School age entry change a welcome ‘bump’

BY NANCY KELLY

Kings County Register

In 2008, the age of entry for Primary will change.

Children turning five on or before December 31 will now be eligible to attend Primary in September. The change from the former October 1 birthday deadline brings Nova Scotia's eligibility date in line with the majority of Canadian provinces.

Province-wide, the change means about 2,100 additional students will start school next year. In the Annapolis Valley Regional School Board (AVRSB), that should translate into about 250 new students through the board’s 28 elementary schools.

AVRSB schools have already begun planning for these changes, anticipating the rcent formal approval by cabinet, says superintendent Dr. Norm Dray. He says he is “pleased that the decision has been announced so that now we can begin to finalize plans for the next school year.”

Dray says the process of Primary enrolment is just taking place. Once the board has an indication of its fall Primary enrolment, staffing, school facility and transportation requirements can be finalized. He says the change will more than likely create a need for more Primary teachers and for school transportation service providers to provide more seating on buses that can accommodate children under 40 pounds.

The expected increase in students could also offset declining enrolment.

“Last year, we had about 400 fewer students than the year before, so an increase of 250 with the age change will minimize any big bump in our numbers this coming fall,” explains Dray.

January 10, the Department of Education indicated it is looking at ways to adapt the current Primary curriculum to meet the needs of the younger children - who will still be four years old. Staff will be using instructional techniques and programming from the province's Pre-Primary Program, a pilot program for four-year-olds.

Dray says current Pre-Primary pilots at Greenwood’s Dwight Ross and Gaspereau Elementary will continue until the end of this school year, but “may not be re-offered” with the enrolment age change.

Parents of children turning five on or before December 31 are under no obligation to enroll their son or daughter in Primary next year; they may chose to wait if they believe their child is not ready.

At 14 Wing Greenwood, the news of the age change is welcomed by the military community, many of whom transfer in from other provinces. Vicki Morrison, executive director of the Greenwood Military Family Resource Centre, says the change recognizes military families in Nova Scotia have “unique needs.”

“This new policy provides a consistency for military families and is very much appreciated,” adds Morrison. “They can choose to enroll their children in Primary or keep them in our early childhood programs up to the age of five. We are very happy with that outcome.”

The Department of Education reports, each year, there are some parents who appeal Nova Scotia's starting age regulation so their children will have the same opportunity to start school as other students across Canada. The department cites an increasingly mobile labour force and the province's high concentration of military families as factors in its decision to amend its age of entry date.

Dray admits Nova Scotia’s school-start policy has been different than most province’s but he points to Nova Scotia as one of the few province’s to provide a full day of school five days a week for children prior to Grade 1.

“In most provinces, a Kindergarten program is offered on a half-day basis or two- to three-day-per-week. Nova Scotia’s Primary program has long gone beyond that.”