Parents unhappy with changes to grade levels coming to some Halifax-area schools

Some parents in the Halifax-area are concerned that their younger kids will be attending school with older students starting in September, and say there wasn't enough consultation around the changes. 

The Halifax Regional Centre for Education notified families in late April of proposed changes to grade levels at four of its schools to address capacity issues.

Parents and guardians had until April 29 to offer their feedback online. Final decisions were announced on May 2 

The reconfigured grades will mean changes for students at Burton Ettinger Elementary, Grosvenor-Wentworth Park Elementary, Joseph Howe Elementary and West Bedford School.

Jemima Perks's 10-year-old daughter was meant to attend her Grade 6 year at Grosvenor-Wentworth, but instead will move to Fairview Junior High in September. 

Perks, chair of the school's advisory council, said her daughter is nervous for the early transition to junior high. 

"She's afraid, and she's missing out on that Grade 6 year in elementary school that she was so looking forward to," said Perks.

"Grade 6 is a year when they're the oldest in the school and they get to take on leadership roles.… It's unfortunate that that has been taken away from her." 

Perks said she worries her daughter isn't ready to be around older students. But she said she's more disappointed about how the consultation process was handled.

"They could have prepared teachers, families, and students," said Perks. "It's just really unfortunate that they called this a consultation when it was basically a weekend of asking parents their opinion."

HRCE spokesperson Lindsey Bunin said several options, such as portable or modular classrooms, were considered before making the decision to change grade structures. But it was determined they would not be sufficient to accommodate the growing number of students.

She said there are now more than 59,000 students enrolled in HRCE schools.

"We just want everyone to have safe and comfortable learning experiences, and the best way to do that is to make sure that everybody's got a seat in the classroom," said Bunin. 

Leigh Purcell's eight-year-old daughter is in Grade 3 at Burton Ettinger. When she gets to Grade 6, she will move to Fairview Junior High.

Purcell has started an online petition asking the HRCE to reconsider its decision. It had 178 signatures as of Friday afternoon. 

Purcell said she worries about the mental health and maturity levels of her daughter and other kids, particularly since they lost out on significant developmental years at school during the pandemic. 

"In a fast-paced world already, it's causing them to maybe grow up too quickly, putting them in a school with older kids," she said. 

Tracy Whittaker-Taggart, a registered school psychologist, said this is a valid concern. 

"I think we're still growing and learning about all of the ramifications of COVID in terms of maturity — social, emotional maturity for children," she said. 

However, Whittaker-Taggart said in her over 20 years of experience, schools tend to do a good job of keeping the older and younger students separate from one another. 

Whittaker-Taggart recommends attending any "transition days" put on by the schools to give students a chance to visit the building and meet some teachers. She added that families should reach out to school administrators directly with any questions or concerns they may have.