Significant changes coming to Pat Hardy and Central School this fall

Parents of young, school-aged children continue to discuss the changes coming to Pat Hardy Primary and Whitecourt Central School next school year. This September, both schools will realign as kindergarten to grade five models, changing the current state.

Through December and January, parents and residents affected by the change took part in stakeholder consultations where they provided comments about the proposed change. Survey data helped form the basis for the decision. Survey comments were posted on the Northern Gateway Public Schools website (link below).

The two-question survey asked what the advantages and disadvantages would be. Forty-eight advantages and 127 disadvantages were provided in the document. At the beginning of the release, it was noted that repetitive answers were not all included and that most comments against change were included despite some repetition. Without knowing how many repetitive answers weren’t included under the advantages column, it’s hard to know which side had more comments overall.

Advantages provided included consistency and familiarity for children and less transferring (bussing). Another said that it would be helpful for children who do not like changes, bringing more stability. One parent said their children would “be together in one place for the first five years of their schooling.”

A reduction in bussing and traffic was also mentioned as an advantage. One survey responder said that more students could walk to school and that parents of multiple students would only have to drive to one school. They also felt that volunteerism would increase as parents wouldn’t be dividing their time between the schools where their children attend.

One responder felt that the switch would allow for role models as younger students could pair with older students. Some also thought it would result in stronger friendships/relationships as students remain together longer. The same was said for students feeling comfortable at their school since they would stay for six years rather than the current model of three.

Some parents felt the ages, K-5, were better suited to blend and that leadership opportunities would naturally evolve. Multiple responders pointed to leadership/mentoring as an advantage. One person said that it would help distribute student needs more. “Pat Harder is completely overwhelmed with needs, and there is not enough space in the school for all the classrooms,” they said. Another said that the change would help teachers and EA’s balance needs better.

The disadvantages provided touched on things like split families where custody is shared. “How do they get to choose which address they use,” questioned one responder. Loss of friendships already made was another concern. One responder detailed concerns of losing “operational efficiencies” with the change, mentioning age-appropriate playground equipment and same levelled reading books as two examples. They also added that “splitting up the robust pre-K specialist team at Pat Hardy” would be a significant loss. Another made a similar comment. They said it would be a disadvantage to spread out learning resources between two schools rather than the “obvious advantage” of having it in one spot.

Several responders spoke of having younger children amongst older children as a disadvantage. One said that having small children mixed with older children would expose the younger group to more adverse behaviours, influencing a younger crowd. Others said they would prefer less of an age gap between students, with some calling it too big. One commenter said mixing big and little kids would require a “tremendous amount of resources” due to the academically-wide spread.

One continually echoed concern was a worry of a division created between children in the valley and those uptown. “The disadvantage I see changing to a K-5 is back to a community split,” said one. It’s “separating the town into classes,” said another. “By splitting downtown and uptown, you create an economic separation. The model prior in Whitecourt showed this,” said a responder. Another said it would create “have and have not schools.” Even another stated, “the whole point of changes (prior) was so it wasn’t based on where you lived.” The topic of “town-splitting” was one of the most mentioned points.

Other concerns included parents not getting to choose which school their children attend, children not remaining with their current friend group, same grades no longer being together, the financial cost of reconfiguring the system, having to establish new classrooms and losing collaboration with teachers of the same grade level, and losing age-appropriate learning spaces.

With the data compiled, Northern Gateway Public Schools had a big decision to make. The decision was made public at the very end of February; Pat Hardy and Whitecourt Central School would return to K-5 schools beginning this fall. Superintendent Kevin Bird said that changes to Whitecourt’s size, population and layout led to the change. “Populations of learners’ up the hill’ and ‘in the valley’ have balanced over the years. At the same time, the needs of early learners have accelerated across the Division.” He explained that the decision to return the two schools to K-5 models would “result in a more even balance of students and needs in Whitecourt.”

The press release announcing the decision stated that a transition plan would be shared sometime in March. Parents and stakeholders interested in reviewing the cost/benefit analysis provided by Northern Gateway Public Schools can type the following direct link into their browser to view the breakdown, https://www.ngps.ca/download/410375. The survey feedback can be found here: https://www.ngps.ca/download/410110.