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By Shane Clausing

Kindergarten plus

GPCSD looking to pilot Kindergarten PLUS+ program in 2021

Feb 3, 2021 | 5:53 PM

Grande Prairie & District Catholic Schools (GPCSD) has unveiled a new pilot program for Kindergarten kids.

The District says the Kindergarten PLUS+ program will help meet the needs of busy families and help bridge the learning gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The pilot program will allow students to receive additional time with a Kindergarten teacher and assistant.

The District says this will expand opportunities for younger children, similar to when parents pay for a Pre-Kindergarten experience.

It will be offered at École St. Gérard Catholic School, Mother Teresa Catholic School, and St. Catherine Catholic School for the 2021-22 school year.

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Superintendent Karl Germann says these schools were chosen because there would likely be enough interest.

“There would be a partial user pay on that program and that’s probably going to meet the needs of a lot of families and it’ll also maybe give kids a bit of an extra boost or head start as they enter grade one. We think it might be a reasonable program for parents.”

Students will be treated as if they were a Grade 1 student. They will spend the full day at school and then can take the bus or get picked up from school once the day is done to go home.

While some might think a full day of Kindergarten is too long for kids, Germann thinks it will be really beneficial for some students.

“The value would be that the kids are in the program every day. Sometimes what happens is there’s a Monday off or Friday off and the kids can very quickly lose a week of school. Having the kids in every day would ensure that the program is more structured over a longer period of time and kids will get exposed to all the readiness programs they need to get used to grade one.”

“We were looking at the benefits of children having not only increased instruction time but also the consistency within their week so it’s minimizing transitions between home and perhaps a childcare provider and a school setting,” explained Chantel Napier the school division’s Supervisor of Early Learning.

“In this way, children can actually attend school and have a nice seamless week where it’s minimizing all those transitions for them. It’ll help them get better established, more comfortable and confident in the school setting, which is going to give them a strong foundation and set them up for future success in Grade 1 and onwards.”

Both Germann and Napier says this will not be disruptive for a regular Kindergarten teacher’s workload or planning. Germann says there will be additional support staff to work with the Kindergarten PLUS+ students.

A fee for the program is still being determined and is expected to be announced by February 26.

Those interested can begin registering on March 2. Space in the Kindergarten PLUS+ program will be limited.