January 11, 2024
Dear Anne Fitzgerald Families,
Every year, Edmonton Catholic Schools reviews programs to ensure we are offering sustainable and effective programs that best serve our students, families, and the Division. Our Division Administration has been reassessing the feasibility of offering Kindergarten with Full-Day Programming.
This decision is difficult but necessary. Full-day Kindergarten is not a requirement by Alberta Education and is not specifically funded. This model, while beneficial, is not financially sustainable. Kindergarten is only funded for half-day programming. Edmonton Catholic Schools uses its Grade 1-12 instructional funding to pay for additional staff and resources to run the full-day program.
We need to ensure the equitable distribution of our resources across all grade levels.
2024-2025 School Year
Effective September 2024, Anne Fitzgerald will offer half-day Kindergarten for the reasons outlined above. The program will continue to be focused on early literacy, numeracy, and social-emotional learning, creating a strong educational foundation to support our youngest learners.
Also, effective September 2024 and not related to the decision to return to half-day programming, Kindergarten students from the Christ the King (CTK) catchment area will be joining the Anne Fitzgerald community as a temporary measure to reduce the enrolment pressures at CTK. The building utilization rate at CTK is 137%. The building utilization rate of Anne Fitzgerald is 71%. CTK students will return to their neighbourhood school for Grades 1 to 9. Anne Fitzgerald will continue to welcome CTK Kindergarten students until a new school in Crystallina Nera East is built.
We remain deeply committed to providing an excellent Catholic education for every student in our care. We understand the decision to remove Kindergarten with Full-Day Programming may pose challenges for some families, but we are confident this is the right decision for the growing school community.
For any questions or further information, please do not hesitate to contact your school principal.
Edmonton Catholic Schools