Editor:
Under proposed changes to the structure of SD51, creating a middle school with Grade 6 to 8 students attending Grand Forks Secondary School (GFSS) to take advantage of certain “special programs” every week, instructed by teachers, instructing solely within their area of expertise, there would be approximately 30 Christina Lake Elementary School (CLES) students bussed into this middle school.
CLES is a special school with a long tradition of producing compassionate, empathetic and academically successful students capable of great things.
The mentoring between students in our close-knit school starts in Kindergarten and progresses up to the important step into young adulthood that is Grade 7 graduation.
Our children become grounded and capable young people, ready for entrance into the last five years of public school.
Adding extra time to our children’s school day, via bussing and a later start, puts extra stress on families and reduces the chances for afterschool activities.
To have our children stand on Highway 3 to catch a bus for this purpose is not a risk worth taking.
Trustees stated they would not even consider placing Grade 7s in GFSS full time, being an inappropriate option. However, having 11 and 12-year-old children (Grades 6 and 7) attending GFSS, even a few times a week to access “special programs” with 17 and 18-year-olds is the same concept, for some reason explained as a benefit this time around.
Many families with children attending CLES moved here because of the school, the heart of our community, which is tied very closely to our economic survival.
Changing CLES to a K-5 will likely repel any new families. Having fewer residents will decimate our local year-round businesses.
For the good of our children’s high-quality education, that works very well already, and to stop the loss of full-time residents and resultant further economic hemorrhaging from our business community, it is essential we leave CLES as it is, a K-7 school.
Interested parties can attend the public meeting of the school district trustees at the school board office in Grand Forks on Tuesday, June 12 at 6 p.m.
Jim Leslie, Christina Lake
