A reminder of kindergarten registration next month has School District 20's board of education talking shop.
Trustee Gordon Smith said it's time to be proactive when it comes to attracting future students to the district now that there are more choices in the area, referencing Rossland's larger Francophone school (l’École des Sept-Sommets) and its new independent school, Seven Summits Centre For Learning.
“How are we driving kindergarten registration?” he asked at a regular school board meeting Monday night.
“I'm using that word very deliberately because I think that public education has to realize that the way that the educational practice is evolving . . . is to turn it into a competitive parent choice domain.”
School District 20's end of September enrolment numbers were about 100 students less than projected last spring, Greg Luterbach superintendent of schools shared.
He attributed this shortfall to fewer kindergarten students than projected, families sending their children to the French school now that admission rules loosened and the new independent school in Rossland.
The initial projection for kindergarten students for next school year sits at 278 students but after registration, held Feb. 17 to 21, adjustments will be made based on early trends.