An Ottawa-area school board says it will not move to a four-day schedule at two of its elementary schools this fall after Ontario’s Education Ministry refused to approve the plan.
In March, the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est (CECCE) announced the pilot project would begin this fall at École élémentaire catholique l’Étoile-de-l’Est in Orléans and École élémentaire catholique Saint-Rémi in Kanata, pending ministry approval.
Under the proposed schedule, students would begin their school year one week earlier and end three days later, and spend an extra 38 minutes a day in class to make up for the fifth day.
“It will enable [students and staff] to spend quality time with family, focus on their passions, participate in recreational activities, go to appointments, pursue their studies, engage in personal projects or simply rest,” the board said at the time, noting the new schedule would have been the first of its kind in Ontario and one of very few in North America.