Students in two more local schools will have longer days after the province announced Tuesday that Ogden Community Public School and St. Elizabeth School will have full-time kindergarten in 2011.
Thunder Bay Catholic District School Board director John De Faveri said he’s excited to see the provincial full-time plan, called the Early Learning Program, move ahead. With Corpus Christi and St. Vincent implementing the ELP this September, De Faveri said there will be four schools in the Catholic board with ELP by 2011.
He said even though Thunder Bay is experiencing a decline in student enrollment, the announcement means more space, more teachers and more early childhood educators will be needed. St. Elizabeth alone will need three classrooms and have space for 76 students. There will be a teacher and ECE for every 13 students which will require an additional 8 staff positions for the program.
"Even though we’re in a declining enrollment stage we will be doubling the need for classroom spaces just given that it’s movng from a half-time program to a full-time program," De Faveri said.
Lakehead Public Schools director Cathi Siemieniuk said Ogden has already had full-time Senior kidnergarten for eight years. She said based on community needs and space availability and the positive response from parents at Ogden all factored in to the decision to make Ogden have the ELP in 2011.
"It was actually a natural next step for us to expand to the full early learning program in those schools that already had full-time senior kindergarten," Siemieniuk said
Each board will be given over $500,000 in capital funding for the program.
