Abrupt halt disrupts before and after care for Connaught School children
An abrupt change to a program for students of Connaught School has left families scrambling to deal with before and after school care.
"Some parents are spinning right now, not sure what to do, and trying to find care," Sarah Truszkowski, from the Connaught School Community Committee, said Tuesday.
The old Connaught School, on Elphinstone Street and 13th Avenue, closed in June of 2014. Students and staff were moved to Wascana School (since dubbed New Connaught School) at 4210 4th Ave. until a new building on Elphinstone is constructed.
To assist families, a before and after school program was put in place for youngsters who took a bus to the new location.
"[The program] has been very helpful," Truszkowski said. "We had it last year for the first time because Connaught is in a different location."
Changes to the program were dropped on parents only one day before the start of the school year, in some cases via email delivered Monday evening.
They learned that the before portion of the program had been cancelled and that the after portion is also in jeopardy.
The program, which is offered by the City of Regina at the Cathedral Neighbourhood Community Centre, provides a safe pickup and drop-off point for youngsters who didn't have a place to wait for their school bus.
"We stopped doing a before-school program because we weren't aware that [it] was deeply required," Jeff Erbach, an official from the city, said Tuesday.
Truszkowski said she heard that youngsters were using 20 or 30 minutes of the total 60 minutes available in the morning program.
"They didn't want to hire someone who was going to work for this short of a period," she said.
No matter the reason, Truszkowski said it was frustrating for parents to have to make last minute arrangements.
"I don't know why this didn't happen weeks ago," she said. "That's the thing that's troubling."
According to Terry Lazarou, spokesman for Regina Public Schools, school officials received word about the program changes at the same time as parents. Lazarou said letters were being sent out to parents Tuesday, with more information about the changes.
The school board also provided staff on Tuesday to ensure children did not encounter an empty space.
"We've had staff, this morning — and will have tomorrow — wait at the community centre in the morning for the kids that didn't get to school otherwise, just to make sure that they're safe," he said.
According to the board about 24 old Connaught School students used the program last year.
Erbach said the after-school program may be in place once the city finds staffing for it.
"We're working hard to establish the after school program as quickly as possible, based on the conversations we've had with the school board," Erbach said.
