Trustees delay relocation of program for gifted kids

A program for gifted and twiceexceptional students will remain at McKernan Elementary/Junior High School for another year after parents protested a proposed move.

Families with children in the extensions program gave the Edmonton Public school district an earful at a meeting last week when administrators proposed moving the program to Queen Alexandra School, which currently hosts only a Logos Christian program.

Although McKernan school is stuffed, some parents said the move to Queen Alexandra would infringe on their freedom from religion.

Parents asked district administrators to hold off for a year, to allow more consultation with families about where to relocate the program. The district agreed.

“We absolutely heard from parents loud and clear,” Edmonton Public Schools spokeswoman Carrie Rosa said Monday.

The program will move to a different building in the fall of 2019, she said. The decision about where it will move will be made in conjunction with families, she said.

Meran Currie-Roberts, who has two children enrolled in extensions, said she was relieved when she received a letter saying the move was postponed.

Although the families of the 33 children enrolled in extensions come from many faiths and backgrounds, they were united in saying Queen Alexandra was the wrong place, Currie-Roberts said.

McKernan houses a French immersion program, a late-entry French immersion program, a Spanish academy, pre-advanced placement classes and extensions. It had 781 students enrolled this year, and the building is at 107 per cent capacity. Queen Alexandra is about 28 per cent full.

The district has said moving the extensions program should give it room to grow, and relieve some pressure on McKernan. Students in extensions come from all over the city for the one-of-a-kind program.