It’s status quo for Kindergarten scheduling in the Bluewater District School Board.
Trustees voted on Tuesday to accept a recommendation from an ad hoc committee which was established last month to look at the issue.
And the board also apologized for creating unnecessary angst by failing to consult with the community first before announcing proposed schedule changes in February.
A public outcry followed the board’s proposal to change school schedules for all students up to Grade 8.
The biggest changes would have affected Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten students and how they attend daycare while not at school.
Parents said the changes would have been disastrous, adversely affecting not only daycare but also home life, recreational activities and parents’ work schedules.
The 17-member ad hoc committee, formed last month after concerns were voiced, had representation from parents as well as from the provincial Ministry of Education, county social services, day care staff members, municipal recreation staff members, teachers, administrators and trustees.
The committee met in a March 31 conference call and in person on April 6 and agreed to recommend to the board that the status quo for Kindergarten scheduling be maintained until the province fully implements all-day Kindergarten, which is expected to happen within five years.
Some parents who made deputations to the board on Tuesday remain skeptical of that or of the board’s claim that it’s learned from what they term a “fiasco.”
Miranda Miller says that while she’s happy the status quo has been maintained, she feels patronized and that the board will continue as it has, with what she says is no accountability or transparency.
Lisa McDougall, representing Bluewater Citizens for Education, says those things – accountability and transparency – don’t exist simply because the board says they do.
She’s looking for some proof that the board has learned from what she and other parents are calling a fiasco.
Trustee Jan Johnstone, who was chair of the ad hoc Kindergarten committee, apologized during the meeting and reiterated the apology in interviews with the media.