be adding 13 new preschool classes for four-year-olds in the 2019-20 academic year.
READ MORE: These are the LBPSB schools that will add preschool for 4-year-olds
It notes the criteria taken into consideration includes the poverty index, which schools have existing half-day pre-ks, as well as available space and teachers.
These are the schools that will be welcoming the new classes:
- Sinclair Laird in Park Extension (1)
- Parkdale Elementary in Saint-Laurent (2)
- General Vanier Elementary in Saint-Leonard (1)
- Dalkeith Elementary in Anjou (1)
- Westmount Park Elementary in Westmount (3)
- Gerald McShane Elementary in Montreal North (1)
- Coronation Elementary in Côte-des-Neiges (1)
- Mackay Centre and Philip E. Layton Schools in NDG (1)
- Pierre Elliot Trudeau Elementary in Rosemount-La-Petite-Patrie (1)
- Bancroft Elementary in the Plateau (1)
“We are pleased for the new schools that we have been able to add to our list of offering pre-k for four-year-olds,” said EMSB chairperson Angela Mancini.
“Our educators are doing a wonderful job welcoming these young children to our system.”
“It is just important that we maintain some control of where these classes are added in the coming years. It is no secret that we have significant space problems in our west-end schools.”
WATCH BELOW: What are the advantages of starting kindergarten at the age of four?
The school board noted that it currently already has 12 preschools funded by the Ministry of Education:
- Gerald McShane Elementary in Montreal North (2)
- Pierre Elliot Trudeau Elementary in Rosemount-La-Petite-Patrie (2)
- Bancroft Elementary in the Plateau (2)
- Coronation Elementary in Côte-des-Neiges (1)
- Nesbitt Elementary in Rosemount-La-Petite-Patrie (1)
- John Caboto Academy in Ahuntsic-Cartierville (1)
- Our Lady of Pompei Ahuntsic-Cartierville (1)
- St. Dorothy Elementary in St. Michel (1)
- St. Gabriel Elementary in Pointe-Saint-Charles (1)
The Lester B. Pearson School Board (LBPSB), in Montreal’s west end, will be adding preschool classes to eight of its schools.
READ MORE: Quebec government pushes on with plan to enroll 4-year-olds in preschool
“This list is not by any means the final result, as the ministry is allowing us the flexibility and latitude to address the needs in a fashion that best meets the needs of the system,” said Jim Hendry, LBPSB spokesperson.
WATCH BELOW: Quebec announces investment in early childhood education
The Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ)’s plan to add more preschool classes to elementary schools this fall has been met with controversy — in particular, whether schools will have the space to let in hundreds of four-year-olds.
READ MORE: Quebec government needs to intervene to increase graduation rate: expert
Quebec Education Minister Jean-François Roberge tabled Bill 5 on Feb. 14, noting it will not be obligatory for all parents to send their four-year-olds to preschool.
WATCH BELOW: Quebec subsidized daycares, a model to emulate?
The option to send four-year-olds to preschool is expected to expand in the 2020-2021 school year.
READ MORE: Quebec re-invests in daycare and kindergarten
The government’s long-term goal is to make four-year-old preschool accessible to all parents within the next five years.
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