School District #2 selected for pilot project on teacher allocation and program delivery The Minister of Education, Roger Grimes, announced today that department officials have completed a comprehensive review of District #2 serving 34 Northern Peninsula and Southern Labrador schools with a total student population of 3,923. The district has the largest percentage of small rural schools in the province for 1997-98, including 21 small necessary existent schools with 16 schools utilizing distance education. "As a result of this review, I am satisfied that no further consolidations or school closures are possible; therefore, I am today announcing that the district has been selected for a pilot project for the 1998-99 school year," said Mr. Grimes. This project will see the reinstatement of nine teaching positions in September at a cost of approximately $360,000. "We are convinced that schools face serious program difficulties if these positions are not reinstated," said Mr. Grimes. The Department of Education, in cooperation with the District 2 school board, will closely monitor program delivery over the next school year to ensure that students on the Northern Peninsula and Southern Straits of Labrador are being supplied with the basic program requirements. The board has had enormous difficulty maintaining minimal programs in spite of closing eight schools last year and a decision to close one school and consolidate two more this year. Contact: Carl Cooper, (709) 729-5040, Dennis Parsons (709) 456-2232. 1998 06 10 11:30 a.m. |
||
|