Early dismissal on Fridays at Calgary public schools a challenge for parents, lobby group says

Almost 200 of the roughly 220schools operated by the Calgary Board of Education now have early dismissals on Fridays, and that's creating problems for some parents.

The Calgary Association of Parents and School Councils is concerned about the impact on parents who now have to find additional child care or juggle their work schedules to accommodate the early start to the weekend.

"They're either going to have to take time off work which a lot of people can't afford to do. Think of a lot of low-income families, that may not even be an option,"said spokesperson Althea Adams.

"I've heard of stories where their children have still gone home on the bus and have to spend a couple of hours home alone."

'A little surprised'

"I found out the first day of school. So yeah, a little surprised," said Dana Cornea, whose two boys attendBelvedereParkway Elementary School, which lets the children out at 12:30 p.m. at the end of the week.

Cornea says she and her husband have been able to make it work by shifting schedules and arranging play dates.But it may be more challenging for other parents.

Sydney Smith, a director with the CBE, says staff use their student-free time to meet and work on such things as school development plans.

But she says parents can ask their schools to have a second look at dismissal times.

"People who are having difficulty with that need to speak to their school principal and voice that opinion," she said."And a school needs to be able to listen to that."

Smith adds that students still get the same number of instructional hours.

The Catholic board says none of its elementary or junior high schools in Calgary have early dismissals on Fridays.

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