ALC scraps plan for triple-split class

Plans for a triple-grade class at A. Lorne Cassidy elementary school were scrapped after English enrolment turned out to be higher than initially projected, the school’s principal says.

Board officials had originally proposed that an English class be split three ways between grades 1, 2 and 3, but in a recent update to parents said there was no longer a need to do so.

There will still be some classes split two ways between grades 1 and 2, grades 4 and 5 and grades 5 and 6.

Andrew Canham, ALC principal, tells StittsvilleCentral.ca that grades 1, 2 and 3 ended up with higher than expected enrolment.

“It’s actually not down at all,” he says. “There are slight fluctuations (in the lower grades).”

Split classes happen every year and the fluctuation of enrolment is nothing out of the ordinary, he says. It is usually quite easy to split a class.

In a letter to parents, he wrote that additional staff had been allocated to reduce the number of split classes.

Most parents don’t mind having their child in a split class, although there is occasionally a stir.

“There’s always some parents that perceive a straight class is better, some perceive a split class is better,” he says.

An official Ministry of Education document cited studies that found there is no negative impact on students.

Split classes are common in Ontario schools, usually two ways, according to the Ministry of Education. A three-way split is not common, Canham said.

As for French enrolment, Canham says it has also remained steady.

“(It’s) slightly above district average for French,” he says, noting that the school has experienced that trend for at least a few years.

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Tentative classes for next year at ALC are as follows:

 (Source: Ottawa Carleton District School Board)