Foothills School Division is looking at implementing a before and after school care program for students in kindergarten to Grade 6.
A feasibility study was launched on Jan. 18 to explore the possibility of implementing a program, which would see students offered supervised tutoring and socialization outside of the classroom.
Bobbi Hunter, principal at Dr. Morris Gibson School, will lead the study and report back to the school board in March. The division's trustees will then be responsible for making a final decision based on the study's results.
"Mrs. Hunter has great experience leading her school community in a K-6 environment and bridging further into the community in developing partnerships with our 0-5 service providers as well as community groups that support those service providers," said FSD Superintendent Chris Fuzessy. "It's certainly something that we have every belief she can bring forward."
He added that similar programs have seen success in other divisions.
Elements of the study will include gauging interest from parents regarding the service and examining current set-ups in other jurisdictions to observe possible infrastructural elements.
The program is also being explored as an additional source of revenue for the division, which would provide additional available funds to FSD classrooms.
If the study were to conclude that a program of this nature would be feasible and subsequently approved by the board, Fuzessy said a system would have to be developed to allocate space and staff.
The constant fluctuation in learning environment in recent months has had an impact on student education, Fuzessy said, and the hope is that a supervised tutoring program could contribute to filling in some of those blanks.
"We've certainly seen this year that – reported from our school teams and our teaching teams – that the affect of the ongoing disruption to learning is becoming more evident," he said.
"So, in that sense, moving in this direction provides us with time in a familiar space – familiar to students and to parents – to institute perhaps, not necessarily specific programming per se – but opportunities to provide tutoring and homework help and also increased opportunity for socialization and socio-emotional learning, through those moments in before and after school care."
