By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
Childcare takes a village, as the saying goes. That’s why Valemount Elementary School has partnered with organizations like Avalanche Canada and the Valemount Public Library to organize structured activities for students in Kindergarten through Grade 3 during early dismissal days, when it may be difficult for parents to find childcare during the afternoon.
The school scheduled early dismissal 10 times in total this year, according to its website. Four of those days took place in October, when the school held parent-teacher conferences from the 21st through the 24th. The remaining days are being used for teacher collaboration time, where staff discuss how to improve their teaching skills and promote inclusivity in the classroom, Riddell-McKay said.
“It’s all about how to meet the needs of our students,” Riddell-McKay said of the collaboration time. “We have a variety of needs in our schools. When else do we have the time to actually get together and see what works for this kid? What do you do to get this kid to cooperate or learn, how do you reach this kid or that kid? We have a lot of teacher talk time during early dismissal.”
Although the early dismissal time allows teachers to touch base with one another and complete training, Riddell-McKay understands it can be hard for working parents to accommodate.
“Schools are for learning. But let’s be honest, schools are also for childcare,” she said. “If we don’t have students coming here, then that means somebody in the family can’t work.”
After receiving feedback from the Parent Advisory Council and the ongoing Community Engagement Survey – available in the school’s monthly newsletters – staff started brainstorming solutions to the lack of childcare during early dismissal days. Teachers can’t take on the burden of looking after kids during their collaboration time, so keeping kids in classrooms wouldn’t work, Riddell-McKay said – likewise, taking kids to another location like the library would be difficult to coordinate.
Instead, staff chose to host programs at the school with local organizations, under the supervision of Educational Assistants. For example, Avalanche Canada organized a hands-on avalanche safety activity for the December 11th early dismissal day. In January, the library will begin its early dismissal program, featuring crafts and other kid-friendly activities.
While Riddell-McKay said she’s glad to have programs available for students during early dismissal days, it’s not the ideal solution.
“This is a stopgap measure, though – what we would really like to see in the future is after-school care programming provided by a third party,” Riddell-McKay said, adding that districts across the province are exploring similar ideas. “In the future, I think there would be a role for the school to play in hosting after-school care, but not running after-school care.”
But until another childcare option is available, the early dismissal programs are a neat compromise between the needs of teachers and families, Riddell-MacKay added.
“Teachers get to improve their practice because they’re having that collaborative time, and families get to have their kids cared for in a familiar, safe environment,” she said.
Additionally, staff are looking for information about kid-friendly activities for professional development days, during which class is not held at all. These days are: January 27th, April 11th, and June 2nd. Riddell-McKay hopes to find a Valemount organization which can provide an activity for kids in case parents struggle to find childcare on those days.
While the search for reliable after-school care will likely continue for some time, Riddell-McKay said she looks forward to testing out the early dismissal programs.
“It’s a trial basis. We’re going to see how it goes,” Riddell-McKay said. “We’re really, really thankful that the library has gotten on board with this and that they’re willing to come into our space. We look forward to seeing how it goes.”
