'Everybody's panicked:' parents learn details of multi-grade classes

Schools across Newfoundland and Labrador are discovering what classes will be multi-grade for the first time this September, based on their new teacher allocations following the budget in April - and many parents are upset.

• Teachers told to expect 135 multi-grade classrooms in 70 schools

"It's heart-wrenching... everybody has a button with this budget," said parent and school council member Jill Bruce on Friday.

"Well I've found mine, and it's the children."

One child said studentswere going to have a bake sale, "to raise enough money to keep a teacher so they could all do French," said Bruce.

She has two children attending Roncalli Elementary in the Airport Heights area of St. John's, one of whom will be in Grade 6 in September.She said the school lost two teachers so Grades 5 and 6 classes will be combined, with one class of intensive core French (ICF) for Gr. 6 instead of two.

Bruce said full-day kindergarten is "the real kicker" as two teachers are now allotted for that program instead.

She said 28 of the 47 students who wanted to do ICF will not be able to, but they don't know how the decisions will be made. Leftover Gr. 6 students will join a Gr. 5 class.

"How do we select those children? As a parent this is a big concern. We don't have any answers... It's absolutely terrifying. Everybody's worried, everybody's panicked."

Bruce said multi-grade classrooms can work when done for theright reasons, but the government is doing it all wrong.

'Stressed to the max'

Parents at Beachy Cove Elementary have planned a meeting on May 4 to organize an effort to fight the cuts.

"Everybody is very shocked, we didn't think that Beachy Cove would be affected," said parent Shandelle Meeker on Friday.

Meeker has a son in Gr. 4 French immersion, who may be one of the students facing a multi-grade classroom for the first time in September.

Parents said Beachy Cove will have three combined classrooms - Gr. 1-2 plus Gr. 5-6 English and French.23 students planning to do ICF next year will no longer be able to.

For Meeker, it's too much too soon, especially for teachers with no experience teaching multi-grade classes.

"They're already stressed to the max, with an over-crowded school like Beachy Cove... it's bursting at the seams, children are in modular classrooms!" said the mother of three.

She said a new Gr. 5-9 school for the area has been promised - but postponed - for years.

Not set in stone

In an email Friday, a spokesperson for the Newfoundland and Labrador English School District said the initial allocations are out, but there is still a review to take place along with human resources matters like redundancies and bumping.

"Depending upon the individual needs of schools, enrolments and information provided to the District, it is possible allocations could change over the course of the coming months and into the fall," said the spokesperson.