Changes are coming to the Campbell River School District’s new student registration and cross catchment application processes, the Board of Trustees learned during their regular meeting at the District office Jan. 20.
Superintendent Tom Longridge and Assistant Superintendent Nevenka Fair informed the Board of the changes, part of efforts to update the district’s operational policies and procedures.
Kindergarten registration has been moved up to the first week of February to better align with the staffing process and consideration of cross catchment applications. Cross catchment, formerly referred to as cross boundary, involves requests to attend a school other than the student’s neighbourhood catchment school.
The deadline for cross catchment applications has also moved up, to the second Friday in February, and applications for the following school year are now being processed at the School Board Office. Processing applications at the Board Office simplifies the number of steps required of parents, allows for a more complete picture of the school community when making staffing decisions, and will see a greater number of students able to start the first week of school already settled in their school community.
The new operational policy and procedures for student registration and cross catchment applications also formalizes a change that was piloted last school year with regards to applications into Early French Immersion.
Historically, French Immersion has been treated as an individual school program, meaning that parents could choose to register at either of the two French Immersion elementary schools. Last year, however, it became apparent that if that practice continued one of the schools would reach a point where the kindergarten registrations would outnumber the capacity of the school.
The program was changed to a district program of choice and applicants are now assigned to one of the two schools taking into consideration parent preference, siblings already in attendance, proximity to the school, and the availability of space and facilities and staffing resources appropriate to the applicant. This change was well-understood and received by parents last year, according to the Superintendent’s report.
For more information on the new student registration and cross catchment application process, visit www.sd72.bc.ca/Schools/registrationandtransfers.
