Six New SD72 Childcare Sites Now Open, Construction Nearing Completion On New Permanent Childcare Buildings

Six new district-operated childcare sites in SD72 are now up and running - and construction is nearing completion on the new permanent childcare buildings.

An update on construction this week from Associate Superintendent Phillip Cizmic, who says in 18 months, the district has gone from design to construction, with the buildings set for completion in two or three months.

Crews broke ground on construction in late June.

The new spaces provide licensed before- and after-school care for registered students at Cedar, Georgia Park, Ocean Grove, Pinecrest, Ripple Rock and Sandowne Elementary Schools.

The highest demand has been for after-school care but there are still spaces available except at Ripple Rock, which has a waitlist.

Cizmic also shared with the board that the district is already receiving requests for children entering kindergarten in September 2024.

Given community interest and the program’s success so far, the district says it is exploring the possibility of offering childcare over the school breaks and adding infant and toddler care, especially to help with employee recruitment and retention.

Meanwhile, enrolment in SD72 schools has gone up by 111 students since last year, according to a September 30th enrolment count.

Superintendent Geoff Manning says that is 50 more students than what was projected.

Every February school districts are required to submit an enrolment projection to the Ministry of Education and Child Care and the funding that the district receives and staffing levels for the upcoming year is based on that projected number of students.