Surrey teachers concerned about extended school hours

Surrey teachers concerned about extended school hours
Say the city is in desperate need of new high schools
Shane Bigham Feb 09, 2011 15:18:14 PM
1 SURREY (NEWS1130) - To deal with cramped classrooms, two high schools in Surrey will try extended hours in the fall, but teachers say the plan doesn't offer a real solution to overcrowded schools.

Earl Marriott and Lord Tweedsmuir are just two schools with far more students than they can handle. Come fall, they will go on an alternate schedule, although the total amount of classroom time won't change.

Details have not been finalized yet, but eighth and ninth graders would have a schedule that's staggered against the tenth, eleventh and twelfth graders.

Surrey schools have extended hours on ad hoc basis for years, but now it is being formalized.

Laurae McNally with the district says overcrowding is an ongoing problem. "I think next year, you will see more of our schools in this particular situation."

McNally and Denise Moffatt with the Surrey Teachers' Association say new schools are long overdue and hope the government steps up when it releases its new budget coming out next week.

But McNally says even if 200 million dollars dropped out of the sky, it would take at least three to five years to open a new school.

Moffatt says there are numerous concerns about this proposal. "There are concerns about supervision and safety during the day... and there are also concerns about the impact on extra-curricular programs."

She says parents and students need to show their concern too.