Thousands of students in New Brunswick will soon be getting more time in the classroom.
Starting in September, the school day for kindergarten to Grade 2 students is being extended by one hour.
This means the province’s youngest students will now have the same dismissal time as those in Grades 3 to 8.
Deputy Education Minister Ryan Donaghy announced the changes in a letter to parents and guardians last week.
“Adding an extra hour of learning time for this age group will allow greater flexibility to meet students’ needs and interests,” Donaghy wrote in the letter.
“This extra time is beneficial for the students, as there is more time to deepen and consolidate their learning. In addition, teachers will have more time to offer interventions and personalized learning opportunities.”
Students in 17 schools across the province are already getting an extra hour of instructional time each day, according to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development.
The 10 anglophone and seven francophone schools have been taking part in a research project since the 2017-18 school year.
“Although research was halted after two years because of the pandemic, initial results show that adding the extra hour of instruction is beneficial for student learning and well-being,” said the department spokesperson.
“The research project was agreed to in the signing of the previous teacher’s collective agreement.”
School districts and schools will share more details in the coming months and information about transportation schedules will be communicated over the summer.
Anglophone schools:
- Riverside Consolidated School (ASD-E)
- Shediac Cape School (ASD-E)
- King St. Elementary School (ASD-N)
- Napan Elementary School (ASD-N)
- Glen Falls School (ASD-S)
- St. George Elementary School (ASD-S)
- St. John the Baptist/King Edward School (ASD-S)
- Chipman Elementary School (ASD-E)
- McAdam Avenue School (ASD-W)
- Meduxnekeag Consolidated School (ASD-W)
Francophone schools:
- École Mgr-Mathieu-Mazerolle (DSF-NO)
- École Régionale-de-Saint-André (DSF-NO)
- École L’Escale-des-Jeunes (DSF-NE)
- École L’Étincelle (DSF-NE)
- École Mgr-Marcel-François-Richard (DSF-S)
- École Soleil-Levant (DSF-S)
- École Les Éclaireurs (DSF-S)
