As parents and students waited to see how B.C.'s public school teachers voted on a tentative deal to end their strike yesterday, School District 43 is offering kindergarten families some details on what they may be able to expect next week.
Superintendent Tom Grant said if teachers ratified the deal on Thursday (the results won't be known until after The Tri-City News' print deadline but watch tricitynews.com for details) schools will be open Monday.
"If it's ratified, we will have to figure out with the teachers' [union] local how to get schools ready [Friday]," Grant said. "We've got hundreds of teachers changing schools and classrooms that haven't been set up."
Parents can expect Monday to be a partial day for registering, getting attendance and sorting out classrooms - like the usual first day of school followed by a full day of classes Tuesday.
Kindergarten families, however, will need to check in with their school for details on the gradual entry program.
"We will probably be looking at a modified gradual entry that will be personalized for each community, and that allows for scheduled, valuable communication with parents for a day or two," Grant said. "However in some communities, kids are ready for full-time or parents have used up their holidays, so we as principals are there to serve the parents and work around the notion of a modified gradual entry."
Grant said parents should check their school's website for the latest details or get further information at the school on the first day back. (You can find individual schools' websites through the SD43 site, www.sd43.bc.ca.)
The BC Teachers' Federation and the provincial government reached a tentative deal early Tuesday morning, with the BCTF recommending its members vote "yes" on Thursday. The deal includes wage increases and a $400-million education fund to hire new teachers but Grant said it's too early to say what that would mean for SD43 if the deal is approved.
"We haven't seen it yet so we will get briefings over the next week as to... how many teachers it will mean," he said. "It will take us some time then to analyze."
Chuck Denison, president of SD43's District Parent Advisory Council, said parents were expressing relief now that an end to the strike is likely in sight.
"Reason has prevailed," he said in an email. "There can be hope for a more co-operative, empathetic relationship going forward."
Although the organization is pleased to see the Education Fund dedicated to improving class size and composition issues with new teachers, there is still concern among parents that not enough is being done to support children with special needs.
"They are comforted that the tentative agreement has a provision to reopen discussions once the court case is settled," Denison said, "however, that may still be a long wait."
Denison added that it's now time to focus attention back on broader issues of education underfunding, particularly in Coquitlam school district, which has been battling deficits the last two years.
